I’ve been going to CES for well over a decade. Each year provides great opportunities to network, meet face-to-face with clients, and observe how the show and technologies change. For instance, there are fewer booth babes, with more robots and drones drawing attention to the booths. This year, I thought I would travel back in time and note the prevailing CES themes, as well as some anomalies.
Common CES Themes and Anomalies
Fewer Booth Babes. This is the year of #metoo. Starting in 2010, Women in Consumer Technologoy started to give Legacy Awards. It is hard to keep the booth babe around when so many smart women are making their mark in the world of technology.
TVs are always a Big Draw. Televisions get bigger, thinner, crisper, smarter and more connected. It is interesting to note that 3D TV was hailed as one of the next big things, but it didn’t really take off as predicted. We finally went from 4k to 8k this year.
Evolving Car Technology. Connected cars, smart cars, self-driving cars and better sound systems are a huge draw every year. This year you could win a test driving experience with BMW. Now your car will be collecting data as you drive (or as it drives for you) to the next Starbucks.
Experience Virtual Reality. Within the last few years, show-goers waited in a long line to experience VR firsthand. Sounds great until you realize those headsets become a petri dish of germs spread from one person to another. (Rumors of the spread of pink eye were passed around [no pun intended] last year.)
The Connected Home. As I was compiling this list, “Networked Homes” came up in 2008. In 2014, “The Smart Home” appeared on the list. Now smart homes and IoT devices get their own section. It is all about home security and IoT devices in the home.
From Wearables to Digital Health. There was a glut of wearables on the market about five years ago, but many of them have merged or have disappeared all together. This isn’t to say that health isn’t a huge category. Now you can track your sleep, your every step and your vitals. It doesn’t look like this category will stop growing.
The Great Recession Years. These were some of the bleakest years at CES and the theme lists reflect these times. It is interesting to note that 2009 and 2010 were the only years to call out “going green”. I remember walking through the casinos and they were dead, and the show floor was a lot easier to navigate.
Networking with Retailers. The 2008 list calls out meeting with retailers. This used to be the time of year my clients would have NDA meetings with the top-tier retailers. Now, they don’t show up and the manufacturers come to them.
Leaving Las Vegas. In the year 2008 there was a rumor that CES would indeed leave Vegas. It never happened.
Has CES Gotten Too Big? This question is asked every year.
A CES Retrospective from 2008-2018
CES Themes 2008
- Blu-Ray
- Super-Thin TV Sets
- Networked Homes
- Green
- Mobile Internet Devices
- Multiple Video Cards for Elite Gamers
- Ready to Meet with Retailers/Networking
- Wirelessness
CES Themes 2009
- Technology Developed for Children
- Technology for the Elderly
- Green Technology
- Smart Phones
- 3D Displays
CES Themes 2010
- E-Readers
- Tablets
- 3D Displays
- Car Technology
- Google Android
- Going Green
- Larger, Crisper TV displays
CES Themes 2011
- 3D TV
- Android Tablets Rival Apple iPad
- Cloud Storage and Streaming
- Location-Based Services
- Augmented Reality
- Mobile Tickets and Payments
- E-Ink
- Apps not Applications
CES Themes 2012
- 3D TVs without glasses
- Ultrabooks
- Thin OLED TVs
- Connected TVs
- Connected Cars
CES Themes 2013
- HD (4k) TVs
- Touch Screen PCs
- In-Car Smartphone Integration
- Digital Health
- Non-Traditional Gaming Devices
- Wireless Audio and Video
- Wireless Cameras
CES Themes 2014
- Connected Cars
- Cheaper 4k Monitors and TVs
- Digital Health
- Two-in-One Laptop Devices
- Curved TVs
- 3D Printers
- The Smart Home
- Wearables
CES Themes 2015
- Connected Cars
- Drones and Spycams
- Wearables
- 4k Goes Mainstream
- 3D Cameras and Printers
- Virtual Reality and Curved Screens
CES Themes 2016
- Self-Driving Cars
- Virtual Reality
- Drones
- Next Level Streaming
- Smart Home
- Hoverboards
- Wearables
CES Themes 2017
- Smart Home Technology
- Voice Assistants and IoT
- Self-Driving and Electric Cars
- 4K TVs Bigger and Better
- AR/VR
- Laptops
- Robots
- Drones
- Wearables
CES Themes 2018
- 5G
- Self-Driving Cars
- Smart Home IoT
- Digital Health (wearables not dead, just changing)
- Micro LED and 8K TVs
- Augmented Reality
- Wireless Headphones
- “Hey Google” was Everywhere
Good to hear they’re dialing back on the tired booth babes thing!
With the recent events and the #metoo thing it is best left behind.