CES 2016 is only a few days away, and as the team at GAMbIT preps to fly into Vegas from all over the country, we take a look at what we can expect from this years show. Even as I type this, my phone has buzzed several times alerting me of various tech news and booths to visit. Still, for all the cool things that we will no doubt stumble upon as we travel all across Vegas, there are a few trends that we can already see that will be standouts at this years show. Let’s take a look at some of those now:
Wearable Tech
2015 was a pretty big year in the wearable market. We saw the Apple iWatch hit, as well as various different models from the likes of Pebble, Google, and others. We also know that the fitbit was the number one app downloaded after Christmas, so we know that people are really latching onto all sorts of wearable tech. While we have yet to jump onto the wearable bandwagon yet, as the tech offers nothing unique over what my smartphone can;’t already do, there is room for growth, especially as prices begin to drop and new players enter the marketplace. We saw a number of wearables at CES 2015, and we can expect even more, especially from the copycat products.
Connected Fashion
This sort of falls in line with wearable tech, but it goes far beyond that in terms of stupidity. Look, we love tech and will consume all sorts of crazy things that serve little purpose, but even we can say that the IoT (Internet of Things) has jumped the shark. As one of our writers love to say, “Internet of things? More like internet of shit.” Maybe it’s just that fashion stuff goes over our heads, but the idea of having a “smart belt” that does, well, something, is a silly waste of emerging technology. We also can expect to see more rings, necklaces, and various clip on items that glow, buzz, or change colors when your phone gets a message/email. Sure, it may be silly, but at least these high-end fashion items are good for people who have too much fuck you money in their bank accounts. At least Samsung has a new belt coming named WELT, so someone on the team at least seems to know the whole thing is a joke, even if Samsung describes it as “a smart wearable healthcare belt that looks like a normal belt.”
Television Tech
If there is one thing that you can always count on seeing at CES, it’s Televisions. While most of the tech in question will disappear faster than your favorite show of FOX, CES is the place to see what insiders deem is the next big thing in TV, even if consumers often say, “No thanks.” Last year it was the rise of curved TVs (we even saw a TV that went from flat to curve at the push of a button) and before that we were inundated with 3D this and that. The buzzword this year is 4K, and while most of us know that 4K is a thing, most don’t realize that most cable isn’t even streamed in 1080p yet. We can expect news on how new televisions from various companies are using new display technology to provide users a better picture, as well as pushing to get 4K into the affordable range. We can also expect to see some 8K televisions with pictures that look so good our human eyes can’t even process them!
Drones, Drones, And More Drones
CES 2015 saw an entire section of the show floor dedicated to drones, and this year we can expect the area to be much larger. It seems every company wants in on this new lucrative market, with companies big and small pitching their models, from tiny drones that fit in the palm of your hand, to military grade behemoths that will surely have the FBI knocking on your door. Drones are about as cool as R/C helicopters, but outside the cool factor we don’t see the charm in them; at least not for the price. More affordable units will no doubt take the spotlight, along with those new units that can be used to help police, fire, and EMS services. 2016 will no doubt continue to bring us stories of drones flying too close to restricted areas –a news item today saw a man fly a drone over the presidential motorcade in Hawaii– as well as getting at least one story of a drone peeking into a neighbors windows to catch some NSFW action. At least we can all live happily watching videos of people breaking their Christmas drones.
VR Tech
Virtual reality has always been something people have wanted. Some people (totally not me…) even own a Nintendo Virtual Boy from the early 90s; poor bastards. But we are now living in an age of affordable VR, and while Google Cardboard may not be true VR, it’s a step in the right direction to affordable VR. Oculus is the main player in the field, even if a market headset is still a few months off, but there are others that are already here and offering up their own take on VR. Samsung has it’s own VR platform that works with its smartphones (with help from Oculus) and we have news that HTC will be making a major announcement with regards to a major step in VR. We even know, and have tested, several entry level devices that are also looking to capitalize on this new market. 2015 saw some advancements in VR, and 2016 looks to see more VR hit the market that consumers will actually be able to afford. It’s only a matter of time before we are all living through a pair of goggles. Heck, they already have VR porn for people into that sort of thing.
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