CES 2019: The Year of Virtual Assistants, 5G and Cool Tech

It’s a highly caffeinated, buzzworthy, event that keeps you wanting more. Each year, 70,000 exhibitors and over 180,000 attendees descend on Las Vegas to attend the long-standing Consumer Electronic Show (CES). This massive event hosts presentations of new products and technologies from companies big and small. Here are a few tech trends that will have an impact of consumers, business, and brands.

5G, the next-generation cellular network
Wireless technology has become essential to our daily lives, and it’s about to get exponentially better. 5G is the next big evolution – set to deliver faster connections and the ability to handle much greater data volume. This could mean reinvention in business, from innovation in R&D to new ways of communication. For example, in retail, this could mean making every moment shoppable – from interactive packaging to smart supermarkets.

Smart Tech has gotten Smarter
From Whirlpool’s smart kitchen that helps you plan your meals on a touch screen on the front of your refrigerator, to a wearable technology ring (yes, a piece of jewelry containing your credit card information that allows you tap to make a purchase), the showroom floor at CES did not disappoint. This transformation of helpful gadgets and assistants is something that Google executive, Nick Fox, said is a focus for them,

“We’re really leaning into the Assistant as the best way to get things done, helping you for lots of things as you go about your day.” - Nick Fox of Google

PIVOT, a smart tech company based in California is teaming up with self-insured employers and health plans to help their employees and member stop smoking.  The mobile experience is similar to any fitness tracker in that is measures everything. However, in this case, Pivot offers a breath sensor to measure carbon monoxide in the breath that then logs information into a personal dashboard. The dashboard then gives the user information like time and money spent on smoking.

The Pivot Experience at CES


Not your parents TV
One of the bigger trends of 2019 is the debut of the 8K TV by LG. Although content of such high quality is yet to be created, the OLED TV was a show stopper. The roll-up feature adds a practical element, freeing up wall space and hiding the large box that is otherwise an eyesore when turned off. Robert Cole, founder and CEO of World Wide Stereo, believes 8k is just another distraction, “…encouraging customers to second guess that aspirational 4K purchase. My guys on the floor learned quickly not to lead with the 8K story. The presentation was more about it being future-proof with the best technology available. As more 8K TVs are released, the story will evolve."

The takeaway for consumers is whether or not beauty and convenience outweighs utility and value. 

Health and Wellness, and your Personal Assistant
In the tech world, there are already hundreds of health and wellness apps and gadgets. From tracking your fitness to your food intake, it's a category that seems to be full of choices. At CES this year, the devices seemed to have gotten smaller, voice enabled, and AI intelligent. The companion robot was no exception. Aibo, developed by Sony, is meant to learn tricks and behaviors through positive reinforcement. Unfortunately, Aibo is currently sold out, but if you're interested, this little non-furry friend could set you back $2,899. 

Within the health and wellness category, there was also new innovation in Baby Tech. A company called BlueSmart created a fascinating technology that tracks your baby's intake and consumption patterns through temperature, amount by voice, duration, and angle. What's next? Now we just need a robot dog to help feed your baby!


Key Takeaways
  • Technology will continue to become more integrated with our daily lives, however, it's important to understand and distinguish tech that adds value and provides utility vs. a cool gadget/trend. 
  • Bigger companies, like Sony, Whirlpool, and Samsung, still dominate the marketplace (and CES) when it comes to tech, but there are smaller companies that are gaining traction and helping to solve critical challenges. 
  • As advertisers and marketers, it's important for us to understand how technology plays a role in how we think about interacting with our customer, and how we can meet them where they are already consuming (just not at CES).











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