What we see at CES, the technology event in Las Vegas, is pretty predictable every year. Big TV? Tick. A home robot that never came to market? Tick. An over-engineered toothbrush? Tick.
Every CES brings its standout trends that dominate big, flashy press conferences, show floors and late-night chatter at casino bars. Some of the biggest trends at CES 2024 this week are easy to predict; for example, a strong emphasis on artificial intelligence.Others, like transparent screens and new solutions to take you off grid housewhich could only be discerned after we toured the show floor at the Las Vegas Convention Center.
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look at this: These are the biggest trends from CES 2024
Here are our takeaways for you, based on everything CNET editors have seen, tested, and used.
Artificial intelligence is everywhere
At CES 2024, your chances of winning at a slot machine are about as good as finding a company that doesn’t brag about its artificial intelligence prowess. This is far from the first time AI products have been spotted on the booth, but this is definitely the year AI dominates the show.
read more: The most intriguing tech at CES 2024
It’s presented as “a layer of intelligence on top of a traditional product or service designed to enhance the customer experience,” said Dipanjan Chatterjee, principal analyst at Forrester. He points to products like bird feeders designed to identify birds and pillows that adjust to reduce snoring.
Artificial Intelligence at CES 2024: Check out the coolest tech on the show
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What we are witnessing now is the major AI breakthroughs that have occurred in the past year or so (such as OpenAI’s ChatGPT) being integrated into devices. “There’s no doubt that artificial intelligence, especially generative artificial intelligence, will be an important driver of new products and services,” said CNET’s artificial intelligence expert Connie Guglielmo.
Guglielmo highlighted Microsoft’s decision to change the Windows keyboard for the first time in nearly 30 years as a key example, adding a button that provides a direct link to launch AI Copilot. Another example is Volkswagen adding ChatGPT as a standard feature to its vehicles later this year. “You can actually talk about your car in Knight Rider terms,” she said.
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look at this: Experience the first ChatGPT-enabled electric car for yourself
In addition to the AI products we’ve experienced first-hand, companies are giving us hints at CES about what they’ll bring to the table in the year ahead. Sameer Samat, general manager and vice president of Android, Google Play and Wear OS at Google, said in an interview with CNET senior editor Lisa Eadicco that artificial intelligence will play a key role in the evolution of how we interact with our phones.
This supports Guglielmo’s view that “we are only beginning to see how this fundamental technology will change the way we work, live and interact with the world.”
We’re already curious to see how this rapidly evolving technology will change the game again by the time CES 2025 rolls around.
![Colorful Volkswagen Golf GTI car on stage](https://www.cnet.com/a/img/resize/d7065370e52a1cabf9a233e5c87610d2b85e6d22/hub/2024/01/07/7677f368-7417-4f1a-97d0-e8af3649d5df/ces-vw-cerence-golf-ai.jpg?auto=webp&width=1200)
The Volkswagen Golf will get chatbot technology from Cerence and OpenAI.
Screen, completely new
Screen technology is always a highlight at CES, and this year is no exception, with exciting display technology advancements appearing in everything from large TVs to concept bendable phones. As CNET’s TV expert David Katzmaier puts it: “This year’s TVs are bigger and brighter. Both Hisense and TCL have doubled the brightness of their Mini LED lines at the same price as last year, and both have launched models with protective screens. Large expensive models with eye function. – 110 and 115 inch watering sizes.”
Neither model has pricing yet, but is expected to cost several thousand dollars. New screen tech never comes cheap, and that’s never been more apparent than with C Seed’s wild foldable N1, which splits a 137-inch display into five sections that fold neatly away, and costs a whopping $200,000 Dollar. What is the cost of living crisis?
![AC Seed N1 Keep your eyes on the screen.](https://www.cnet.com/a/img/resize/6cb780d1ca14f80eb43c956deeaa28a0f9525377/hub/2024/01/10/6668bd9c-1ae0-44d7-bee8-4ea1aa02ab3b/img-0303.jpg?auto=webp&width=1200)
A crazy display for several days.
“The new trend this year is transparent displays,” Katzmaier said. “LG has been producing transparent OLED screens for businesses for the past few years, but its latest models will be available to consumers later this year.”
The idea behind the new model of OLED T is to make the screen blend more seamlessly into the surrounding room when not in use, rather than just being a giant black rectangle. When not in use, the display looks more like a window, with fish, stars, or other objects dancing on the glass, and when you want it to function like a regular TV, a black film rises up to cover the back. As Kazmaier said: “This is some of the coolest television I’ve ever seen.”
Rather than letting LG have all the fun, Samsung showed off its own transparent display technology that uses micro-LEDs to look brighter and more colorful than OLED screens. While the demo was cool, we’re more likely to see Samsung’s transparent screen in commercial applications in the near future than on your next TV.
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look at this: I saw C-Seed’s $200,000 folding TV
Samsung also showed off new screen technology for its phones. Its Flex In & Out Flip concept caught Eadicco’s attention. “The concept is a Z Flip-style phone that bends in both directions,” she said. “With a device like this, you can use the screen whether the device is on or off, which may make your phone easier to use with one hand.”
Terrible product name aside, the Flex In & Out Flip shows that companies like Samsung — as well as Motorola and the amazing rollable phone concept it showed off last year — aren’t ready for a foldable phone design just yet.
Next generation gaming technology
Gaming technology remains a highlight at this year’s CES show. New laptops from Alienware, Lenovo, Asus, Razer and more are powered by the new Intel 14th generation mobile chips and are expected to be fully updated for higher performance. Many products, including HP’s new Omen, eschew the “battlestar” aesthetic typical of many traditional gaming consoles, instead offering options for those of us who want a “one-size-fits-all” machine that’s great for working during the day and working at night. Defeat the noobs.
We also saw new graphics cards from Nvidia, a vibrating gaming chair from Razer, and an updated gaming phone from Asus.
![MSI's The Claw is in your hand.](https://www.cnet.com/a/img/resize/995e0e49f97500ecf1d5c06b5f7730ca189718a7/hub/2024/01/10/80103d7d-a4fc-4202-bee8-703ad076688e/img-0306.jpg?auto=webp&width=1200)
MSI’s The Claw is one of the most powerful handheld consoles ever released.
But we also got to experience the first handheld PC gaming console using Intel chips. Valve’s SteamDeck gave us the first handheld experience of playing PC games when it launched in 2022, and Asus and Lenovo soon followed with their own versions. While models from Valve, Asus and Lenovo all use AMD processors, MSI’s new Claw handheld comes with an Intel Core Ultra 5 or 7 processor, which CNET chief writer Scott Stein believes could make it the most powerful PC around Handheld devices.
The Windows-based PC handheld device has been generally well-received, allowing avid gamers to enjoy polygon boxing from the comfort of their couch without always having to fire up a giant LED gaming rig. MSI’s Intel-based models will bring new competition to this emerging category.
“The symbolism of the claw is probably more important than its function,” Stein said. “Intel is jumping on the bandwagon with new handheld gaming chips, which suggests hardware manufacturers should be more capable of creating Steam Deck-like handheld devices that run Windows.”
CES 2024 Amazing Tech Concepts We Can’t Wait
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Energy technology evolution
At previous CESs, the lack of home energy technology and serious solutions to help us combat the environmental crisis left us a little bewildered. Now is the time to correct these mistakes and declare green technology a major trend at this year’s show.
Over the past few years, we have been buffeted by the cost of living and environmental crises, skyrocketing energy prices, greater demand for more advanced heating and cooling technologies, strain on the grid, and waves of blackouts. Smart homeowners around the world are becoming more aware that they need to take energy management into their own hands, and CES 2024 shows us how tech companies are responding.
Products like EcoFlow’s portable whole-house backup batteries and new solar technology in the form of power-generating stained glass are just some of the innovations in energy technology. At the same time, our path to greater self-reliance is being paved with technologies like moisture farming technology that can produce water from thin air, and smart energy that lets you switch between on- and off-grid energy at the touch of a button. Serve.
![A crystal made of glass that captures solar energy.](https://www.cnet.com/a/img/resize/d03808a09f3359e5dbd0bc3cfde9ac87d764b138/hub/2024/01/08/f6164451-6cfd-4430-a82d-3095fd93f629/inqs-solar-glass.jpg?auto=webp&width=1200)
Do you know what a solar panel looks like? This thing is capturing the energy of light.
Will the products at CES 2024 be enough to make a serious statement about the tech industry’s commitment to sustainability? Won’t. But as Forrester principal analyst Thomas Husson said before the show, this is “a small step in the right direction.”
“The next phase is to embed sustainability and circular economy principles into the design of new technologies and products,” he added.
Meanwhile, as the reality of climate change, and especially extreme weather, continues to unfold, the new technologies we’ve seen this year can help us imagine what a livable future might look like.