Skip to main content
  1. Home
  2. Digital Trends Live

CES 2017 preview: What to expect from the world’s most important electronics show

Caleb Denison
By

Welcome to a special CES 2017 preview edition of DT Daily. We’re here to get you up to speed on some of the biggest tech you can expect to see coming out of Las Vegas next Wednesday through Sunday. In a nutshell, the show will be dominated by a few key acronyms/buzzwords: 4K, AI, VR, 5G and Hi-Res Audio.

Yeah, you’ve seen the High-Res Audio banner waved before, but the Digital Entertainment Group – that’s all the major record labels and most major electronics manufacturers all in cahoots – has huge plans for this year’s CES, with a big symposium, a booth with non-stop demonstrations, and a host of forums moderated by DT’s own audiophile, Mike Mettler. Expect digital music to change in a big way in 2017.

Alexa, Alexa, Alexa!

You can also expect to hear about Alexa over and over and over. Sure Google Home is in there fighting it out, but Amazon’s Alexa platform will be integrated into all kinds of products. You’ll be voice-activating your toilet in no time, believe us. And it’s the stuff you can’t imagine voice-controlling  that will really surprise you.

Related

VR and AR make big plays in new ways

Virtual Reality and Augmented reality had their first big year at CES 2016, so you can expect to hear a lot about how VR can make everything better. Some of us are excited, some of us a little skeptical. Who will be able to convert the naysayers? That’s what we’re going to find out. Expect lots of video footage people looking funny in VR getups of all sorts. Yup, this is the look of the future people.

5G already?

Forget 4G, 5G is where cell networks are going, and we believe we’re going to see some of the first fully fleshed out 5G devices make an appearance at this year’s big show. Much will be saved to Mobile World Congress in February, but we’ll at least get a taste at CES, and it should set the mobile world abuzz.

Not just more 4K UHD TV

Finally, you didn’t think we’d get out of here without talking TV did you? For all the other gadgets on the show floor at the Las Vegas Convention Center, nothing dominates headlines like new TV tech, and trust me when we tell you we will be seeing some amazing new technologies at play.

We’ve seen it, and this will not be just another 4K year. We’re talking about real innovation and progress for displays that will trickle down to your computer monitors and phones down the road. Be excited. We know we are.

That’s it for our DT Daily CES preview. Stick with us as Digital Trends takes its biggest army of reporters yet to cover every corner of the show, bringing you the coolest and most meaningful tech innovations to be found. We’ll see ya there, and Happy New Year!

Editors' Recommendations

Topics
DT Daily: Apple relocates WWDC 2017, expect to see iOS 11
dt daily 2 16 apple wwdc 2017 00 10 17 still015

The dates for Apple’s 2017 Worldwide developers conference are now official. It will be June 5th through 9th, and the conference will have a new home at the McEnry convention center in San Jose. A location that’s much closer to Apple’s home in Cupertino. This is the conference where Apple shows off the latest versions of its iOS and MacOS operating systems… and it should be a big year for iOS.

This year is the 10th anniversary of the iPhone so we’re expecting some major upgrades to the device. And along with that we should see equally impressive changes to iOS. Obviously we’re eager to see iOS11 because it’s also a chance to see just a few hints at the features coming to Apple’s newest iPhones.

Read more
DT Daily: Third day of CES 2017 includes mech racing, wallpaper TVs, and no sleep
dt daily robotics wallpaper tv lg moto z ces 2017 pf2d3zfx 1920

Welcome to a special edition of DT Daily on the third day of CES 2017. We're here to get you up to speed on some of the biggest tech we've seen in Las Vegas this week.

Watch Digital Trends’ experts Steph Stricklen and Greg Nibler and special guest David Cogen from TheUnlockr share their reactions to the hottest categories and devices at CES. Hear their comments, excitement, and what they think you would like to know about a motorhome with a wine cooler, mech racing, LG's wallpaper TV, a phone that made Stricklen question her loyalty, autos everywhere, people globally participating in show, and how no one gets more than two hours sleep a night at CES 2017.
Furrion Robotics
Stricklen went off on how she was blown away by the tech Furrion Robotics brought to CES, including a one-off motorhome with a wine cooler inside and a helicopter on the roof. Furrion says it isn't a real model they make but that they have been getting orders. She thinks Digital Trends should buy it to take video on the road.
LG wallpaper TV
Nibler talked about how LG's wallpaper TV is the talk of the show. After hearing rumors for two years, it's here and you can pre-order one now. It comes in two sizes, 65-inches and 77-inches, with prices starting probably around $8,000.
Prosthesis
Stricklen got a look at Furrion's Prosthesis mech racer on Friday, which is basically a rolling exoskeleton with a driver. They built it for Burning Man. Stricklen wants to drive one. Cogen pictures it with weapons.
Filming
Cogen has been filming every day and set up his own filming and editing studio. He is posting it on YouTube but all will be available on TheUnlockr. Nibler tried to make a video inside LG's OLED tunnel, but it came out sideways.
Moto Z Force Droid
Stricklen has been converted by the Moto Z Force Droid with the attachable mods you can add. She tried the camera mod and the speaker and she is convinced. She never used an Android phone before, but says now she is going to be a "two-phone-girl."
Autos everywhere
Nibler and Stricklen commented on how CES is becoming a huge auto show. Stricklen mentioned Digital Trends' Editor-in-Chief Jeremy Kaplan saying that autos are showing up everywhere at CES, not just in the automotive area because they are involved in all areas of tech. Stricklen called Kaplan "such a genius" and Nibler agreed, adding "I don’t have to say that, he doesn’t write my paycheck."
Global engagement
Stricklen mentioned the video booth has been great at CES and people from around the world have been commenting during the shows on the DT Facebook page and the DT YouTube channel. During Saturday's show, people from Norway, England, Tanzania, and Brooklyn chimed in with questions and comments.
No sleep
The show ended with the unanimous agreement that CES is not for sleep, that most get maybe two hours of rest a night. But it's worth it.

Read more
DT Daily: CES 2017 highlights include robotic wheels, chip injections, and 5G
dt daily 01 06 ces 2017 fcix70mg 1920

Welcome to the second day of the CES 2017 edition of DT Daily. We're here to get you up to speed on some of the biggest tech we've seen in Las Vegas this week.

Watch Digital Trends’ experts Steph Stricklen and Greg Nibler and special guest David Cogen from TheUnlockr share their reactions to the hottest categories and devices at CES. Hear their comments, excitement, and what they think you would like to know about a motorhome with a helicopter on the roof, tech for pets, levitating speakers, injected chips to control smart home devices, smartphone video in hotel rooms, fast-charging 5G chips, and the Digital Trends Best of CES 2017 Awards.
Tech to soak and roll in
Sticklen started off by asking Cogen and Nibler about the most interesting things they had seen so far at CES. Nibler jumped in, talking about a motorhome with both a helicopter and a hot tub on the roof. Cogen saw that, too and said the inside walls are lined with LED screens. Nibler claims it for his own. Both also exclaimed about Furrion Robotics' rolling transformer robot. Called the Prosthesis, Nibler said it looks like a giant PCV ball you sit in as you are preparing for world domination.
Robots for your pets
All three experts observed CES has loads of pet tech this year. Stricklen mentioned tracking collars and a ball with a camera inside so you can get video of your dog slobbering. Nibler showed images of Swagtron's robot for pets that can play catch, give treats, and scare cats from under the bed.
Chip injections
Injectable diodes were appealing at first to Stricklen. She was fascinated by the idea of a chip injection that you could use to control devices in your smart home -- until she learned how it's injected.
Car shame
Stricklen mentioned a car that can read your emotions and adjust your speed if you're in the dumps. She is not a fan of that idea. Nibler doesn't want his car shaming him, either.
Video on smartphones
Cogen, Nibler, and Stricklen all talked about how people are more and more just using phones and laptops for video. Stricklen said when she stays in hotels, she doesn't turn on the television but just watches everything on her phone.
5G cell phone charging
Stricklen noted a new Qualcomm chip for 5G phones the company claims can charge for five hours use in five minutes. All agreed that will be a game changer.
Who's having the most fun at CES
Nibler talked about the Digital Trends' staffer who is having the most fun, Cool Tech editor Drew Prindle. Stricklen agreed, saying she saw him last night and asked what he was doing and he said, "I'm going have a couple beers and go see some drones!"
Digital Trends Best of CES 2017 Awards
Nibler and Stricklen both talked about the Digital Trends Best of CES 2017 Awards, which they called the Cyber Stag awards. Stricklen said she was on the DT bus when they were deciding which companies were the winners and was impressed by how seriously the writers and editors were in their deliberations. Stricklen also mentioned that one of the awards was going to be given live during a broadcast in the booth.

Read more