Top Tech Trends at CES 2016

CES, formerly known as the Consumer Electronics Show, is where the tech industry gathers to show off the latest technology and innovations we’ll be seeing in the coming year. But it’s not just the big name companies like Samsung and LG showing off their vision of the future, the show floor is packed with thousands of smaller companies displaying what they believe is the next big thing.

After a week in Las Vegas at CES, where my steps averaged 12-16 thousand per day, I got a pretty good sense of the trends coming out of the show. Some won’t become mainstream for a few more years; some are here now for early adopters ready to embrace the future. Here are the five areas I’m most excited about.

1. Wearables You’ll Want to Wear

It’s no secret many of the over 170,000 attendees at CES wore fitness trackers to track their steps each day. I know this because most of them are black bands made of plastic and not very attractive. While the halls were full of companies showing off smart wearable jewelry that sends alerts and notifications, some tech companies finally noticed that activity trackers could look beautiful too.

Misfit has partnered with jewelry company Swarovski on the Swarovski Shine Collection, a line of exquisite jewelry; bracelets and pendants that hold the Misfit Shine activity tracking crystal. It measures your steps, your sleep, your activity and syncs wirelessly with your smartphone.

Fitbit debuted the Fitbit Blaze, an activity-tracking smartwatch with different colors and types of bands so you can customize your look. The Blaze has a color touchscreen and heart rate tracker and shows it doesn’t have to be boring and bulky to be useful and something I’d want to wear.

2. 4K TV

If you sat out the 3DTV trend, give yourself a pat on the back. 3D technology is interesting with real world uses, but not a great fit for the home theater. 4K, or UHD TV, on the other hand, is something to keep your eye on.

4K has roughly four times the number of pixels of 1080p or high definition TV. The latest 4K TVs from Samsung and LG wowed the crowd at CES with technologies like OLED (organic light emitting diode) screens allowing for super-slim designs and eye-popping colors.

There’s still not a lot of 4K content other than Netflix streaming some 4K movies and shows, but that will change over the next few years. The sweet spot here should be in a year or two when prices become more affordable and there’s a lot more content to enjoy. For now, stick with your HDTV.

3. Smart Home Products

From connected thermostats and sensors to Bluetooth-enabled light bulbs that stream music from your phone, the smart home continues to be a major trend. Thsis year the focus is on the kitchen, the so-called gathering place for many families.

Samsung showed off its Family Hub Refrigerator, a smart fridge with a 21.5” touchscreen on the front that can do everything from order groceries to stream music and videos. And to help keep you organized it displays the family’s calendar and shows you a picture of what’s inside your fridge while you’re at the store shopping.

LG’s new signature refrigerator lets you knock on the glass to turn it transparent, giving you a peek inside without having to open the door and let all the cold air out. LG’s Twin Wash with Sidekick Pedestal allows for two loads of laundry at the same time. Talk about a time saver! 

4. Laptops

The 2-in-1 trend continues which is great news for both consumers and business travelers. Lenovo’s Yoga 900s is a thin and light laptop designed to function any way you need it; laptop, tent or tablet mode. These carbon fiber devices make them super light with over 10 hours of battery life and a unique watchband hinge that rotates into whatever mode you need at the moment.

The lightweight design and hinge is what makes these devices powerful tools for road warriors as well. The ThinkPad X1 Yoga is the first 360-degree convertible device with an optional OLED display. Like OLED TV’s, that means you’ll be getting intense bright colors with incredible contrast.

5. Augmented Reality/Virtual Reality

We saw a lot of Virtual Reality on display at CES, some useful right now, some that may start making sense over the next few years. For the most part, the gaming and entertainment world will benefit from these technologies in the near future with companies like Oculus, now owned by Facebook, and HTC Vive providing demos of their virtual world experiences.

But I also saw enhanced reality applications that are super helpful right now. Hyundai showed off its Virtual Guide, an augmented reality owner’s manual which runs on a smartphone or tablet. If you don’t understand a light that’s on your dash or can’t find a fuse, you don’t have to dig out the manual and start leafing through, page by page. You simply point your device’s camera to the object and the app overlays labels to explain what you’re looking at. You can tap to get more info or a tutorial on how to perform basic maintenance like changing the oil. This is a great example of useful technology designed to make our lives easier, not to add more complicated tech to the mix.