CES 2015 Preview: 8 Hot Trends
Tech's annual celebration of gadgets, robots, and connected everything kicks off soon in Vegas. Here's what will grab the spotlight at CES 2015.
![](https://eu-images.contentstack.com/v3/assets/blt69509c9116440be8/bltc36fc42503f7ad74/64cb576a3f30ff745adbd900/Connected.jpg?width=700&auto=webp&quality=80&disable=upscale)
(Image: Intel Free Press)
Here's a tip whether you're attending or just keeping tabs on the 2015 edition of the International Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas: Get used to the word "connected."
Connected this, connected that, connected everything. Heading into the tech industry's annual consumer fête in Sin City, it is the one word that best sums up the buzz. Think connected cars, connected homes, connected people, and the myriad connected devices those people carry, or, as might increasingly be the case, the myriad connected devices people wear. All of these technologies have made prior appearances at CES, but they'll take up even more of the desert air this year, from a self-parking BMW, to home automation advances, to the growing industry of developer frameworks such as Android Wear and Apple HomeKit.
Even as the line between consumer and business has blurred beyond recognition, CES is not meant to be an IT professional's paradise. (It is the Consumer Electronics Show, after all.) There are some conspicuous absences from an enterprise IT standpoint, and even from a consumer tech angle. You might hear plenty about the 2015 launch of Apple's iWatch, for example, but you won't actually find Apple there. There will be loads of Android devices on the exhibition floors, but don't expect a Google booth (though Google president of the Americas Margo Georgiadis will join other media executives on the Brand Matters keynote panel). Microsoft, once a CES stalwart, no longer attends in an official capacity. And although some of the biggest hardware players in mobile devices, such as Samsung, will be in Vegas, they probably will save at least some of their fireworks for Mobile World Congress in early March.
Still, CES remains an enormous international event with a start-of-the-year calendar placement that lends it extra juice. More than 160,000 people attended last year, including 6,600 members of the media and 3,600 exhibitors, who made 20,000 product announcements. Roughly one in four attendees was from outside the US.
As InformationWeek's Thomas Claburn recently reminded us, CES is always the Year of Something, for better or worse. Year of the Tablet? Sure. Year of the Ultrabook? That one didn't exactly pan out. You can place your own bets on 2015: Year of the TV Most Of Us Can't Afford doesn't exactly roll off the tongue. (Last year it was 4K; this year it could be 8K. Does that mean we can expect 16K in 2016?)
There are enough candidates from home automation, to virtual reality, to wearables, to, yes, incredibly big and expensive TVs that have become CES floor regulars that this year's CES is in danger of being known as Year of More of the Same. Then again, CES 2015 might be the Year of the Car; check out the keynote speakers. Sure, you've got your usual tech heavyweights including Samsung CEO Boo-Keun Yoon and Intel CEO Brian Krzanich, but they are joined this year by Mercedes-Benz chairman Dieter Zetsche and Ford Motor CEO Mark Fields.
Regardless of which technologies end up leaving Las Vegas with "Year of" status, there will be a common denominator: connectivity. From your phones, tablets, and PCs, to the lock on your home's door, to your car's dashboard, to your fashion accessories, these items will be connected to one another and to the Internet, at least if vendors have anything to do with it.
CES 2015 won't be the first time you'll hear terms like "connected car," "wearable," or any of the many alternatives and variations, but the volume and frequency might hit record highs. With any luck we'll see more evidence this year of how these technologies will move from toys of the rich and famous to mainstream realities with practical, everyday uses.
Read on for eight trends and technologies -- all with the common thread of connectivity -- that are likely to dominate the CES 2015 conversation.
The automotive industry's CES presence has moved from keynote-speech mentions to cars on the showroom floor. This year will include an unprecedented 10 automakers as CES continues to serve as a major pit stop for car manufacturers looking to demo new tech. Expect all manner of connected car tech on display, not the least of which includes BMW showing off a smartwatch-controlled, laser-guided i3 that can park itself, sans driver.
Ask people who are building or upgrading a home about their "smart" options these days, and they might tell you it's driving them to consider a log cabin instead. From thermostats, to appliances, to security, to the deadbolt on the front door, increasing numbers of mundane parts of our homes are available connected and online, often controllable from a smartphone or other device. None of these examples is even new, but expect the 60-plus "smart home" exhibitors at this year's CES to add to the list.
All the excitement surrounding the Internet of Things (IoT) sometimes fails to adequately account for how we'll secure it all or navigate thorny matters of personal privacy, a potential minefield as more homes, vehicles, and devices come online. And security -- especially outside of the IT world -- isn't the sexiest sales pitch in consumer technology, despite a never-ending list of high-profile hacks, breaches, and privacy boo-boos. That's why security has rarely been a marquee star at CES, although Accenture exec John Curran thinks that could change this year, noting there are nearly 70 security and privacy-related vendors expected to attend CES 2015.
Cars and TVs might take up more space at CES than ever before, but at its heart the show is still a gearhead's paradise. There will be no shortage of new and updated devices and gadgets, evident in Samsung's recent lineup refresh. Kodak is also joining the smartphone game with a new Android device to be unveiled in Vegas.
It's going to be a big year for wearable tech. Although fitness trackers and other health-related devices have led an early charge, the category is nowhere near its potential -- which analysts typically characterize as enormous in financial terms. We've seen the relatively recent release of developer tools like Android Wear and Apple's WatchKit and HealthKit. And Apple will release iWatch in 2015, a possible catalyst for the smartwatch segment. While the iWatch won't be on display at CES, per se, it will loom in the background as other vendors showcase their own newest wearable tech -- as well as some of the new apps and services that will spring up around wearables this year and beyond. Like smartphones and tablets before them, wearables are almost certain to become a CES perennial.
Everything old is new again -- again: Virtual reality has been around, at least as a concept, for a long time. But it's enjoyed a media and technology rebirth lately. Consider the $2 billion that Facebook paid last year for Oculus VR, for example. Google, Samsung, Sony, and others all have an interest as well, so there should be increasing intersections with mobile devices and other wearable tech. We should see and hear plenty about it at CES 2015.
Robots haven't enjoyed the same preshow buzz as some other technologies, but, as InformationWeek's Thomas Claburn noted, a 25% bump in robotics exhibits at CES 2015 points to the possibility the technology could be one of the best stories this year. He also identified a key challenge: There's still a big gap between the robots we imagine, thanks to media and pop culture, and the real thing. That disconnect might make robotics a slow-simmering trend that won't boil over until a future CES.
We'll have to wait until after the 2015 CES show wraps, and the weary, gadget-addled masses engage one last time in the blood sport known as hailing a cab in Las Vegas, before knowing what was hype and what was real. (3D TV anyone?) Will everybody really wear wearables in 2015? Will virtual reality go mainstream? And does anyone really need an 8K TV? We might not get the answers at CES. It will be fun, as always, to see the promises and possibilities.
We'll have to wait until after the 2015 CES show wraps, and the weary, gadget-addled masses engage one last time in the blood sport known as hailing a cab in Las Vegas, before knowing what was hype and what was real. (3D TV anyone?) Will everybody really wear wearables in 2015? Will virtual reality go mainstream? And does anyone really need an 8K TV? We might not get the answers at CES. It will be fun, as always, to see the promises and possibilities.
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