The question I get asked most since returning from CES has been: “what was the coolest gadget/demo you saw?” After taking a few days to digest the chaos, I have to admit that I didn’t have a single gadget that had a long-lasting impression, but rather a broader, more macro takeaway of the direction consumer electronics are going.

AI may be the best interface for IOT

Perhaps the biggest takeaway from the event was how IOT is becoming heavily reliant on AI as one of the main interfaces. Although adoption is increasing, IOT devices aren’t the norm in most people’s homes. But at CES 2019, I started to see how AI could facilitate mass adoption of smart devices in homes over the next few years.

LG InstaView Door-in-Door

Currently, the status quo for interacting with IOT devices is through their own standalone app for Android or iOS. If we were to be interacting with a dozen or so smart IOT devices per day, I honestly don’t see myself or other users toggling between a dozen apps every day. At CES, I saw smart fridges, bathtubs, toothbrushes, smart kettlebells and even toilets that were Alexa enabled. Although I personally don’t see myself talking to my toilet anytime soon, I do think that asking Alexa to see if I have any ketchup in the fridge, to fill up the bathtub, and to tell me that I should spend 20 more seconds brushing the bottom right set of teeth are all pretty useful things that I could see myself interacting with these smart devices over the next 10 years. I also can’t wait to just airdrop a report of my teeth brushing tendencies from Healthkit to my dentist at my yearly teeth cleaning.

Me (on the right) trying the KettlebellConnect by JaxJox

That said, I can’t see myself getting a $7,000 smart toilet or a $350 smart kettlebell anytime soon. Although I do think that having AI as the main way to interface with IOT devices will facilitate more adoption of IOT devices, other factors such as price will definitely impact the rate at which these devices will be adopted.

Display technologies that will augment XR

LG Signature OLED TV R

When the Oculus Rift and HTC Vive were first released, the displays were standard, flat OLED screens.

One of the products that took the limelight at CES was LG’s OLED TV that rolls in and out of a box. They also had a massive curved wall display that showed off its curved OLED technology. Samsung’s Micro LED Wall demo showcased how MLED could be superior to OLED in many ways. Although its first applications will surely be in Televisions, I couldn’t help but wonder how these technologies will augment XR technologies. Will curved OLED enable a more immersive or wider field of view in future generation VR headsets? Will density in MLED continue to increase, perhaps faster than OLED? And if so, could this drive VR HMDs to higher resolutions sooner?

LG Curved OLED TVs stacked into one display

Obviously, I don’t know the answers to any of these questions and it could be that curved OLEDs and MLEDs will never make it into XR HMDs. But I couldn’t help but feel optimistic about how VR tech will continue to benefit from nearby industries such as the TV industry.