CES 2023 in Review: Only the Biggest Tech Innovations

One of the biggest global tech events, CES, took place on January 5-8, 2023 in Las Vegas, with over 3,200 exhibitors and more than 115,000 attendees.
Amazon, Google, Microsoft, you name it – everyone was there. If you missed it, don’t worry, we got you covered. Here’s all you need to know about CES 2023 trends.

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ces 2023

Illustration: Milica Mijajlovic

All you need to know about CES 2023   

Owned and produced by the Consumer Technology Association (CTA), Consumer Electronic Show (CES) is one of the biggest and most influential tech events worldwide. Its long tradition dates back to 1967, in New York City, when it had around 250 exhibitors and 17,500 attendees – pretty astonishing for that time. 

To this day, the numbers have multiplied significantly. 

In fact, here’s CES 2023 in numbers: 

consumer electronic show
  • Nearly 2.2 million net square feet of exhibits (70% larger than CES 2022) 
  • 3200+ exhibitors, including 1000 new exhibitors 
  • Over 115,000 attendees (pre-audit figures) 
  • Over 40,000 international attendees from more than 140 countries (pre-audit figures) 
  • 4800 global media from 69 countries (pre-audit figures) 
  • 60% of Fortune 500 companies represented 

The event included both traditional and non-traditional tech industries, while the innovations were presented in more than 35 categories, including Robotics, FinTech, Education, AI, Gaming, IoT, and many more. 

Apart from the showcase, CES also included a conference program, giving the stage to industry leaders and pioneer thinkers, and confronting their opinions. This year, the most interesting panels were: 

  1. “Bold Solutions for a Changing World”, featured top female investors and company founders, such as Jenny Abramson (Founder @ Rethink Impact) and Lindsay Jurist-Rosner (CEO @ Wellthy). 
  2. “Building Connection & Community in a Non-Stop World”, underlined how today it’s not enough to capture a consumer’s attention; you have to capture their imagination, which requires equal measures of creativity, personalization and humanity. Featured speakers included professionals from Netflix, Riot Games, Delta Air Lines, and more. 

What was different in 2023 compared to previous years is that CES had a central theme, for the first time ever. Namely, all product launches, company announcements and innovations were focused on “Human Security for All”, doing their share of solving global challenges. 

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The products unveiled at CES 2023 tackle global issues such as access to clean water, food security, smart cities infrastructure, sustainable energy solutions, personal security and more. CES also featured the latest in accessibility tech, with innovation helping those in the disability community.

On that note, everything we’ve seen at CES 2023 can be divided into these groups: 

Category Product Launches Exhibitors 
Automotive and Mobility Self-driving tech, electric vehicles and personal mobility devices for land, air and sea Candela Marine Technology, GM, Magna, Mercedes-Benz, MobilEye, Waymo, RYSE and Volvo Penta 
Digital Health Digital therapeutics, mental wellness, women’s health tech and telemedicine Abbott, LOTTE Healthcare, MedWand Solutions and Omron Healthcare 
Sustainability Using tech innovation for creating sustainable agricultural systems, smart cities power, access to clean water 3M, Bridger Aerospace, Caterpillar and NexGen Power Systems, Panasonic and Sony 
Web3 and Metaverse A dedicated Metaverse area on the show floor and a Web3 Studio, produced by CoinDesk Magic Leap, Microsoft, OVR Technology and SK 
Startups Renewable paper solutions to reduce CO2 emissions; AI technology used to reduce food waste; solar technology to capture electrical and thermal energy; personal safety apps, etc. 1,000 startups from Japan, Korea, France, Italy, Taiwan, Turkey, Hong Kong, Netherlands, US, Ukraine, and other 

Finally, the following year’s edition dates have already been announced: 9-12 January, 2024, again in Las Vegas, NV. 

Unveiling highly anticipated products 

No matter how breathtaking the whole event was, some products grabbed more attention than others. On one side, there was l’innovation pour l’innovation, or products with an undeniable wow effect, but not very applicable in practice. On the other side, we’ve seen innovation that could really make life easier or, to say the least, more enjoyable. 

From literal flying cars to the biggest TVs you’ve ever seen to a smartphone app that can analyze your urine. 

This is our list of favorites from CES 2023 in various categories: 

  1. ION 3 – OVR introduced the first wearable scent technology for VR, AR, mobile, and desktop to enhance immersion and create more engaging, entertaining, and effective digital experiences. It comes with scent-creation tools for creators. 
ion 3
  1. Miko 3 – Personal AI robot toy for kids ages 5 to 9. 
miko 3
  1. Landroid VISION – Utilizing its HDR camera and VISION AI, Landroid VISION adjusts for various mowing conditions while identifying grass to mow, areas to avoid, and limits not to cross. 
  1. CAPNOS Zero – Flavored pressurized air inhaler invented to satisfy behavioral cravings to quit vaping or smoking. It provides a throat-hit sensation with zero smoke, nicotine, or charge. 
capnos zero
  1. WOWCube – 3D edutainment gaming console in the shape of a cube. The entire surface is a screen that allows the user to control virtual reality by physically twisting the sides. WowCube helps to develop cognitive & motor-to-brain skills and reduces stress and eye strain. 
wow cube
  1. Bodyfriend – Luxury massage chair designed by leading medical experts (doctors, massage therapists, brain scientists). 
bodyfriend

CES suggesting new industry trends   

I’m sure you got all hyped up and started wondering when will all these innovations hit the market, and at what price. Sorry to break it to you, but some of them – the most fascinating ones – will never see the light of day. That is, they were only made to show off at CES. 

On the bright side, these innovations could direct us toward new industry trends and help us predict how the tech world will evolve in the upcoming year(s). 

According to what we’ve seen at CES 2023, these are our predictions for the tech industry: 

  • TVs are getting bigger, thinner, and wireless – LG presented a ridiculously big screen of 97 inches, and completely wireless. The company will release an 88-inch and 77-inch versions, with the most expensive one being $25,000 and the cheapest one $2,900. 
  • VR headsets are getting smaller, lighter, and can match your diopters – VR technology has an impressive effect for sure, but its chunkiness makes it not so wearable. This disadvantage could be long gone, considering that the new HTC Vive XR Elite is reduced to the size of normal glasses, weighing half as much as the Quest Pro VR headset. The best part is, you won’t need to wear your glasses because this model can change the lens prescription in real-time. 
  • Using car windshield as a display – CES 2023 presented an awful lot of concept cars, offering various features. One of them was the BMW i Vision Dee’s idea to use the windshield as a display, giving the driver five levels of immersion. With each level, information gets more detailed, regarding your navigation, speedometer, and more. However, level 5 isn’t meant for driving mode since it’s completely VR, but it should only be used when the car is driving you. 
  • Bike desks that power your device – Treadmill desks were a huge hit in 2022, but shown to be more of an impressive idea than a practical one. However, bike desks are much more convenient. Acer was the first to use this idea and produce The eKinekt BD 3 bike desk, which creates kinetic energy by the user’s pedaling that can be used to charge your devices. 
  • Boats as electric vehicles – It seems that everyone’s producing electric vehicles nowadays, but autonomous boats are not so common yet. The first of its kind is Candela’s C8 EV hydrofoil boat, starting from $390,000. 
  • Smartwatches introducing fatigue and alertness levels – These gadgets are mostly used to track heart rate, sleep quality and blood-oxygen levels. But the Citizen CZ Smartwatch which debuted at CES 2023 introduced a new feature, aimed to measure the way sleep and stress impact overall wellbeing. 
  • Laptops are getting thinner, including gaming ones – The most resistant laptops around are made for gamers, which meant they had to be bulky – but not anymore. The Alienware x14 is the thinnest 14-inch gaming laptop, selling for $1,799, whereas the bigger x16 version will sell for $3,099. 

One bonus prediction is targeted at all design enthusiasts – laptop touchpads may become invisible in the future. How neat is that? 

A journalist by day and a podcaster by night. She's not writing to impress but to be understood.

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