With less than a month to go before CES 2015, rumors are starting to swirl about what products will be shown and which will be this year’s standouts. We’ve started sifting through coverage and will be paying particular attention to the following areas when we attend next month:
- Automotive. This is the year the car finally takes over CES. With a record 11 manufacturers present, the convention will feature keynotes from Mercedes chairman Dieter Zetsche and Ford CEO Mark Fields. Everyone’s talking about a new concept car — an autonomous “mobile living room.” Meanwhile, Audi will also announce two “world debuts.” Watch for press events from Chevrolet, Volkswagen, Toyota, and more.
- Smart Home. The automated home will have its own marketplace at the Sands, though the entire city will seemingly be dedicated to Smart Home: expect large presentations from Belkin and Philips, and dozens upon dozens of home automation products — including iDevices’ first-ever Homekit-enabled device.
- Wearables. LG will reportedly release its successor to the G Watch, which could also incorporate 4G. Breaking into the market for the first time, HTC will debut a not-smartwatch wearable, but no details are out yet; it’s potentially something in the line of a fitness band. Lenovo has a watch on the docket, but we are holding our breath for the not-gonna-be-at-CES Apple Watch.
- Smart Garments. Technically a division within “wearables,” but expect the connected clothing market to get interesting, with shirts, jackets, sports bras, and even socks delivering fitness data with embedded sensors.
- 3D Printers. Doubling in size from 2014, the dedicated 3D Printing Marketplace will feature over 30 exhibitors stretching over 14,000 square feet. Watch the space for big moves from players like Makerbot and Autodesk, and expect that the crowd-pleasers will host interactive demonstrations just like last year.
- Phones. There are many rumors about Xiaomi debuting a Mi5 smartphone as it tries to take on the American market. Expect to hear buzz on LG’s flexible G Flex 2. No Samsung Galaxy S6 this year.
- Virtual Reality. With Oculus Rift, Project Morpheus from Sony, and Samsung Gear VR, the augmented reality space is (finally! Really, this time!) set to erupt. Expect to see VR-themed games, apps, and more interesting experiences.
- Drones. Expect to see dozens of flying cameras in the dedicated Unmanned Systems Marketplace. GoPro will even debut their own.
- Big Shiny Televisions. Finally, the big screens: joining the rapidly expanding, horribly expensive pack of 4K TVs may be LG’s 55-inch 8K display. Codenamed “Mabinogion,” it will have a resolution of 7680×4320 pixels.
Keep watching ipglab.com as we continue to cover CES 2015.
