CES 2024 tips and tricks: A guide to tech’s biggest trade show

CES 2024 is coming again to Las Vegas the week of January 7, and it needs to be one of many largest tech occasions on the earth once more.

This yr, the organizers of CES 2024 count on greater than 130,000 attendees by way of January 12, with tons of of audio system, 3,500-plus exhibitors and and a couple of.4 million sq. ft of exhibit house to. Amongst this yr’s options: The Goodyear blimp will present up.

I attended the Consumer Electronics Show again within the Nineteen Nineties when then-Microsoft CEO Bill Gates gave the opening keynote speeches yearly. Las Vegas has modified quite a bit since then, however a few of my recommendation concerning the present goes again to these good previous days.

“We’re very excited. All the symptoms and indicators are pointing in a superb course. We focus CES on innovation, stated Gary Shapiro, CEO of the Shopper Know-how Affiliation (CTA), in an interview with GamesBeat. “The items are coming collectively greater than they ever have. Now we have extra improvements entries by about 40%. It looks like extra pleasure. Extremely robust pre-registration. Lots of numbers are up from final yr. We really feel nice.”

My No. 1 tip is to at all times put on comfy footwear. I discovered that lesson after some blisters throughout a CES years in the past. As for a masks, I don’t know. I’ll put on one myself. However issues have modified because the present was canceled outright in January 2021 and severely restricted in January 2022, with solely 45,000 displaying up. A yr in the past, CES 2023 turned out to be a superb present with 118,000 attendees.

A lot of my recommendation just isn’t rocket science. However I renew this story yearly since there are new individuals attending the present and plenty of going again for the primary time. I take no duty for dangerous recommendation. I even have new suggestions, like pointing you to the CES 2024 app on iOS and Android.

Attendance just isn’t fairly the place it as soon as was. Again in 2019, the present drew 175,212 in 2019 and 171,268 in 2020. CES 2020 had about 4,500 exhibitors throughout 2.9 million sq. ft of house. Fortuitously, the celebrities aligned so the occasion is within the second week of January, moderately than the primary week. That ought to enhance attendance, stated Shapiro on the CTA, which runs the present.

Do you have to go?

It’s an enormous present, and, in contrast to the gaming trade’s canceled E3 present, it’s nonetheless related. Final yr, there have been 4,800 media attending CES 2023, up from 3,100 media at CES 2022. About 1,600 of the media have been from abroad. There have been additionally 14,013 presidents and founders, or 11.8% of all attendees, in response to an audited report.

Of the 41,869 worldwide guests from 151 international locations final yr, 5,232 have been from Canada, 11,314 from Europe, 23,521 from the Center East/Asia, 1,104 from South America, 508 from Oceania and 190 from Africa. There have been 1,472 enterprise capitalists.

The highest areas of curiosity have been AI, IoT/sensors, car expertise, AR/VR/XR, smarthomes and home equipment, 5G, robotics, startups, power/energy, health and wearables and advertising and marketing and promoting.

I nonetheless view CES as a bellwether for the tech financial system, as no different occasion spans the whole tech world prefer it does. Firms need to create a buzz at CES, which is designed to sign merchandise coming within the subsequent yr. I discover the present a helpful method to keep up to the mark on the most recent expertise. In the event you discover the well being threat acceptable, then it could possibly nonetheless be a beneficial method to keep in contact.

Apple doesn’t attend the present, however nearly each different tech large does. It’s the place the tech trade will probably be subsequent week, although it’s not a lot of a recreation occasion nowadays. Sony, nonetheless, will probably be displaying up and you may wager they’ll speak extra about their Afeela electrical automobile on the present.

This yr, CES advises you to get a flu shot, get vaccinated in opposition to COVID or replace your booster, and take a look at for COVID (and different infectious illnesses particular to your area) and isolate if contaminated.

The CTA stated that since 2020, the venues have been geared up with improved air flow and contemporary air movement.

The Las Vegas Conference Middle, Mandalay Bay and the Venetian Expo have been awarded World Biorisk Advisory Council (GBAC) STAR certification by ISSA. This accreditation means the properties are observing cleansing protocols and work practices that decrease dangers related to the unfold of infectious illnesses. 

This yr, CES will work to reduce floor contact factors and enhance contemporary airflow at high-traffic areas.  Hand sanitization stations will probably be positioned all through CES venues.  Masks can be found onsite. In the event you select to not put on one, please respect these round you who do, the CTA says.

As of Might 12, 2023, noncitizen nonimmigrant guests to the U.S. arriving by air, or arriving by land or sea, now not want to point out proof of full vaccination in opposition to COVID-19.  Final yr, such proof of vaccination was required for worldwide vacationers, and CES offered fast antigen checks as effectively.

The CTA stated it would proceed to watch well being developments throughout the globe and can observe well being security tips from the WHO and CDC, in addition to relevant federal, state and native legal guidelines.

Getting your badge and entering into the present

You must work within the tech trade to get into the present. It’s a spot for professionals, not vacationers, and registration is designed to display the vacationers out.

With 130,000 individuals on the present, you don’t need to get caught in lengthy traces. You may keep away from the primary huge line by choosing up your badge by displaying your ID and present registration early — as early as January 5. You may get your CES badge on the baggage declare areas of the airport and a lot of the venues.

The CTA stated its security measures imply attendees will face a bag search on the entrance to all present venues. All baggage are topic to look and steel wand screening. As well as, attendees could carry two small baggage, every smaller than 12”x17”x6” into present venues.

Attendees are inspired to contemplate their bag kind and use clear baggage (mesh, plastic, vinyl, and many others.) to expedite entry. Rolling baggage of any dimension are prohibited together with baggage, carry-ons, laptop computer and pc baggage, and rolling baggage carts.

Media with an official media badge are permitted to hand-carry gear onto present premises in extra of our two-bag restriction. This gear is topic to look and tagged as authorized for entry.

In the event you do have heavier baggage, you may verify them at locations just like the Las Vegas Conference Middle Central Plaza and West Corridor exterior areas.

Peak occasions for CES crowds

The press occasions begin late on January 7 and proceed all day on January 8.

Siemens CEO Roland Busch will kick off the present at 6:30 p.m. Pacific time on the Venetian Palazzo Ballroom on Monday January 8. The massive keynotes are normally attended by crowds of 1000’s.

Nicolas Hieronimus, CEO of L’Oréal, will give a keynote on January 9 at 8:30 a.m. Pacific the following morning, adopted by the CTA’s opening phrases from Shapiro. Such a non-traditional, non-tech firm giving a keynote suits with a pattern at CES, the place expertise is fading into the woodwork.

Different huge audio system embody Evan Spiegel, CEO of Snap; Doug McMillon, CEO of Walmart; Pat Gelsinger, CEO of Intel; Gail Boudreaux, CEO of Elevance Well being; Kisun Chang, CEO of HD Hyundai; Cristiano Amon, CEO of Qualcomm; Adena Friedman, CEO of Nasdaq; and Corie Barry, CEO of Greatest Purchase.

Press days

As I discussed, the press day will begin on Sunday January 7 with a chat (solely press allowed) by Steve Koenig, vp of analysis on the CTA, on tech developments to look at. That can result in the press-only occasion, CES Unveiled, at 5 p.m. on the Mandalay Bay. That’s the place we get a primary take a look at the award winners for the CTA innovation contest.

Then comes (for the media) a baptism of fireside beginning on Monday at 8 a.m. Pacific with LG’s press convention. It peaks with Samsung’s press occasion at 2 p.m. and continues on to Sony’s 5 p.m. press occasion on the Las Vegas Conference Middle. These press occasions occur in fast hearth and it’s an actual problem to maintain up with the information. Fortuitously, lots of the occasions are livestreamed for non-press to look at.

That is the day after I want the laptop computer with the longest battery life. (Sure, that’s nonetheless a difficulty). In the event you’re into leisure and tech points, chances are you’ll need to get to the Aria. Over on the Aria, there’s a a panel on the AI menace with SAG-AFTRA’s Danielle Van Lier at 2 p.m., the identical time as Samsung’s press occasion.

There may be additionally an enormous press-only celebration at Pepcom’s Digital Expertise on the Mirage (RSVPs required) on January 8, and the rival Showstoppers press-only celebration takes place on the Bellagio on the night of January 9.

This yr, Tuesday is when the actual crowds present up, and also you’ll discover it in eating places, transportation traces, conference halls, on line casino flooring, and on the airport. Let’s hope the climate will probably be good, in distinction to the torrential rains we noticed in 2018, when blackouts took out the primary present ground.

In the event you’re leaving the conference focus on 6 p.m., you may catch a bus to a lot of the main motels. That’s an effective way to get off your ft and the traces can transfer quick. However that’s additionally the busiest site visitors time. You’ll should stroll (maybe a great distance) to designated areas for Uber/Lyft ride-sharing pickup zones. And there’s the monorail to contemplate as effectively for some motels.

Getting misplaced within the maze

The two.4 million-plus sq. ft of exhibition house will open at 10 a.m. on Tuesday January 9.

The venues embody Tech East, which incorporates the Las Vegas Conference and World Commerce Middle (LVCC), Westgate Las Vegas, and Renaissance Las Vegas.

Tech West contains the Venetian Expo, The Venetian, The Palazzo, Wynn Las Vegas and Encore at Wynn.

Tech South contains the Aria, Cosmopolitan, Park MGM and Vdara.

In the event you’re actually formidable, you could possibly be strolling 30,000 steps a day, about three to 6 occasions as a lot as typical. For me, exhaustion units in round 20,000 steps. In the event you can reduce some pointless strolling out of your day, that may be clever to do.

You can begin by attending to know the areas. The LVCC Central Corridor is the place quite a lot of the massive firms are, akin to LG, Panasonic, Canon, Samsung, Sony, Razer, Nikon, TCL, Hisense, Sharp, RCA, and one in all my favorites, Stern Pinball.

The North Corridor has quite a lot of auto tech, well being demos and authorities businesses. They embody the likes of Withings, Abbot Labs, Amazon, NSA, TSA, Honda, EssilorLuxottiaca, which has the Ray-Ban Meta good glasses.

The West Corridor contains quite a lot of car expertise. You’ll see flying automobiles, levitating boats, all-electric automobiles, autonomous automobiles and John Deere tractors. The corridor contains the likes of Hyundai, Brunswick, Mobileye, Qualcomm, Garmin and Bridgestone.

Over on the Venetian, there are greater than 1,000 startups that will probably be at Eureka Park. Tech West is a bunch of pavilions on the Venetian. There are tons of startups on Stage 1. You’ll find regional cubicles akin to these from France, India, Israel, Italy, the Netherlands and extra. On Stage 2, you could find AARP AgeTech, Kohler, Hyundai, Narwal, and extra.

One of the crucial regularly visited halls at LVCC was the South Corridor, however this yr the multi-level corridor is closed.

In Tech South, at Aria Lodge, you could find C House, which is the place there are quite a lot of talks about Hollywood and expertise. The Cosmopolitan has Cosmo exhibitors that embody Nvidia, Disney, Paramount, NBC Common, Netflix, Reddit, Roku, Samsung, T-Cell, and Snap.

What’s trending and what’s not

Whereas blockchain and the metaverse have been huge themes the yr earlier than, they’re not as trendy as we speak. This time, AI goes to command quite a lot of consideration.

“[AI is] the highest of the checklist when it comes to dialogue,” stated Shapiro in our interview. “How firms will exhibit that, we’ll uncover after we get there. However it’s undoubtedly enjoying a serious function. It’s a key ingredient in nearly the whole lot from well being care to mobility. That’s necessary.”

Shapiro additionally highlighted the presence of the United Nations, which was additionally on the present a yr in the past with a deal with seven human securities or human rights. That features issues like the proper to well being care, to meals, to wash air and water, to group. The UN additionally added the proper to expertise.

Requested about AI’s impression on society, Shapiro stated, ” Slightly over a yr in the past OpenAI was launched to the general public. However since then, clearly, Google and others have come ahead. Microsoft simply introduced that they’re going to be working with AFL-CIO, I imagine, on AI and its impact on jobs. There are quite a lot of points to unravel. One is the impression on jobs. One other is how it may be used ethically and safely. One other is how we may benefit as a society. We’ll discuss quite a lot of these points at CES.”

Past AI, transportation is huge and it accounts for greater than 500,000 sq. ft of the present, up from 300,000 in 2020. There’s a 61% enhance in car tech reveals since 2020, with most of it in a packed West Corridor. There are additionally electrical scooters and drones that carry individuals.

Innovation is of course an enormous theme, with a 40% enhance in entrants for the innovation contest. One other huge themes is sustainability. And there are extra applied sciences geared toward older individuals and folks with disabilities. The pinnacle of AARP will converse. And accessibility of expertise to all individuals will probably be widespread as a subject, Shapiro stated.

Regulators will probably be current and Shapiro stated he’s involved that the U.S. has grow to be too aggressive in blocking mergers for antitrust causes. He worries that the Biden administration is anti-innovation. Among the many coverage discussions, Shapiro expects the rise of geopolitics will probably be a subject of dialog, as wars and different obstacles are halting commerce in additional components of the world. Shapiro stays involved about world conflicts and the potential to disrupt the world financial system.

Will cryptocurrency and blockchain be on the present ground? Or the metaverse. These ideas will little question be current, however they will not be as scorching as they have been in years previous, given rising skepticism concerning the classes.

I requested the CTA if the metaverse and blockchain have been overhyped, and in the event that they’re nonetheless scorching developments on the present ground.

Brian Comiskey, CTA director of thematic applications (and one of many two CTA employees who will probably be presenting Tech Traits on the upcoming CES 2024) weighed in on the reply.

“A great way to consider tech development for later stage hype-cycle applied sciences like metaverse and blockchain is as a balancing act between shoppers and enterprise. These teams typically have totally different units of expectations round expertise,” Comiskey stated in an emai to GamesBeat. “Whereas metaverse and blockchain could have fallen out of reports headlines after large preliminary shopper hype, we’re seeing innovation in each from enterprises, and also you’ll see these improvements driving a variety of sectors ahead at CES 2024.”

Comiskey added, “For blockchain, nice examples at CES 2024 embody a safe voting system from Zkrypto, Lordystem’s Journey.PASS cellular passport and tech from Galeon designed to assist hospitals and caregivers securely share medical knowledge. For metaverse, count on improvements like Dassault Systemes’ Dwelling Coronary heart, which opens new doorways to R&D centered on the human coronary heart, improvements from Siemens my within the industrial metaverse and a variety of auxiliary {hardware} designed to help a extra immersive metaverse expertise. ”

Your CES survival suggestions

A lot of the following pointers are recycled from previous years, however I’ve gone by way of and renewed them with my newest information. As I discussed, it’s exhausting to get round at CES. You must maintain appointments to a half hour, however be aware that it takes time to stroll between venues. You might encounter delays as a result of different persons are not on time. And chances are you’ll even have hassle discovering individuals at giant cubicles. So it’s good to pad your schedule to account for doable delays and isolate the actually necessary appointments.

The CES badges now have pictures on them, streamlining identification and making it tougher for individuals to share badges. Since they’re paper badges (plastic eradicated within the identify of sustainability), it’s a must to watch out to not lose them.

In your crowded flights, attempt to journey gentle. For Southwest, I at all times verify in forward of boarding, setting an alarm for precisely 24 hours earlier than my flight. Verify your baggage if you happen to don’t should get anyplace shortly. Be ready for lengthy cab traces and rental automobile check-in traces. (Providers like Uber and Lyft have been very helpful at CES, significantly as parking just isn’t plentiful sufficient and the massive casinos/motels now cost a charge per go to at their self-parking garages). I don’t lease a automobile anymore.

I like to recommend sleep. If the events are what you care about, there are sometimes celebration lists that flow into. Here’s one that I’ve seen. These events typically require distinctive invites and RSVPs.  Amazon is internet hosting its After Darkish CES ’24 celebration with Ludacris on January 9 at 8 p.m. Pacific. At 10 p.m., Steve Aoki will carry out at Caesars Omnia Nightclub, which can probably have an insane wall of wall-to-wall individuals. There are at all times plentiful superstar sightings at CES.

Bear in mind to swap telephone numbers with the individuals you might be assembly so you may coordinate, significantly as somebody is normally held up by the crowds. Incorporate driving and consuming occasions into your calendar, or use a calendar that does that robotically for you.

Smartphone reception is best than it was once, nevertheless it’s nonetheless in all probability vulnerable to interference. Textual content message is normally an honest method to talk with coworkers. We at all times hunt down the Wi-Fi/5G havens within the press rooms or wherever we are able to discover them.

However carry a MiFi or activate a private hotspot if you happen to can; even resort web connections are more likely to be harassed to the restrict through the present. In the event you’re liable for importing video, thanks for clogging the community for the remainder of us. By CES 2023, I hopefully received’t should complain about this, as 5G networks ought to theoretically allow sooner connection speeds on mobile knowledge.

In the event you acquire quite a lot of swag, you may ship it house by way of transport companies as a substitute of carting it on the airplane. You must print a map of the exhibit ground or rip one out of the present information. You also needs to print your tickets, schedule, and RSVPs for occasions — or make them simply accessible in your telephone. (If somebody steals your main bag, you need to have backups in a second bag).

You want battery backup to your laptop computer or smartphone, hand sanitizer, a superb digicam, ibuprofen, and nutritional vitamins. I’ve received a Dynabook laptop computer this yr, and presumably a Macbook if I resolve to lug it alongside as a backup. Carry a backup for the whole lot, even when it’s a must to depart it in your resort room this yr.

I used to advocate taking enterprise playing cards. However these can carry germs and who desires that now? Now you may swap your LinkedIn credentials with individuals by way of your smartphone. In the event you’re exhibiting, put on your organization model in your shirt. Strive very exhausting to keep away from dropping your telephone. I put on a jacket with zippered pockets so I can put my telephone and pockets inside.

Make a while to stroll the present ground. If the cab/rideshare traces have you ever annoyed, don’t take into consideration strolling to a close-by resort. Likelihood is the cab line there may be additionally dangerous, and the motels are so large {that a} mirage impact makes them look deceptively shut. When you’ve got a rental automobile, attempt to not get caught in a site visitors jam in a 10-story parking storage. And at all times mark down the place you parked your automobile in your telephone map or paper.

Uber and Lyft automobiles are actually the best way to journey now. However in previous years I discovered that the pickup on the LVCC (close to the Renaissance Lodge) was a site visitors logjam. So it may be powerful it doesn’t matter what you do.

Schedule your appointments in areas which might be close to one another, and verify exhibitor areas on a CES map. Arrive early for keynotes as a result of the traces are lengthy. I don’t typically stray past LVCC/WestHall/TechWest/Venetian as a result of time it takes to get different locations.

Drink numerous water. Get some sleep — you actually don’t should celebration each night time. Don’t miss your flight on the best way out. Pack up a bunch of snacks early on to keep away from getting caught in breakfast or lunch traces. Take a smartphone with a superb digicam as a result of what occurs in Vegas … will get shared on the web.