5 exciting things to expect from CES 2017

This year’s Consumer Electronics Show is underway in Las Vegas, bringing together some of the world’s leading innovators and enthusiasts to showcase some of the most amazing gadgets you’ll see all year long. This year marks the 50th anniversary of CES and through it, we’ve seen technology like the first video cassette recorder, CD player, and game consoles unveiled to the public.

Major Companies Appearing This Year

You’ll notice that both Google and Apple are missing from that list. Google holds its own event with Google I/O and Apple has WWDC where it reveals plenty of new tech, so don’t expect any gadgets from those two powerhouses. Microsoft has followed suit as CES 2012 was its last big show.

What to Expect

While CES is a huge show that’s focused on consumer tech, don’t expect to see huge phone announcements at this event. That’s usually reserved for Mobile World Congress in February. That doesn’t mean that there won’t be any mobile news at the show this week, though.

We’re expecting to see some big names launch new phones at the show this year, including the new TCL-produced BlackBerry that has been rumored for so long. Rumors suggest the phone will feature a QWERTY keyboard and will be called the BlackBerry Mercury.

Xiaomi is making its first debut at CES this year with the global launch of a brand new product. Xiaomi has been a big hit in markets like China and India, but now that saturation has taken over in those regions, the Chinese manufacturer is looking to expand its catalog of devices to other locations and this year’s CES is the springboard for that global expansion.

The Huawei CEO will be delivering a keynote on January 5th that unveils the company’s new mobile strategy, which centers around three key points. Artificial intelligence, virtual reality, and connected technologies will be the key talking points, but other companies are expected to hop on the artificial intelligence bandwagon at this year’s show.

ASUS is expected to unveil the second Tango-enabled device at this year’s show, bringing a new look at how smartphones and augmented reality technology can serve us in the future. We don’t know much about this device, other than rumors that suggest it could be powered by a Snapdragon 835.

Android Wear suffered in 2016, as Google pushed back Android Wear 2.0 until this year. We expect manufacturers will take advantage of this new refresh of the Android Wear platform to introduce some interesting wearable tech that will integrate new services like Android Pay and Google Assistant.

Expect these big companies to make small announcements to clear the way for Mobile World Congress next month, which means new updates for old phones and mid-range line-up refreshes to pave way for the next big flagship devices.