CES 2022: the highlights of the technology landscape

Despite the pandemic, last week the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) was held in Las Vegas, United States, the world's largest technology fair of its kind. This activity, which was carried out in a hybrid format (face-to-face and virtual), took place in several hotels and convention centers in Las Vegas, and was attended by more than 40,000 attendees and more than 2,000 exhibitors, with some 250 conferences in which showed the technological products that intend to "transform" our lives in the coming months.

“We are thrilled to return to Las Vegas, home of CES for more than 40 years, and look forward to seeing many new and returning faces,” said Gary Shapiro, president and CEO of the Consumer Electronics Association of America (CTA), as published by Forbes Mexico.

In turn, Shapiro mentioned that "hundreds of executives have told us how much they need CES to meet new and existing customers, find partners, reach the media and discover innovation."

This year the main protagonists at CES were food and space technology, the metaverse (a virtual world, to which people connect using a series of devices that will invite them to think that they are really inside it, interacting with all its elements), autonomous vehicles, gaming gadgets, as well as smart and residential equipment.

entertainment and home

Knowing that in the last two years the pandemic made people look for more entertainment at home, the South Korean company, Samsung presented during CES the personal and mobile smart screen 'The Freestyle', similar to a traditional projector, but smaller and with a larger image capacity that automatically levels, focuses and scales to the correct size, providing a proportional image every time.

Larissa Espinal, public relations manager for Samsung Panama, mentioned to La Estrella de Panamá that this device is a hybrid between a portable projector and a smart TV, making it an integral solution for home entertainment and even for a business meeting. worked.

“The most important thing is that it is a device that can be taken anywhere, since it weighs less than two pounds. In addition, it can be projected on the wall, floor or any other place, with large and quality images to provide a luxury experience like that of a Smart TV, she commented Espinal.

The executive also explained that 'The Freestyle' costs $800 and is for sale in the country.

“CES 2022 has been a very rewarding experience, despite the fact that it was held in the midst of a complicated world situation, there were many expectations for it to be one of the official events of this great activity. Samsung even had a presentation of one of our cell phones that is now our flagship device: the S21FE 5G, something that had not been done at a CES for several years,” added Espinal.

She also explained that, like every year, they presented their newest line of Odyssey Neo G8 television screens and that for "us it is very gratifying because they have had an incredible reception". In addition, she stated that the new line of home accessories goes beyond the smart refrigerator as they also have new vacuum cleaners and washing machines designed in a very striking way and with high technology.

For its part, LG Electronics presented the company's various innovations for the new year, detailing its continued efforts to create a more inclusive and sustainable user experience in the future. One such innovation was the 'LG StanbyME', a private mobile wireless display that is placed anywhere in the home to provide the best traditional TV viewing experience. Also making its global debut, 'LG PuriCare AeroTower', an all-in-one home air care solution designed to provide the benefits of an air purifier, fan and heater, while the indoor gardening appliance' LG Tiiun' offers a simple, clean and reliable way to grow healthy vegetables all year round.

Another innovation was the 'InstaView' refrigerator and its transparent door, which you knock twice to see inside; in addition to LG's 'OLED' televisions; all these accessories seek to find solutions that are better for people and the planet.

After 2022, LG expects to introduce more than 600,000 tons of recycled plastic into its manufacturing processes and increase e-waste recovery to 8 million tons by 2030, LG CEO William Cho said in a press release.

The company also presented the new washer and dryer 'LG WashTower'. “The new laundry solutions feature enhanced 'LG Direct Drive' artificial intelligence technology, proven steam technology, and a variety of features that make washing and drying clothes more convenient than ever,” said Cho.

Meanwhile, US consumer electronics manufacturer Belkin was also honored at the CES 2022 Innovation Awards for its 'Soundform' immersive noise canceling headphones as well as its face-tracking magnetic phone mount. personal audio files that are also supported by Find My.

According to a statement, these headphones offer an enhanced listening experience with custom diaphragms, eight hours of uninterrupted playback time, ambient noise cancellation, and Qi wireless charging with an additional 20 hours of charge. They also have the support of Find My.

Belkin also introduced 'True Wireless Earbuds', which are designed with search capabilities through 'Apple Find My', an advanced search crowdsourcing network with robust privacy built in, which will allow customers to use the app ' Find My' to find them in case of loss or theft.

Belkin Signature Sound with custom drivers delivers powerful bass and exceptional clarity.

Paired with Qualcomm Bluetooth, Belkin's Clear Call Technology delivers the best possible call quality without the distraction of background noise.

Every day new devices are presented that will be launched throughout this 2022, so there are still some presentations of various technological brands in some countries, including Panama.

5G connectivity and artificial intelligence

Steve Koenig, vice president of research at the CTA, according to a note in the newspaper El País, pointed out that 5G technology will provide the connected fabric to foster innovation in this decade and 2022 will be a really important year.

“This technology promises higher speed and lower latency – the response time it takes for a device to execute a command from when the signal is sent to it,” he said.

In theory, the launch of different protocols will allow a significant advance in industrial applications of the Internet of Things (IoT). It is, according to Koenig, "the first wireless generation that will be led by the company and not by the consumer as it is today." The expert assured that there will be "a quantum leap" in the digital transformation, which will be accompanied by advances in the cloud and more data centers, detailed the Spanish newspaper.

Regarding artificial intelligence (AI), Koening stressed that it is getting better and better and has more use cases. "This technology can be useful, for example, in the agricultural industry, with autonomous electric tractors or machines to reduce the use of herbicides," the executive was quoted as saying by El País.

Artificial intelligence is also expected to improve in fields such as natural language processing, "helping robots to be more conversational and understand us better," he said.