Beginning January 11th, up to the 14th, CES will be opening it’s virtual doors to the enthusiasts and the crowds, because, yes, it has been forced to move digital owing to Covid. This, unfortunately, means, that, since it’s beginning back in 1967, for the first time, enthusiasts will not be populating the show floor at the Las Vegas Convention Center.
This unfortunate change does not mean, however, that the show will be any different this time, with major brands like Sony, Samsung, AMD, Nvidia and more present on the show floor, complete with their latest concepts and ideas.
What to Expect from CES 2021
For those unaware, CES is an annual trade show organized by the Consumer Technology Association. Held in January at the Las Vegas Convention Center in Winchester, Nevada, US. The event typically hosts presentations of new products and technologies in the consumer electronics industry. For 53 years, the show has been a sort of a Flagship, with every brand wishing to be a part of the same.
1. LG
Having recently been awarded by CES for the ‘Best of Innovation Award’ well before the show, the LG’s OLED TV technology was recognised as a stand out in the gaming category. As part of the announcement for CES 2021, LG states “Particularly noteworthy for 2021 are LG’s latest entertainment products including their OLED tech, NanoCell, NEXTGEN TVs and Tone Free earbuds. Additionally, more details on specific Home Entertainment products honoured will be announced at CES 2021 in January”
From this announcement, it is safe to assume that the brand will focus more on its display tech, which the brand evidently should, considering the success and recognition garnered by the company over the years. Gamers should look forward to this year’s show, more than ever, since the new TVs could probably be aimed at gaming.
2. Sony
Sony, fresh of the heels of a new console launch is set to showcase what it has in store for 2021 at CES. The Japanese company is rumoured to have tons of products in the pipeline for January. We expect the brand to talk about the PS5 and some mentions of the new 2021 Sony TV range.
This year, some audio-focused products are also expected with reports hinting at an announcement for the Sony WF-1000XM4s, the long-awaited successors to the Sony WF-1000XM3s, its direct competitor to Apple’s AirPods and Samsung’s Galaxy Buds Plus.
3.Samsung
Samsung is soon going to launch it’s Galaxy S21 series of devices in the second week of January, which will be bang in the middle of CES.longside the phone, the Galaxy Buds Pro earbuds are also expected which could take on Apple’s AirPods Pro. We could see some products in the audio segment and, most importantly, display related showcases.
Before the beginning of the event, Samsung ended up announcing its Neo QLED, micro-LED, and lifestyle TV display panels as part of their showcase for CES 2021. The Neo QLED is designed for upcoming 8K and 4K TVs from the brand. The 88-inch, 99-inch, and 110-inch MicroLED panels are designed for TVs that will be aimed towards general consumers.
4.Panasonic
Panasonic is slated to showcase its 2021 TV line-up on the heels of CES, as it gears up for 2021. According to reports, the company is going to announce a new set of TVs that will offer even better quality and, come with next-gen HDMI features, which would mean the TVs would work better with next-gen consoles.
5. ASUS
ASUS has had one of the best years of all time, with sales being more than decent since the company made $378,125 Million] in 2020. The brand ruled the gaming laptop and, with the launch of the Zephyrus G14, it decimated all of its competitors particularly devices that were powered by Intel. They have also done well when it comes to their smartphones, with the ROG 3 being both a gaming beast and also being the winner of popular YouTuber MKBHD’s blind smartphone camera test.
For 2021, if the rumours doing the round are to be believed, they may announce Ryzen 5000 series and RTX 3080 based ROG Strix and TUF gaming laptops as part of their presentation at CES.
ASUS’s new ROG gaming laptops could also feature both Intel 11th generation Core Tiger Lake-H and AMD Ryzen 5000 Zen 3 mobile processors and will probably also be available with NVIDIA’s latest GeForce RTX 30 Series GPU, which is a bit of good news for consumers since options are always welcome.
6. Hisense
In 2020, we saw that the company unveiled its a projector-television hybrid, which would handle two tasks in one device. Their Roku powered TV line is expected to receive an update this year, being one of the company’s highest sellers.
HiSense is Kicking off its 2021 portfolio with a rather expensive launch at $6,999 for their 8K 75 inch TV, which will be the first to arrive of their CES announcements. This pricing, incidentally sees the brand making 8K Televisions affordable.
7. TCL
The big Chinese manufacturer of TVs and displays, TCL Technology is expected to make a massive splash at CES 2021, where they are supposedly going to unveil some new designs for their products that will be showcased at the event.
The brand is taking #ExperienceMore as the theme for CES 2021, which also includes a global Press announcement featuring some new innovations of the company. If the chatter is to be believed, it is expected to showcase its latest Mini-LED and QLED technology.
To add to this, they are also promising new smart home-based appliances and tech. It has been reported that TCL wants to make smart home technology one of its primary areas of development. They are expected to expand products in this segment so as to make a sort of an ecosystem.
8. AMD
AMD CEO Dr. Lisa Su is going to host a CES 2021 keynote. The CEO, under whom the Ryzen CPUs and Radeon GPUs have flourished and given massive headaches to Intel, will be delivering a speech on the future of research, education and work that her company is engaged in. She will also talk about high-performance computing and graphics solutions.
“AMD technology is at the heart of some of today’s most popular consumer products and services,” Dr. Lisa Su says. “As we push the envelope on performance, we expand what is possible in personal computing, gaming and online services and experiences. I look forward to sharing exciting new technology developments at CES 2021, and what it will mean to the way we live, work, learn and play.”
There is also a possibility that she will be making an announcement related to Ryzen Mobile products for gaming laptops. Radeon’s RX 6700-series graphics cards and it is lower-end brethren might also be part of this announcement but, as is usual with AMD, we have a hunch that this might occur in a grand event, as has been the case for years past.
9. NVIDIA
Where there is AMD, there’s Nvidia. The closest competitor to Team Red, they are expected to be announcing RTX 30-series gaming laptops., Nvidia has dropped a hint with its”GeForce RTX: Game On, a special broadcast event” tagline, and Jeff Fischer, Nvidia’s GeForce boss, will be hosting the show to talk about “the company’s latest innovations in gaming and graphics.”
There are also hopes of more graphics card announcements during the show, such as more affordable RTX 30-series discrete desktop GPUs.
Words: Shloke Sarkar
