CES 2015: Tech Trend Round Up
By Mike Agerbo
January 06, 2015
Product Discovery
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This week, Las Vegas hosted the biggest consumer tech show in the world. The show brings together 3,600 exhibitors and more than 150,000 attendees for a five day look at the newest technology. The show focuses on consumer electronics, including 3D printing, wireless devices, automotive, and more.
Every year at the show, we tend to see trends emerge in the types of technology being presented. Here’s what we saw this year:
1. Internet of Things and Smart Home
This isn’t the first year we’ve seen the smart home devices and the Internet of Things and emerge as a trend at CES. The Internet of Things refers to network connected devices and many everyday household objects are becoming connected, making them smart home devices. These devices allow you to control devices and automate processes within your home.
This year, we saw some new devices like the Belkin WEMO line of products. We saw the start of this line last year but it has grown to 25 products this year, including lighting control, door detection, and energy saving options. We also saw a new brand, Oort, which offers several devices that can be controlled using a single mobile app. Finally we saw a smart bed for kids from Sleep Number called the SleepIQ Kids Bed. This bed tracks sleep patterns in young children at night and adjusts to changes in the child’s development.
2. Wearable Tech
Again, this isn’t a new trend but it continues to evolve to include new devices with advancing technology. In the past, we’ve seen wearable devices such as smart watches and fitness trackers at CES. This year wearables have evolved to include some new categories such as a wearable device for pets called Tractive. This device was designed to be attached to your pet’s collar and features GPS that will allow you to track your pet if he or she goes missing.
Another new wearable we saw was the Nabu X by gaming accessories company, Razer. This device provides some fitness tracker features while allowing the wearer to connect with other gamers, exchange activity data, and experience integrations with new gaming apps developed specifically for Nabu X.
3. Health and Fitness Tech
An extension of wearable tech is health and fitness devices. In the past, these devices have tracked statistics such as activity levels. The new generation of wearable health and fitness devices has new features such as heart rate monitoring and increasingly innovative form factors. For example, the AmpStrip is an adhesive monitor the size of a Band-Aid that can be worn comfortably around the clock. The Sony Smart B-Trainer on the other hand is a pair of wireless earphones that not only play your music but also store it and act as a fitness tracker. These earphones eliminate the need to take your phone or any other device with you when you’re working out.
Wearable health and fitness devices are also striving to be more visually appealing in order to make them easier to integrate into the wearer’s wardrobe. We saw this last year with the introduction of the Tory Burch line of accessories for FitBit and this year we’re seeing it with other wearable fitness tech devices. For example, the Misfit line has gotten a makeover with the Shine line of trackers that comes in a variety of attractive colours.
Though this isn’t an exhaustive list of the trends we saw at CES this year, it’s a good preview of what you can expect to see more of in 2015.
Every year at the show, we tend to see trends emerge in the types of technology being presented. Here’s what we saw this year:
1. Internet of Things and Smart Home
This isn’t the first year we’ve seen the smart home devices and the Internet of Things and emerge as a trend at CES. The Internet of Things refers to network connected devices and many everyday household objects are becoming connected, making them smart home devices. These devices allow you to control devices and automate processes within your home.
This year, we saw some new devices like the Belkin WEMO line of products. We saw the start of this line last year but it has grown to 25 products this year, including lighting control, door detection, and energy saving options. We also saw a new brand, Oort, which offers several devices that can be controlled using a single mobile app. Finally we saw a smart bed for kids from Sleep Number called the SleepIQ Kids Bed. This bed tracks sleep patterns in young children at night and adjusts to changes in the child’s development.
2. Wearable Tech
Again, this isn’t a new trend but it continues to evolve to include new devices with advancing technology. In the past, we’ve seen wearable devices such as smart watches and fitness trackers at CES. This year wearables have evolved to include some new categories such as a wearable device for pets called Tractive. This device was designed to be attached to your pet’s collar and features GPS that will allow you to track your pet if he or she goes missing.
Another new wearable we saw was the Nabu X by gaming accessories company, Razer. This device provides some fitness tracker features while allowing the wearer to connect with other gamers, exchange activity data, and experience integrations with new gaming apps developed specifically for Nabu X.
3. Health and Fitness Tech
An extension of wearable tech is health and fitness devices. In the past, these devices have tracked statistics such as activity levels. The new generation of wearable health and fitness devices has new features such as heart rate monitoring and increasingly innovative form factors. For example, the AmpStrip is an adhesive monitor the size of a Band-Aid that can be worn comfortably around the clock. The Sony Smart B-Trainer on the other hand is a pair of wireless earphones that not only play your music but also store it and act as a fitness tracker. These earphones eliminate the need to take your phone or any other device with you when you’re working out.
Wearable health and fitness devices are also striving to be more visually appealing in order to make them easier to integrate into the wearer’s wardrobe. We saw this last year with the introduction of the Tory Burch line of accessories for FitBit and this year we’re seeing it with other wearable fitness tech devices. For example, the Misfit line has gotten a makeover with the Shine line of trackers that comes in a variety of attractive colours.
Though this isn’t an exhaustive list of the trends we saw at CES this year, it’s a good preview of what you can expect to see more of in 2015.