CES week in Las Vegas is basically the Super Bowl for tech-heads. It’s a week that always seems to deliver a perfect mix of weird and wonderful; your typical and your not so typical tech products. This year is no different. On one side of the spectrum, you have a sea of TVs on display, and on the other side you have the slightly more . . . unique showcases like BreadBot.
But make no mistake, CES never fails to preview some of the hottest up-and-coming tech of the year. Here are 5 trends to watch in 2019.
IoT
Sure, IoT isn’t exactly a new trend, but when a major player like Bosch uses their CES appearance to introduce an entire campaign dedicated to IoT then you know it’s a category to pay attention to this year. Smart home will dominate this segment but look for other industries like healthcare and auto to amp up their IoT efforts in 2019.
LiDAR
This technology is a key ingredient in autonomous vehicles. Pulsed laser light is used to measure distance to a target, which helps detect the edges of roads and identify lane markings. However, 2019 will bring us expanded use cases for LiDAR technology. Quanergy’s LiDAR tech for example is branching out to address border security, while companies like Microvision envision more indoor, consumer based applications for their LiDAR technology.
Digital Health
The Apple Watch seems to have started a bit of a digital health trend in recent years. Expect to see a big boost in products aimed at promoting overall healthier lifestyles in 2019. Everything from smart mirrors and sleep aids, to medication management and heartrate monitors. Lots of the wearables being shown at CES all have a focus on health and wellness.
Augmented Reality
Mobile AR might be the second hottest tech trend of 2019. ARKit and ARCore set the mobile AR wheels in motion last year and things will only continue to heat up in that space. But with Microsoft set to introduce their next-gen HoloLens this year, I would guess that the race to mass adopted, consumer based AR wearables will officially begin in 2019.
5G
While the switch won’t happen overnight (or even by the end of 2019), this massive upgrade has already started to take shape, and will no doubt be the biggest, most important tech trend of the year. Why is the 5G upgrade so important? This 5th generation of wireless technology will be BLAZING fast, have SUPERSONIC responsiveness and will allow for ENORMOUS capacity. It’s going to have a huge impact on pretty much all connected devices. Check out the video below if you want to geek out on 5G.
Watching future trends and keeping an eye on inspiring technologies is part of what keeps us sharp like ninjas here at Yalo. While not quite augmented reality, virtual technology that empowers digital virtual events such as virtual trade shows or even virtual cocktail hours is certainly another tech trend that is fully upon us, and we’re excited to offer it to our clients as part of our experiential marketing services. Find out about our Virtual Events service and all the ingredients that Yalo adds to the mix. Please communicate with us here for more info, or email our virtual guru, Scott Efferson, at [email protected].
