The Computer Electronic Show, global finest innovation exhibition started in Las Vegas on Thursday, January 5 and ends on Sunday, January 8, 2023. Breathtaking technological ideas and products came to live at the show.
Plus, Sony is getting into the car business, Samsung is making insane shape-shifting screens, and Asus reveals glasses-free 3D laptop displays.
There’s tech that’ll hit store shelves this year, gadgets that are a few years off, and crazy concepts that may never become a reality. There are dazzling TVs, a range of robots and, yes, a flying car. CES is a good mix of hype and dazzling new tech, and we’re sifting through it all to bring you the highlights: the must-see reveals and most innovative new tech we spot.
We’ve gotten a good look into what companies like Samsung, LG, Intel, Nvidia and Dell have in store for 2023: beastly gaming rigs, an 8K projector and a futuristic concept device or two. Beyond this year, we’ve gotten the big news that Sony is making its own car, scheduled to hit the roads in 2026.
A flying car is actually happening, for real this time
We’ve been waiting on flying cars since at least the Jetsons, and we now appear on the precipice of realizing that dream. And by “we” I mean a company called Aska, which revealed its A5 flying car at CES 2023. It’s more than a concept: Aska has opened preorders for the $789,000 vehicle. At CES 2023, Aska cofounder Guy Kaplinsky said FAA approval for the A5 could happen “within a month.” Aska hopes to use the A5 to start a ride sharing service in 2026.
Charge your laptop while you pedal
Acer
Treadmill desks are great, but the stationary bike desk is where the future of work-from-home calorie burning lies. Acer takes it a step further with its new desk-bike combo that also powers your devices as you go, making it the first bike desk of its kind to experiment with powering a whole workstation using kinetic energy. This gizmo is either an ingenious feat of multitasking or the unironic fruition of a Black Mirror episode. The eKinekt BD 3 bike desk is powered through energy created by your pedaling.
The Lenovo Yoga Book 9i Dual Screen
Lenovo’s Yoga Book 9i is a triumph of screen real estate. Featuring two screens and multiple configuration options (stacked vertically or side-by-side with the Bluetooth keyboard, turning one screen into its own haptic keyboard or touchpad, etc.), the shapeshifting laptop also comes with its own origami-style stand and active pen for taking full advantage of the dual displays.
Gaming: The Razer Edge is finally happening.
There’s a new handheld gaming device in town. Coming Jan. 26, the long-teased Razer Edge could give the Nintendo Switch and the Steam Deck a run for their money. It’s more tiny Android tablet than Steam Deck copycat, but the specs are impressive, and the $400 price tag ain’t bad either. We’re keeping our eyes on this one.
Sony’s first car is coming in 2026
Afeela Sony car announced at CES 2023
EVs are big business, and Sony wants in. The electronics giant is teaming up with Honda on a new brand of electric vehicle called Afeela. The Afeela logo appears on a narrow screen, or “media bar,” on the vehicle’s front bumper. This can also interact with people outside the vehicle and share information such as the weather or the car’s state of charge.
Unlike the car Sony showed off at CES 2020, all those years ago, this one is actually hitting the market. No word yet on pricing, but Sony said its Afeela car will hit North American roads in 2026. Japan and Europe will follow.
Samsung showcased its display concepts at CES 2023.
This foldable also slides
Samsung gave us a look at a tantalizing mobile device concept, the Flex Hybrid. As the demo shows, the left side of the Flex Hybrid can fold, like the Galaxy Fold, while the right side can slide out to extend itself. It’s wild.
The concept comes courtesy of Samsung Display, not the Mobile arm of the South Korean megacorporation responsible for making and selling phones. But the press release touting the concept promised it’ll bring to CES “innovative OLED products of all sizes, small, medium and large, to provide a glimpse into the future of displays.” Samsung isn’t the only company tinkering with the future of phones — see TCL’s 2020 scrolling display — so watch this space for more flipping, folding and scrolling devices.
Asus glasses-free 3D display at CES 2023
Asus joins Acer for laptops with glasses-free 3D, but hitches its wagon to OLED instead of IPS.
Images leap off the screen of this Asus laptop — not literally, but close. Its OLED screen produces a 3D experience sans glasses, much like competitor Acer’s similar IPS version. The OLED screen matters because the technology promises a visibly crisper 3D rendering. Asus’s 3D panel, aimed at creatives, uses eye-tracking to produce the 3D experience.
LG’s wireless TV with the transmitter box in the foreground.
The TV that puts all others to shame.
As if a 97-inch OLED TV wasn’t enough, LG went and made it wireless.
It’s the world’s largest OLED TV: LG’s 97-inch model was actually unveiled last year, but in 2023 it’s gone wireless. That means the world’s largest screen with the best picture that technology allows is now free of that ugly jumble of cords. We’ve been covering TVs at CES for years, and even we were surprised — CNET TV guru David Katzmaier was so impressed, he says LG is putting all other TVs to shame with this one.
Smartwatches want to know if you’re OK
The Citizen CZ Smart watch debuted at CES and will arrive in the US this March.
Smartwatches to track heart rate, sleep quality and blood-oxygen levels abound, but Citizen takes it a step further with its CZ Smart watch, which also measures fatigue and alertness levels. It’ll even tell you your chronotype — that is, whether you’re a night owl or an early bird. It’s another sign that smartwatch makers are focusing more and more on measuring the way sleep and stress impact overall wellbeing.
BMW’s i Vision Dee concept car.
BMW’s concept car doubles as your buddy
Technology can be so impersonal. BMW’s i Vision Dee hopes to fix that. Using sophisticated AI, this concept car ditches the servant schtick of Siri and Alexa. Instead, it hopes to double as both your car and your friend. The i Vision Dee is an EV sports car with an exterior of 240 E Ink panels. You can use those panels to program a digital face into the car’s grille — because it’s an EV, the ventilation that grilles typically provide isn’t actually needed — or change the car’s colors at the click of a button.
The BMW i Vision Dee is for now just a concept, but some of its features will trickle out to BMW’s actual cars. BMW CEO Oliver Zipse said, for instance, that the AI-powered HUB technology the company put into the i Vision Dee will come to real cars in 2025.
The Alienware x14 is the thinnest 14-inch gaming laptop.
The thinnest gaming laptop in the world
A top-down look at the lid and RGB-backlit touchpad on the 2023 Alienware x14 laptop.
Alienware surprised us with four new laptops ahead of CES, including the Alienware x14, which the company said is the thinnest 14-inch gaming laptop in the world. Featuring a 2,560×1,600-pixel display with a 165Hz refresh rate, it’ll sell from $1,799 when it ships this winter. A bigger version, the Alienware x16, starts at $3,099. These laptops are for people who are willing to sacrifice some power for slicker designs.
Invisible laptop touchpads
The LG Gram’s hidden trackpad lights up under your fingertips.
LG showed off its new Gram Style laptop, which features a hidden touchpad that presents itself only when you touch the palm rest. The stealthy haptic touchpad lights up under your fingers when touched, showing you where to tap and drag to navigate the screen. It’s a neat detail we didn’t know we wanted.
