Jeff Porten

Every year, the Consumer Technology Association provides a roadmap to the coming year with its "Tech Trends to Watch" talk at CES, its annual convention and trade show in Las Vegas. I couldn't attend this year, but I tuned into the livestream of the Tech Trends event and picked up the 2024 predictions. As always, note that CTA is the nonprofit booster organization of the tech industry, so its predictions come with an agenda and are always rose-colored-even bad news gets a positive spin here.

You may be forgiven for feeling as though it has been ten years since last January, but in truth, only a year has passed—and that’s long enough for another CES to be underway in Las Vegas. As usual, the show begins with two Media Days with information for the assembled press; as per the “new usual”, these events and a portion of the rest of the show is being broadcast in hybrid format online.

I’m wrapping up this year’s CES coverage with something new, by covering the annual CES Innovation Awards. These are given out every year, and it’s a collection I’ve always skipped because it didn’t seem to add anything to the coverage: you’ll see its logo speckled around the show floor on the booths that won at least an honorable mention, but such booths are already sinking or swimming based on my perception of what’s on display.