What is the Consumer Electronics Show?

CES, or the Consumer Electronics Show, is an annual trade show held by the Consumer Technology Association in Las Vegas in January. The show has become a major event in the technology calendar, showing the latest product developments and announcements for the year ahead.

The first CES was held in 1967 in New York City with over 17,000 attendees and over 100 exhibitors. Initially the event was twice a year, held in the summer and winter in different cities, but following competition from other EXPOs such as E3, it settled on its once-a-year format in Las Vegas in 1998.

Today, CES showcases more than 4,500 exhibiting companies, including manufacturers, developers and suppliers of consumer technology hardware, content, technology delivery systems and more. It has a conference program with more than 250 sessions and more than 180,000 attendees from 150 countries. It is one of the world’s premier technology events.

Why has it become so popular?

Since 1998, CES has become the home of innovation and stages some of the world’s leading technology companies and executives. In the past, its keynote speakers have included Amazon, Huawei, Ford, Google and Hulu. While, some of its notable announcements include satellite radio in 2000, Blu-Ray DVD in 2003, 3D HDTV in 2009, tablets and notebooks in 2010 and electric cars in 2011.

CES also has its own industry-recognized awards program called the ‘Innovation Awards’. These celebrate outstanding product design and development in new consumer technology products and previous winners include: Dell, Huawei, Nissan and Lenovo.

In terms of this year’s announcements, exhibiting companies like to keep very quiet so as not to give anything away. There’s been lots of speculation about transparent TVs, 5G and foldable phones but nothing has been confirmed. Are you heading to CES this year? Let us know what you’d love to see announced in the comments below.