CES 2020 – News and Highlights
For those of you who love your tech, CES (Consumer Electronics Show) is undoubtedly the biggest event of the year, with the world’s leading brands gathering together to showcase a plethora of exciting new innovations and incredible breakthrough technologies.
Hosted among the glitz and glamour of Las Vegas, CES 2020 marks the 50th anniversary of the event and so far it has failed to disappoint, with everything from household robots that can bring you a spare toilet roll when you’re caught short to a giant 49-foot flying taxi created by Hyundai and Uber.
While some of the tech on show is still very much a concept of what we could expect in the future, we’ve picked out a few highlights to whet your appetite for what could be arriving later this year.
Televisions
In recent years, TVs have been at the forefront of the CES event with global giants Samsung, LG and Sony all fighting for the spotlight eager to show off their latest models. And this year is no different…
Samsung hoped to steal the show right from the off, unveiling the biggest TV ever seen at CES. The suitably named ‘Wall’ is an impressive 292-inch display made up of modular MicroLED technology, allowing you to essentially build your TV as big as you want it.
We know not everyone has room for a 24-foot TV in their living room, so luckily Samsung also unveiled their new flagship QLED TV. The Q950 truly is a thing of beauty, featuring a super-thin 2.3mm bezel creating a near frameless display. Samsung are claiming that this Infinity Screen is now 99% picture, taking beyond the 95% of its rivals. It’s also an 8K resolution TV and while 8K content is still few and far between, Samsung say that the processors in their new TV along with Deep Learning AI will upscale HD or 4K content to near 8K quality and the results speak for themselves.
Not to be outdone, LG followed by unveiling their new roller TV. Now you may remember that they did this last year, and yes you are correct, however it never made it to stores although LG state it should be available to buy later this year. Unlike last year’s model, this new 65-inch UHD is a Roll-Down OLED display which rolls down from the ceiling much like a projector screen.
LG is considered the king of OLED TV and they have also revealed their new SIGNATURE OLED line-up for this year, consisting of 14 new models, one of which is a smaller 48-inch TV – the first time an OLED display has been available at this size (and yes, 48-inches is now considered small).
Sony PS5 games console
It’s been no secret that the next generation of Sony PlayStation is coming, with rumours of a release date towards the end of 2020 – just in time for Christmas. We don’t know a huge amount about this new console just yet, so when Sony took to the stage earlier this week at CES, we held our breath in anticipation of seeing the new design. Unfortunately, all we got to see was the new logo.
So, it looks like we might have to wait just a little bit longer! Sony announced their PS4 in February 2013 at their own company event, so if they continue to follow this trend, we may find out more next month and with Microsoft already unveiling their Xbox Series X console, Sony won’t want to be too far behind.
Samsung Galaxy Note 10 Lite and Galaxy S10 Lite
Samsung just can’t stop making new phones!
Earlier this week Samsung announced two new phones – the Galaxy S10 Lite and the Galaxy Note 10 Lite. They haven’t revealed how much they’ll cost or when they will be available, but presumably these will be cheaper alternatives to the current Galaxy S10 and Galaxy Note 10. Both phones come with a giant 6.7-inch AMOLED screen as well as a new look rectangular camera set-up on the back, which could be a glimpse at what’s to come on the Galaxy S11 in a few weeks.
Some notable differences between the two are that the Note 10 Lite comes with the S Pen stylus like all Galaxy Note smartphones, as well as a headphone jack, which is not present on the S10 Lite. The other major difference is the camera lenses. On the Note 10 Lite, the main, telephoto and ultrawide-angle lenses are all 12 megapixels, whereas the S10 Lite boasts a 48-megapixel main camera, 12-megapixel ultrawide-angle lens and a 5-megapixel macro lens for those super close-up shots.
It appears there is some debate as to whether Samsung even needed these two new phones. Yes, the Note 10 Lite adds a more affordable version to the Note range, but the S10 Lite joins an already jam-packed line-up of phones including Galaxy S10E and Galaxy S10 5G.
More great tech
Aside from a whole host of electric and solar powered vehicles there were a few other nifty little gadgets that might just take your fancy…
Samsung Galaxy Home Mini
Samsung have announced that their first home speaker should launch early this year as a rival to the Amazon Echo Dot and Google Home Mini. It will use Bixby, Samsung’s own voice-activated personal assistant and much like existing smart speakers, you can use your voice to carry out simple commands and control connected smart devices, such as lighting, heating, appliances etc. Hopefully this should kick-start Samsung’s smart home range, with its big brother, the Galaxy Home following later in the year following its announcement 18 months ago.
Ring home security
Ring are probably best known for their video doorbells, allowing you to answer your door from your smartphone, but at this year’s CES they have announced even more Smart Home devices designed to make your life easier. Let’s start with their first-ever Ring Smart LED Lightbulbs. There are five new lighting products in total, two bulbs for use inside the house as an upgrade to your existing lamps and fixtures and then three solar powered outdoor lights, that you can install and control wirelessly using the Ring app on your smartphone or iPad. The great thing about these is that you can link them to your other Ring devices, so that if they sense movement, they can activate your security camera or video doorbell to start recording and vice versa – if you Ring camera or doorbell is triggered your lights can be set to turn on also.
There is also a new Ring Access Controller Pro which allows control of electronic gates from a mobile device. The user can see who’s at the gate or with ‘Key’ by Amazon – giving an Amazon driver a one-time access code to deliver the package securely.
Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Fold
We know what you’re thinking… all laptops fold. True, but this is something slightly different and is probably better described as a foldable tablet with all the capabilities of a PC. The X1 Fold features a 13.3-inch foldable OLED display which you can use flat as a large tablet or fold it to use the on-screen keyboard. It will also run Windows 10 Pro with a version running Windows 10X coming in the future.
Salary Sacrifice Technology Benefits are a fantastic way to access the latest technology products, allowing employees to spread the cost direct through their salary. At Let’s Connect we strive to bring you the latest, exciting products, constantly updating our product catalogue throughout the year. If you’re a interested in finding out more about how to implement a scheme for your employees, or you’re an employee looking to take part in a technology benefit yourself, please get in touch by filling in the form below…
