Curious to see what trends we’ve spotted? You should be! After all, there’s a good chance that these technologies will be interwoven into our daily lives in the near future, whether you like it or not. Take a look at some of the patterns we’ve spotted at the world-famous Las Vegas-based tech trade show.
3D displays on laptops
What’s old is new again. I first covered 3D laptops a decade ago and it was absolutely a fad. There were a couple of different kinds of panels and glasses, and not nearly enough content. I knew that they’d eventually come back — just not this soon. But here I am writing about 3D laptops again, and I’ve got to say, I’m excited by what I’m seeing so far. Instead of using dorky-looking glasses to make the magic happen, these next-gen machines coming from Acer and Asus rely on eye-tracking sensors and software to inject that extra dimension. And what’s cooler, Acer’s bringing the effect to a lightweight, portable monitor. On the content front, Asus and Acer are taking different approaches. The former is targeting content creators while the latter is sticking to traditional gaming with a touch of creation. During our demo with the Acer Predator Helios 300 SpatialLabs Edition laptop, I explored the area around Freya’s tortoise house in God of War (2018). And on the Asus ProArt StudioBook 16 3D, we manipulated a human heart which when paired with the haptic touchpad added an actual heartbeat for an even more immersive experience. It’s just a glimpse into a 3D resurgence that could be more than a fad this time around. — Sherri L. Smith. Editor in Chief
The metaverse
Whenever I heard the word “metaverse” at CES 2023, I couldn’t help but groan. The reason I’d grumble about it is because companies seemed to interweave the word “metaverse” into their marketing language in nonsensical ways. LG was a big perpetrator of misusing the buzzword. For example, at CES, the South Korean tech company boasted about a new “smart metaverse TV.” allowing users to access “super high-fidelity interconnected virtual worlds’’ in their living rooms, as per a press release. According to Crypto News, LG inked a deal with Oorbit that will allow its smart TV users to attend virtual concerts. On top of that, LG is working on allowing users to buy and sell NFTs on smart TV devices. Truth be told, I do think this is a little gimmicky and LG is simply capitalizing on a popular buzzword, but I saw a handful of other companies piggybacking off the metaverse craze, too. Still, I’m willing to admit that I could be proven wrong and perhaps LG is truly future-proofing its smart TVs for the onset of Web 3.0. — Kimberly Gedeon, Editor
Hearing aids disguised as earbuds
CES 2023 was aflush with representatives showcasing hearing-enhancing tech. Under this umbrella of avante-garde wizardry, many of the products were earbuds disguised as hearing aids. This includes the Jabra Enhance Plus earbuds and the Sennheiser Conversation Clear Plus earbuds. We even spotted a pair of smart glasses called AirGo3 Pro that are designed to enhance the wearer’s hearing. EarGo is a pair of hearing aids that aren’t necessarily earbuds, but they’re designed to be discreet and clandestine. What’s with the sudden onslaught of hearing-enhancing tech? Well, thanks to a new ruling from the FDA in August 2022, consumers with mild to moderate hearing loss can now purchase over-the-counter hearing aids — without a medical exam, professional fitting or prescription. Consequently, the tech industry hit the ground running to provide consumers with attractive, avante-garde options to boost and augment their hearing. — Kimberly Gedeon, Editor
Advanced Chromebooks
CES 2023 announced the next generation of advanced mid-range Chromebooks. This inevitable hardware upgrade evens the playing field by making Chromebooks more on par with Windows laptops. The forthcoming HP Dragonfly Pro Chromebook for example, is powered by Intel’s 12th Gen CPU alongside 16GB of RAM. HP engineers didn’t skimp on audio performance either, it boasts Bang & Olufsen quad speakers. And with enhanced video conferencing tools and security features, it takes hybrid working productivity to the next level. HP has yet to reveal the price of its new Dragonfly Pro Chromebook which is due out this spring. However, if the cost of advanced Chromebooks like this one undercut similar Windows machines, we could see an uptick of consumers gravitating towards Chrome OS. — Hilda Scott, Deals Writer
Haptics
VR was everywhere at CES 2023, but PSVR 2 hands-on aside, it wasn’t so much the headsets that grabbed our attention. While VR has a ways to go before it achieves complete mainstream acceptance, it has enough of an install base and the promise of a critical mass coming in the future that accessories surrounding VR are proliferating. Haptics were one of the most obvious examples at CES with many of the pre-CES shows featuring haptic gloves, shirts, and more. I joked that one resembled the return of the Nintendo Power Glove (kids ask your parents), but our intrepid Content Editor Jason England put his body on the line in an OWO haptic shirt. The demo simulated a gust of wind, being bitten by a spider, being punched, being stabbed, and finally being shot. So yeah, that escalated quickly. At $499 the shirt is expensive, but not completely inaccessible and a positive sign for an early and likely low production run of such a product. You can read more about the haptic shirt and watch Jason’s VR trial by fire, but this was just one of several such products shown off at CES 2023, so we’ll be curious to see what the next year brings for haptics in VR. — Sean Riley, Assistant Managing Editor
Audio-playing smart glasses
RayBan Stories smart glasses have some stiff competition trickling into the market, so Meta better watch out! Though, truth be told, the social media giant needn’t worry about the smart glasses Paula Abdul was hawking at CES 2023. Called IdolEyes “Straight Ups,” we had a hands-on experience with Abdul’s smart glasses. It’s cool that they play audio, I guess, but the build quality was poor and the temples were quite flimsy. One wrong move, and they’d snap! The smart glasses that Meta really needs to watch out for are the AirGo3 smart glasses — I tested these at CES 2023, and they’re elite. The audio that emanates from these bad boys is crisp, smooth, and honeyed. It also delivers 3D spatial audio like you wouldn’t believe. Nailing the surround-sound experience, when you listen to music on the AirGo3 smart glasses, it truly feels like a boombox is circling around you. — Kimberly Gedeon, Editor
Augmented and virtual reality headsets
At CES 2023, Sony revealed the PSVR 2 and HTC unveiled the Vive XR Elite headset, kicking off the next-generation of VR head-mounted displays. VR headsets are getting sleeker, lighter, and offer better visual fidelity than ever. We’ve also stumbled upon several AR headsets from lesser-known companies, including one that lets you connect a headset to your phone for immersive mobile gaming. Gamers have been begging for more immersion, and companies like Sony and HTC are delivering that in the form of seemingly kickass VR headsets with crisp resolution and fast refresh rates. With VR haptic suits and gloves joining the party, it’s only a matter of time before the lines between reality and simulated worlds become blurred. — Kimberly Gedeon, Editor
Sleep-focused wearables
Insomnia affects between 33% and 50% of adult Americans, according to Cleveland Clinic, so it’s no wonder that companies are rolling out tech devices, wearables specifically, to help consumers track and enhance their sleep. For example, at CES 2023, Citizen showcased its CZ Watch, which taps into wellness software based on NASA’s Ames Research Center and IBM’s AI Watson platform. The CZ watch helps users understand their fatigue levels, and it even helps users anticipate periods when they may become tired. Consequently, it will provide CZ watch owners instructions on how to combat fatigue. We also discovered the Frenz brainband at CES 2023, a headband that lulls you to sleep using artificial intelligence. It analyzes your brain, and as a result, curates audio from its portfolio of soothing acoustics and other therapies to help you drift to sleep faster. My colleague Laptop Mag Editor Jason England found the brainband to be slightly uncomfortable, but I still find the concept to be super cool. — Kimberly Gedeon, Editor
