So it’s that fateful time of year: the Consumer Electronics Show. Tech journalists from all around the world are roaming the floors of a convention center in Las Vegas in a jet-lagged and sleep-deprived fever dream to report on the latest craziness from companies all over the world. I’ve heard a lot of talk from reporters that this event is just pure insanity and I believe them. I’ve been to much smaller conferences and it’s just pure chaos.

With that being said, there’s a lot of interesting new stuff that comes out and it can be kind of hard to sift through all of the different tech. Let’s talk about how to navigate the whole ordeal.

Skepticism

The most important thing to remember coming into this event is to have a bit of skepticism. Over time this show has gotten a bit more…conceptual. And by “a bit” I mean “a lot”. So many different things that come out at this show are just tech demos. Hard to actually call it a “Consumer Electronics Show” these days since you can find everything from actual tech that’s being announced, to things that will come out soon, to things that will literally never see the light of day in an actual consumer product.

This is why you should come into the whole thing with skepticism. A lot of these tech demos aren’t really helpful from a product standpoint, which is really what the whole idea was.

If it’s no longer just for product, then what is it for? Well at this point, a lot of these companies are showing these tech demos for different kinds of investment. Obviously they’re trying to get some sort of financial investment, this is a great chance to show off what your R&D department is working on and get some financial backing for your projects. This can be from investors looking for some financial gain, or this could also be from companies who have a vested interest in that piece of technology coming to market. Think Apple funding a new display technology from Samsung, LG, or BOE.

The other kind of investments these companies are looking for is human investment. These companies need people to work for them, and showing off this new technology gets people interested in working at these companies. Although it’s not an explicit goal, any chance to show off new tech is going to be a chance to recruit researchers.

The long of the short of it is that you shouldn’t expect much of anything to come out ever unless it’s actually got a release date. And even then, don’t assume the release date is guaranteed.

Chaotic

Another thing to remember is that this event is complete chaos. Like I said earlier, there is a lot going on. It’s not easy for you to follow along as a reader/viewer, but it’s even harder for the reporters to keep track of what’s happening. They’re standing there on a noisy show floor in terrible lighting trying to figure out what’s what and report on what’s new. It can be difficult to make sense of what’s happening.

As readers, we want to draw conclusions from what’s going on now, but if I’m being honest we really can’t. It’s hard to actually know what’s going to end up doing well, what’s going to flop, what’s something important, and what’s e-waste. There’s going to be a lot of information out there and a lot of people might misunderstand what’s happening. Don’t get your information from one source. And please don’t try to be evaluative of technology that’s not out yet. Let people get it in their hands. Hasty conclusions aren’t helpful.

What to Do

The best thing you can do is just take in the information and then wait. Don’t evaluate anything, just wait and watch. A lot of the technology will come out over the course of the year, but some of it will never actually come out. Honestly don’t get your hopes up. It’s really hard to evaluate what’s coming out this early in the game. Reporters are going to try to, it’s their job, but as consumers it’s going to just create a whole lot of noise and frustration.

Wrap Up

Overall I’m not a CES hater, I think it’s a cool show. I just think that people put way too much stock into initial impressions and obvious tech demos that aren’t real products. Most of the show is not for us, but it is still cool to see. If you have any thoughts about CES let me know on Mastodon.