The Consumer Electronics Show (CES), the annual trade show for various product categories from the Information & Communication Technology sector, just concluded this week. The trade show saw enough announcements that kept the press buzzing. Based on the products announced at CES, these are my observations:

1. There were a bunch of announcements around next frontier technologies such as robotics (Roborock Saros Z70, Dreame X50 Ultra, SwitchBot K20 Plus Pro) and electric/autonomous vehicles (Afeela, Honda Zero). But large-scale adoption is several years away.

2. Vendors have launched a bunch of products that are technologically feasible and attention grabbing but it’s a big question mark if customers will adopt them on a large scale.

3. The opportunity space in the tech industry is not growing much or even plateaued to some extent. As a result, we see vendors from one product category incorporate features from other products as well as attempt to encroach on each other’s turf. We see examples of that in Nvidia’s plan for CPU and Digits supercomputer, Microsoft’s plans for Xbox on Windows, Samsung and LG adding displays to kitchen appliances, smart TVs (Samsung, LG) adding AI capability, Samsung and Google announcing Eclipsa Audio, etc.

4. The AI bandwagon marches on with no sight of the killer app that would make a meaningful difference to customers. But a lot of AI players’ hopes, and VC dollars are riding on the promise of AI. So far AI has turned out to be more like Paris Hilton (famous for being famous) than Tom Hanks (famous for delivering value) of the tech world.

5. The tech industry’s quest for a product category that would grow to become as big as the smartphone category or even the PC category remains elusive.

As I think about the various announcements at CES, I am reminded of this passage from Rory Sutherland’s book, Alchemy: “Of the million hypothetical possibilities there are, effectively, three comfortable modes for the human body: 1) standing up, 2) lying down and 3) sitting upright. The three devices with which we access digital content mirror these fairly well. A mobile device for when you are moving about, a tablet for laid back use and a laptop or desktop for when you are sitting up at desk.”

We might have maxed out the number of stand-alone screens (PCs, smartphones, tablets, etc.) that we can accommodate in our lives. We also should not forget the other screen in the living room, the television, which predates the three screens that Rory Sutherland commented about.

There have not been many takers for the two AI devices (Rabbit R1 and Humane AI Pin) that launched with much fanfare last year. The industry is now attempting to: 1) add AI capabilities to existing screens, 2) turn kitchen appliances into connected devices and 3) add trackers and AI to devices such as watches and glasses.

In today’s world, three screens have prominence in our lives:

1. Smartphone – For communication & entertainment

2. PC – for productivity & entertainment

3. Television – for entertainment

Of these three, the smartphone is the digital hub for our personal life, and the PC is the digital hub for our work life.

In the last few years, vendors have been attempting to create a connected home by adding digital capabilities to other home appliances such as turning the TV into a hub in the living room, refrigerator into a hub in the kitchen, etc. While the vision of a connected home sounds interesting, the customer value proposition is not compelling and the hefty price tags makes them less attractive to most households.

Conclusion:

Overall, a very interesting edition of CES with a host of product announcements and keynote sessions. The company executives oozed confidence and trade press lapped up most of the announcements with much enthusiasm. We will have to wait and see how much does the average customer warm up to these announcements – will they vote with their wallets?