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- CES 2021 is officially underway, though this year’s show is unlike any CES events in the past due to the coronavirus pandemic.
- Despite the lack of a traditional in-person trade show in Las Vegas, the CTA is hosting a virtual event that takes place entirely online.
- Here, we’ll round up our picks for the 10 most exciting new product announcements from CES 2021.
It goes without saying that CES 2021 is unlike any Consumer Electronics Show that has come before it. CES is the biggest consumer tech show of the year, taking over multiple hotels and convention centers each year in Las Vegas. Attendance figures are in the six-figure range every year, with recent shows having attracted between 171,000 in 2020 and 184,000 in 2018.
Needless to say, CES 2021 didn’t have a single attendee in Las Vegas.
The Consumer Technology Association didn’t have much choice last year when it had to begin planning CES 2021. No one could have known that the coronavirus pandemic would be peaking in the United States around the time CES takes place each year. Even without nationwide pandemic fatigue that has sent case numbers, hospitalizations, and deaths soaring in recent months, we’ve all known for many months that an in-person convention would be impossible. That doesn’t mean CES 2021 was going to be canceled outright, however, and the CTA has done the best it could while taking CES virtual this year.
Hundreds of companies have made thousands of announcements already at this year’s virtual CES 2021 event, and we dug through as much as we could to round up the most exciting announcements of the bunch. There’s plenty more out there, of course, and you can learn all about the digital event on the CES 2021 website. If you’d rather just skip to the highlights, you’ll find our top 10 roundup below.
Samsung Bot Handy
It goes without saying that the name “Samsung Bot Handy” isn’t great, but the product itself could be a game-changer. Unfortunately, Samsung’s CES 2021 announcement is just a preview and the Handy won’t be released anytime soon. There’s the blurb from Samsung’s press release below, but you can see more starting at 1:39 in the video above.
Samsung Bot™ Handy7: Also in development, Samsung Bot™ Handy will rely on advanced AI to recognize and pick up objects of varying sizes, shapes and weights, becoming an extension of you and helping you with work around the house. Samsung Bot™ Handy will be able to tell the difference between the material composition of various objects, utilizing the appropriate amount of force to grab and move around household items and objects, working as your trusted partner to help with house chores like cleaning up messy rooms or sorting out the dishes after a meal.
MyQ Pet Portal
The MyQ smart garage door opener by Chamberlain is one of the most popular smart home gadgets that the BGR Deals team covers. Now, the same brand has unveiled an awesome smart pet door that is instantly going to become the envy of every dog owner. From the announcement:
As the newest addition to the myQ Smart Access Ecosystem, the myQ Pet Portal allows pet parents to safely let their dog out to potty and play while they’re away. Plus, the solution provides live video streaming and 2-way communication through the myQ Pet Portal app so parents can stay connected to pets any time of the day.
Designed to replace an existing exterior door, the myQ Pet Portal comes integrated in a select offering of Kolbe doors with material and color options to fit pet parents’ home aesthetics and is professionally installed. Seamlessly integrated within the door, a hidden smart panel features a patent-pending smart, elevator style opening mechanism that works with a custom collar sensor. Unlike conventional retrofit pet doors, the myQ Pet Portal is virtually unnoticeable from the outside, ensuring that visitors, passersby and pesky squirrels won’t realize it’s there. It is the only no-compromise solution for homeowners who want to keep the security and exterior appearance of their home intact while providing their pup with the freedom to potty and play on demand.
Bowflex VeloCore Bike
The addition of big displays and connected apps completely revolutionized the stationary bike market. Ever since then, we’ve been waiting for a company to come up with the next revolution in exercise bikes. Now, the next big game-changer is here and we don’t have to wait any longer.
Bowflex’s VeloCore Bike is a stationary bike that isn’t actually stationary. It can be if you lock it in place, but it also features a brilliant “Leaning Mode” that allows you to lean from side to side as you go around turns on your virtual rides. It adds an awesome core workout to what is already one of the best cardio exercises you can do, and you’ll also work out your arms and back. Plus, the best part is that it’s already available for sale on Bowflex’s website.
Sony Spatial Reality Display
It’s not easy to explain exactly how mind-blowing the viewing experience is on Sony’s new Spatial Reality Display, so we’ve included the video above to give you a visual aid. In a nutshell, this game-changing display provides a complex glasses-free 3D experience that tracks your eyes and head movements, adapting the image in real-time to account for your perspective. The goal, in part, is to mimic the experience of looking at a real object in the physical world — as you move your vantage point, different parts of the object become visible, light reflects differently, shadows move, and so on.
Sony’s Spatial Reality Display is mind-blowing. Definitely watch the video above.
Imverse Live3D
Behold the future of place-shifting. Forget video chats… a person can be in multiple places at the same time using holograms, and Imverse’s Live3D volumetric hologram tech is a major stepping stone in the quest to realize that future. This exciting solution uses live data manipulation, real-time VFX, dynamic scene rendering, and more to beam your likeness anywhere in the world. Imverse Live3D is already incredible and it’s only going to get more impressive as this futuristic tech continues to be refined.
Airthings Wave Plus with Virus Risk Indicator
Airthings makes air quality monitors that the BGR Deals team has covered before. Now, the company is introducing a new virus risk indicator to its Wave Plus for Business, which is obviously quite timely. Here’s a blurb from Airthings:
Airthings’ Virus Risk Indicator is a digital capability for its Wave Plus for Business smart indoor air quality monitor, the flagship product in the Airthings for Business solution. The Virus Risk Indicator combines data from Wave Plus for Business’s sensors that monitor CO2, humidity, temperature, and airborne pollutants into a proprietary algorithm, calculating the risk level of virus transmission in a building. The Virus Risk Indicator evaluates four factors that correlate with airborne virus spread: virus survival rate, body’s natural defense, room occupancy, and ventilation rate. The Airthings Virus Risk Indicator promotes indoor environments where people thrive, and viruses don’t.
eufy Security Smart Lock Touch with WiFi
The eufy Smart Lock Touch by Anker is one of the sleekest and most stylish smart locks we’ve covered at BGR, and it’s also one of the most versatile thanks to support for smartphone, key, PIN, and fingerprint unlocking. The only real problem with it is that you need to get a special version with a separate Wi-Fi hub if you want remote access to the lock. Now, the next-generation eufy Security Smart Lock Touch with WiFi finally covers all the bases without the need for a separate hub. This is the smart lock we’ve been waiting for, and it’ll be released next month.
Smartglasses Light Drive BML500PW
Remember how exciting Google Glass was before it was actually released? Once the first version became available, it unfortunately became immediately clear that Glass was decidedly not the smart glasses solution we had been waiting for. That’s where Bosch Sensortec comes in — as you’ll see in the video above, Bosch Smartglasses Light Drive is the smart glasses tech we’ve been waiting for, enabling the stunning augmented reality experience we’ve been waiting for. Here’s a blurb from Bosch:
The Bosch Smartglasses Light Drive is an all-in-one technology stack consisting of MEMS mirrors, optical elements, sensors, and onboard processing. It’s an easy-to-fit low-power display device for all utility or recreational near-eye display applications. The disruptive technology revolutionizes all-day wearables with an amazing transparency for the user. The turnkey system enables smaller, lighter, more stylish smartglasses designs that meet the visual and comfort needs of everyone. The system displays the perfect balance of just-in-time hands-free information in a minimalist format, making it ideal for applications including navigation and notifications, as well as messaging platforms such as WhatsApp and WeChat.
The Mayflower Autonomous Ship
The Mayflower Autonomous Ship is nothing short of the future of sea travel. Powered by IBM, it’s a fully autonomous seagoing vessel with an AI captain. It’s been in development for some time, as you’ll see in the video above, but recent advancements will allow this incredible vessel to traverse the Atlantic this year… without a single human onboard!
Here’s an explanatory blurb from IBM:
IBM, in partnership with marine research non-profit ProMare, built and launched the AI Captain, the key enabling technology for the Mayflower Autonomous Ship (MAS), a pioneering project of global collaborative innovation.
IBM is providing the AI, cloud, and edge computing technologies that will enable MAS to traverse the Atlantic in 2021, with no captain or crew. The ship’s future is working in tandem with human oceanographers and other autonomous vessels, collecting critical environmental data that will help safeguard the future of the ocean. It also paves the way for safer and more sustainable transportation models and supply chains.
OrCam Read
The OrCam Read by OrCam Technologies will be nothing short of a game-changer for so many people who struggle with certain learning disabilities and visual impairments. It’s a small pocket-size device that’s lightweight and wireless, and it uses hardware along with a powerful text-to-speech engine that can read any text aloud to the user. OrCam describes it as a “first-of-its-kind handheld device, reads text aloud from any printed surface (newspapers, books, product labels) or digital screen (computers, smartphones) – in real time.” It’s also already available to purchase on the company’s website.
