Sound and Vision: Is CES losing its appeal?

OPINION: By the time you read this, it’ll be either the last day of 2023 or the beginning of 2024, and for those of us that work in the tech sphere, the beginning of a new year means one thing – CES.

CES is, for many, the starting point of any year. A place where the eyes of the tech world are focused on the announcements of new products, services, and technologies. Go down to the main convention halls and there are all types of stuff – some of it massage chairs from what I remember – and if Willy Wonka could imagine a ‘Tech’ factory rather than a chocolate one, it might look like what CES does.

But since the Covid pandemic cancelled a couple of CES events, it’s brought up a question for some companies. Is CES still important?

It’s the same question that’s plagued other trade shows such as IFA, but this slowdown in interest arguably started before the pandemic, which only served to exacerbate it. Why not coordinate your own event so that you can control and dictate the ‘when’ and ‘wheres’, avoiding sharing the limelight with competitors.

The move towards online sessions and keeping track of announcements/new products though the CES hub is a tacit admission by the organisers that it’s not necessarily about the in-person experience. It makes it more accessible to keep track of what’s happening considering not everyone can make it out to Vegas, but the move has morphed CES into an event that does beg the question of whether you need to be there.

And another point is that there isn’t as much of a reason for some to even head out to CES, especially if you’re within the audio field. There are still plenty of announcements concerning audio, but most of the time they are just that – announcements – with the finished product likely months down the road from being completed.

If you’re interested in hi-fi. then CES seems to have moved away from that (or hi-fi brands have moved away from it). It’s not as big an even for traditional hi-fi these days, and the audio products that seem to gain more interest are those that support Wi-Fi and Bluetooth streaming – more modern and advanced technologies.

So to try and answer the question, is CES losing or has it lost its appeal? In some ways yes, in others no. The focus has shifted as trends in technology have shifted. It’s not necessarily about seeing physical products in the flesh anymore but more about innovation, about tech that changes people’s lives (you’ll probably hear those words a lot during the event), and more of a pivot towards services. In a sense, CES is moving from the tangible to the intangible.

CES 2024 could be very important for the future of the event, as well as other consumer trade events. It’s unlikely to make or break it, but it’ll continue its evolution into something different than what it once was just a few years ago.