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Matt Evans attended CES2020 for techUK and was based out of the UK Pavilion in Eureka Park.

You can read my daily round-ups from #CES2020 at the bottom of this insight but I wanted to give my views on my first visit to the show as a whole. It’s worth clarifying that my views are restricted to what I saw and heard about at the show; and I no doubt missed a fair few of the 4.5k exhibitors!

By far the most exciting ‘new’ technology at the show was Quantum. I never saw the Quantum computer below without at least a one-two deep crowd trying to get a clear look or listen to a talk on it. Whilst it is the consumer electronics show this was the technology innovation that clearly had people excited and interested in.

Other technologies like 5G, seen not unsurprisingly given the nature of the show through the prism of faster and more reliable mobile speeds rather than on vertical offerings – outside of automotive at least – felt as if it was drifting to the edges. AI meanwhile was seen as mainstream and deployed on an ever-increasing range of devices and services.

I talked about the growth of health-tech at CES on my day four round-up but one of the biggest consumer offerings, outside of the always impressive television offerings, was for AR/immersive tech where there was an expectation that it would enter into the mainstream in 2020.

The policy and regulatory tracks at the Show were impressive with several Cabinet Secretaries and Commissioners of relevant federal agencies. But noticeable by their absence was much of a serious consideration of Climate Change (both of the role tech can playing helping bring about a more sustainable planet and the questions about tech having a negative role in combatting climate change) or the Ethical use of technology. The most prominent ‘critical’ question for tech was on the impact of screen time, particularly for children.

Finally, it would be remiss not to mention once again those who help deliver a vibrant and eye-catching UK Pavilion – namely TradeFair who manage the Pavilion and civil servants from the Department of International Trade. They all do a fantastic job in allowing UK companies from putting their front foot forward as well as highlighting the attractiveness of the UK for foreign investment. Given the relatively low level of funding for start-ups to attend CES, the UK punches above its weight in terms of the impact at the Show – although we would make even more of an impact if we increased this funding!

See the below for more of techUK’s views on CES2020:

CES2020: automotive is the driving force for first announcements

CES2020: day one covers policy, innovation and purpose

CES2020: day two explores a world enabled by AI and quantum computing

CES2020: day three provides entertainment in 8K definition

CES2020: day four brings connected wellness and relaxation…finally!