CES Roundup 2024: I don’t know if CES is normally like this…but goodness, there was SO much cool stuff there!
What’s up techies! This was my first time at CES and I think it might have been a great one to start with. I’m definitely making plans to attend next year.
Long story short, I was hired on by a brand to create some promo videos and photos, which is what got me there. So super thankful for that opportunity!
CES Experiences
While there, I was invited to attend a dinner hosted by Andru Edwards and YouTube Creator Collective, where I got to catch up with familiar faces and meet new people. Another event I was able to attend was a happy hour with Nomad, where I got to put a face to names with whom I have been collaborating since the beginning of Bane Tech, including Peak Design. Both of these events meant a ton to me.
Speaking of Nomad, I had coffee with Nomad and Matt Gray to talk about product designs and their new lineups coming out this year. Let me tell ya, some fantastic products are coming out! I Can’t wait to see them hit the shelves!
One more experience I want to discuss before getting into the exhibits is the Android Experience. Android took over the Sphere at one point and set up camp at another. The post was pretty cool! When you walked up, you were greeted with a huge Android bug! I definitely had to get some photos with the big guy. Reps were hanging around each post, and to start things off, there was a QR code to scan, which gave a VR experience with an Android bug skating around the CES buildings. It was fun.
You could also learn about Pixel and Google features, such as all the editing options with Pixel 8 Pro. Overall, it was worth a visit, and I had to show some #TeamPixel love!
View this post on Instagram
CES Roundup!
Ok, now for the roundup! Matt and I teamed up to help each other record and get footage of various booths. CES is huge, and we only had a limited time to get to see the different exhibits. Our approach was to get to the main hall to see some of our favorite brands like Sony, LG, and Samsung. But it’s SO easy to get distracted, LOL! For example, we were in the Venetian Expo and saw Drone Soccer! There was actually a tournament happening at CES and we had to check it out.
Drone Soccer
Matt described it best, it was like Rocket League and Harry Potter’s game Quidditch. The drones were inside of a bubble and had attackers and defenders. The attackers had to fly through the lit-up donut. This was something that I think would be a ton of fun as a small business attraction in a local city/town.
View this post on Instagram
Prinker
During the first two days at CES, I was working on video productions for TAL, and every time I headed to their booth, I saw Prinker, which is a temporary tattoo printer! So I had to make some time for seeing more about this cool tech! It seemed to be a huge hit at the show because it was busy the entire time I was there. The product is pretty simple: choose a design, prep the area you want the temp tat on, and then print the art on the skin.
I could see this product being used for special events or parties. One of the practical uses for the product was for things like 5k races where you can print the participant’s number on the person vs flapping pinned paper on clothing.
Meepo
Is Boosted Board back, but in disguise? I had to do a double-take when walking by this booth. Meepo, while wasn’t anything new, was still pretty cool. Matt and I’s attention was drawn mostly to the offroad board.
TCL
TCL took a lot of our attention, they had a lot going on. The first thing that caught my attention was the massive 115″ tv. It was huge and very thin, and most importantly, the colors looked sharp, clean, and accurate. The display was just impressive. I’m building a new studio, and I could totally see this hanging out in the lounge area. It would be an impressive client experience to show off my work. The 115QM89 is the world’s largest 4K mini-LED TV. This unit is reported to be released later this year at $20,000.
NXTWEAR glasses was a fun way to play some video games! TCL had a demo with these glasses connected to an Xbox playing FIFA. I’m no good at soccer, so I was clueless about the gameplay, but I could see myself enjoying playing games like COD, NBA2k, or simply watching movies almost anywhere.
TCL had plenty more to show off, such as gaming monitors and TVs, but the 115QM89 and the NXTWEAR products had my attention the most. I wouldn’t mind trying out their smartphones at some point too.
Automated Vehicles
Hyundai
Afeela by Sony was for sure a show stopper, and I will get to that point shortly, but the techie little kid in me was in awe of a fully autonomous excavator! There was no ignoring Hyundai’s Future Xite. This thing looked like something out of Terminator! Can you imagine the future of construction sites with this thing? I’m really curious about what construction operators think of this kind of technology. The demos seemed to really push the safety benefits. There was also small bull dozer too.
Mobileye
Any VW bus lovers? Well, this one stole my techie heart! It was a combo of so many things I love and appreciate. Ever since Volkswagen announced their ID Buzz (I want to call it a Bug) I have seriously considered this being my first EV. Up until a few days ago at the time of writing this post, I was the proud owner of a 1976 VW Westfalia Bus. We sold it to use the funds for renovating my new studio. Maybe one day I will have another bus, but maybe I might get an ID Buzz instead.
Anyways, all that to just give you some context of why I like this Mobileye demo so much! Very cool tech inside of an already cool EV. I’ve been skeptical about allowing a machine to drive for me. How can a car safely drive me and be aware of hazards, bad drivers, changing conditions, and the list can go on? Mobileye’s features like SuperVision which uses many cameras to assist the driving experience.
View this post on Instagram
Afeela
Best for last? I missed out on the official presentation of Afeela at CES, but still got to stop by and take look at this new EV. The most impressive thing about this demo was at the show when they drove the car out to the stage with a Playstation controller. That’s a pretty sick remote control car! Sony did a great job with their booth with two model cars and a simulator. The grey color was a little boring to me but was kinda cool, too, because it had that old-school grey PlayStation color vibe.
View this post on Instagram
Motorola
Anyone remember Moto Maker? Man, those were the good old tech days, right? I would spend hours designing the perfect phone! Another nostalgic Motorola phone was the Razor before smartphones were a thing. Last year I tried foldable phones for the first time with the Google Pixel Fold and the Samsung Fold5. I ended up selling both of those phones. Nothing wrong with them, but I could use the money for other things because they were just collecting dust.
However, the Motorola Razr lineup makes me want to try the flip style instead! The form factor seemed to be a bit more practical. So it was nice to put my hands on a flip style phone. The display looked good, and I was surprised at how thin the phone was, too.
View this post on Instagram
Conclusion
I wish I had more time at CES, I regret not being able to see the Monday shows, but overall I am very thankful for the experience. Personally, what I got out of the most was the YouTube Creator Collective dinner and meeting the Nomad crew. Loved being able to work with Matt Gray who I met at Sony Camera Camp back in 2019. It was cool that Bane Tech led to client work and my own brand work.
It was amazing to experience CES for the first time and I can’t wait for next time and more experiences! Out of what I shared, what did you like the most? When I return to CES, what would you like me to cover?
