CES 2021 is coming!

​2021 CES Potential Key ThemesIn anticipation of the upcoming CES, I wondered in a new pandemic based existence what might be surfacing at the upcoming digital only show.
One of the biggest life changing moments during the pandemic has been the necessity for consumers to rely on video to communicate with coworkers, family members and more.
Zoom went from a useful tool to a necessity overnight and that will obviously fuel at CES a look at other types of video conferencing capabilities.
Google for example took major leaps in their video conferencing capabilities with Google Meet by enabling video chats with hundreds of participants.
With Microsoft having a big presence at the upcoming show it will also be interesting to see what advancements they are working on for their Team platform.
Fitness tech has been a burgeoning category every year at CES and there is no doubt this year will be no exception.
As gyms have essentially shut down as a result of the pandemic consumers have placed a greater reliance on finding their right solution fit to stay fit.
The turning point for fitness tech this past year was that these machines or devices actually do help us be better fit.
Of course there is gimmickry but overall there is great quality in this category, obviously led by the Peloton wave.
Look for other subscription service copy cats to try and get a piece of this category.
Relating slightly to the fitness tech category are electric two wheelers which saw growth in 2020.
With regulations in states like New York and California making them safer to ride we can potentially expect to see more interest in this category at CES.
Home health care was bound to advance out of necessity due to the pandemic and this year we can expect to evaluate products like:
Vision Check 2-a new DIY Smart Phone Vision test created by Eye Q which makes it easy to test your vision at home and order glasses on-line and Gate Doc, a smart automated and touchless body temperature scanner which eliminates the burden of temperature checks.
Heath-care was an exploding category before the pandemic so expect to see lots of innovation this year.
Are there devices or categories that emerged last year at CES that might need a reboot of sorts?
My picks:
Some of the Amazon devices might be a little on the weird side. For example: A drone that rides around your house recording video strikes me as unnecessary.
Bad Sci Fi implications
Amazons Halo fitness tracking device also seems a bit useless
I don’t need an app to tell me I’m in a bad mood
Another idea that either needs a reboot from last years show or go away is the foldable phone category
Still trying to figure what my motivation would be for needing it
Then there is 5G
Marketing ploy or real deal?
As the carriers all fight for their share it feels more marketing than an advantage that has arrived
Very few companies find the big win that becomes the must have of CES.
Let’s see who breaks out of the pack in the upcoming days.