5G, AI top CES 2019 trends

Heads up, importers! Fast connectivity and smarter products will be at the top of your tech-savvy buyers’ minds this year. The recently concluded Consumer Electronics Show held in Las Vegas last January 8 to 11 shows that the biggest and most interesting trends in 2019 are going to be 5G and better Artificial Intelligence.

At CES 2019, AT&T, frontrunner in 5G networks, has showcased to the world more of its 5G Evolution network, which promises more responsive wireless connections as fast as 400Mbps. While 4G phones, routers and devices are still prominent, 5G Evolution has been reported to broaden to about 400 markets already and is expanding more. Anticipate more devices such as smartphones and routers to bear the 5G marks and speed soon, and buyers will be on the lookout for these.

Plenty of new-generation robots and smart home devices also made a splash at the tech show thanks to better AI. Robots not only move nowadays, they can already think, communicate, play and mimic emotions. Some of the smartest robots at CES 2019 can analyze customer behavior, compete in ping pong and converse with people. For the smart home, innovation thrives in voice assistants. Many of the devices, lighting fixtures and appliances on display at the tech show incorporated voice AI such as Google and Alexa, which can now learn, recognize more commands and be used to link almost everything inside a home. With a lot of improvements since the trend went big in previous CES runs, indeed the smart home today has matured beyond just being run by apps, as what CNET observed.

Besides the two major trends, CES 2019 also had under the spotlight promising technologies such as smart transportation, VR and AR, and health devices. Attendees and tech news media saw flying taxis, electric bikes and self-driving cars in never-before-seen forms. Notable displays, according to CNBC, were Bell Nexus’ air taxi that looks like a futuristic helicopter and caught the interest of popular ride-hailing service provider Uber, and Kia’s oval autonomous concept car, and Mercedes-Benz’ new handsfree sedan. For VR and AR, more gaming and personal theatre devices at CES are touting wireless, eye-tracking and 4K features such as Vive and Oculus’ recent launches. In addition, VR is not limited to goggles, there are now VR shoes and stationary bikes, as seen by Digital Trends. In health and fitness technologies as reported by Forbes, products such as kettlebells, boxer gloves and simulators, and strength equipment are becoming “connected” to apps, and going robotic.

Want to start sourcing these kinds of innovations? Check out if your supplier is already offering products like these CES releases. There are already a number of reliable Asia suppliers starting their own evolution of devices. Be it cool smartphones, smart educational robots, speakers with voice assistants, VR accessories, health wearables and more, import as early as today to take advantage of these trendy innovations.