CES 2023: Tech world to gather and show off gadgets

NEW YORK: CES, once known as the Consumer Electronics Show, returns to Las Vegas this week in the hopes that it will look more like it did before the coronavirus pandemic.

The media previews begin on January 3 and 4, with the show opening on January 5 and running through Sunday.

Several years ago, the show's name was changed to CES to better reflect the evolving industry and event, which had expanded beyond audio and video to include cars, digital health, smart phones, wearables, and other technology.

Companies and startups will present advances in virtual reality, robotics, and consumer technology to members of the media and others in the IT industry. The exhibition is not open to the public.

Organisers say their goal is to draw 100,000 attendees. That would be a marked contrast with the look and feel of the past two shows – the last of which saw a 70% drop in in-person attendance amid the spread of the Omicron variant. The one before that was held virtually, replacing in-person displays and meet and greets with video streams and chats.

Even if organisers reach their goal, it would still represent a 41% dip in attendance compared to the in-person show held in early 2020, before the pandemic consumed much of everyday life.
According to Kinsey Fabrizio, senior vice president of the Consumer Technology Association, over 3,000 companies have registered to attend the event.

Many startups and regular visitors, such as Amazon and Facebook parent Meta, have recently reduced employment and instituted hiring freezes after beefing up their workforce during the outbreak. Other IT firms have also been tightening their belts and laying off people in response to economic concerns.

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