The absence of Apple and OpenAI did not affect their presence on CES.
"It's embarrassing to attend CES without AI," an exhibitor told a reporter from First Financial News. From chip giants such as Intel, Nvidia, Qualcomm, and AMD releasing AI chips, to adding AI to terminals such as PCs, TVs, refrigerators, and robots, even traditional car companies such as Mercedes Benz, BMW, and Volkswagen have released intelligent cockpit solutions based on AI models. AI has undoubtedly become the absolute protagonist of this year's CES.
Numerous technology giants have gathered here, with the goal of showcasing their latest technological capabilities not only at exhibitions, but more importantly, joining a technology competition about the "AI revolution" at the "card table" in Las Vegas.
If OpenAI is a new disruptor, then in addition to AI, there is an industry that has become even more restless at this year's CES due to the "disruption" of giants.
Just the day before the opening of CES, Apple announced the launch date of its flagship product Vision Pro. Although the Apple XR did not make its debut, it has become a hot topic in the industry on CES, and it has also made people look forward to the future development direction of XR technology.
No AI, no CES
Although OpenAI did not personally participate in CES, its profound influence in the field of artificial intelligence has been demonstrated through the products and technologies of other exhibitors.
Just a year ago, OpenAI's ChatGPT was just emerging, but now, the direction of the technology industry has fully shifted towards the development of AI big models and the application of AIGC. At the beginning of the new year, the industry is discussing that 2024 will become a series of "firsts" such as the first year of AI applications and AI terminals. Behind this, with the wave of big models as a turning point, the global consumer electronics industry has stood at a new starting point in AI.
The Central Exhibition Hall is one of the core exhibition areas of CES. Here, home appliance companies such as Samsung, LG, Sony, TCL, Hisense, and others occupy the most core position, showcasing their own AI products. Kris, the founder of Meixun, who has participated in CES four times, joked to First Financial reporters, "The soul of ChatGpt is everywhere."
Although the combination of AI and various smart terminals has been demonstrated in the past CES, and some have even been applied, the penetration of AI at this CES is even stronger than before, no longer limited to simple functions such as "smart voice assistant" or "home control". It is delving deeper into the infinite possibilities of the application layer, even becoming your AI assistant.
The theme of Samsung's CES exhibition hall this time is called "All for AI", which fully demonstrates its vertical integration ability in the industry chain. For example, Samsung has enhanced its AI capabilities, and 8K TVs have built-in AI chips to improve picture quality; Samsung's AI rolling robot Ballie has evolved into a user's AI companion, capable of interacting with other intelligent devices to provide customized services such as handling tedious tasks or projecting images and videos. Users can view weather or other daily life information anytime, anywhere; Samsung has launched an AI refrigerator with a 32 inch screen that can recognize 33 types of food and recommend recipes through an internal camera.
Samsung's competitor LG Electronics is also actively expanding into the AI field. During CES 2024, President Cao Zhouwan, CEO of LG Electronics, stated that "it is not about developing AI for artificial intelligence, but about developing substantive technologies that contribute to real-life situations.". LG Electronics is conducting research and development on eight fundamental technologies, including software, System on Chip (SoC), AI, robotics, next-generation computing, and cloud data, which will dominate future technologies.
TCL Industrial CTO Sun Li also shared his insights on the integration of consumer electronics terminals such as televisions with AI models. He stated that TCL has started to venture into content interaction based on AIGC, closely integrating content with smart TVs. The main challenge currently faced by TCL is how to use artificial intelligence technology to create new forms of content and streaming media. This not only involves technological innovation, but also requires a deep understanding of user needs to provide more intelligent and personalized content services.
In addition to home appliance companies, chip giants such as Intel, AMD, and Nvidia are expected to gradually launch "AI strategies", and PC manufacturers such as Lenovo and Dell are also aggressively competing in AI, showcasing their AI PC lineup. After experiencing a difficult year in 2023, the industry is looking forward to a turning point in the PC industry due to AI.
At the CES exhibition hall, automobiles and autonomous driving are highly regarded fields, and AI has already been "on board". Volkswagen has introduced ChatGPT, which can control information entertainment, navigation, and air conditioning, or answer general knowledge questions. Mercedes Benz's AI virtual assistant can sense the driver's emotions. When the driver's mood is low, its prompts and reactions will be shorter and more direct; When the driver is in a happy mood, their voice will also be more cheerful.
Looking into the future, the possibility of AI will also penetrate into more terminal fields. Brian Comiskey, Project Director of the American Consumer Technology Association, gave an example, "In the future, AI will support the development of the next generation of robots in the food industry, such as home cooking tabletop robots, as well as restaurant and hotel robots that can tell jokes."
Is the new era of XR here?
In addition to AI, another hot topic on CES is Apple dropping a heavyweight bomb in the XR field.
According to official CTA data, over 350 exhibitors involved in XR participated in CES in 2024. Not only have major VR and AR companies launched the latest equipment, but the upstream and downstream industry chains also announced the construction progress of the XR platform.
According to statistics, domestic companies such as XREAL, Thunderbird Innovation, Dapeng VR, NOLO, HTC VIVE, Xiaopai Technology, Skyworth XR, BOE, Mojie Technology, Yunhe Technology, Xianxun Technology, Sitan Technology, Nader Optics, and Yijing have appeared at CES and exhibited their self-developed XR exhibits. In terms of international enterprises, Aromajoin, Brandenburg Labs, PNC Solution, Letin AR, and others have also made appearances.
The reporter from First Financial News summarized that "AI+XR", spatial computing power, and ultra-high resolution display are the three main directions for product manufacturers to "show off their muscles" at this year's CES.
For example, Thunderbird Innovation showcased its 2024 new product "Thunderbird X2 Lite" at CES, which is equipped with an artificial intelligence large model voice assistant. Xian Shun Technology has released the world's first personal AI terminal with ordinary eyewear appearance and AR capability. XREAL announced a partnership with Qualcomm and BMW to jointly explore AR, AI, and wireless data connectivity (5G). Some XR hardware manufacturers are competing in ultra-high resolution.
"Our industry has finally had a 'leader'." In the exhibition area, Ren Pan, CEO of VR company Xiaopai Technology, told First Financial reporters that Apple launched the XR product earlier than the industry had anticipated. "After Apple entered, it was equivalent to having a leader in this industry, further informing everyone of the direction and route in this industry."
For example, after the Apple XR, the industry's unit price suddenly increased from 2000 or 3000 to 30000 yuan, bringing a higher quality experience and also increasing the industry's profit margin. "This industry requires more innovation, and having a better profit is the greatest help to the industry." He predicts that the release of the Apple XR will bring a refreshing effect to the industry.
"Apple's style is not to be the first, but to be the best." In the CES West Pavilion, a former Apple engineer praised First Financial's entry into the XR field. But he told reporters that he would not buy it immediately because "the price is really too expensive.". This actually reflects the mentality of some consumers, as the high price makes them hesitant about this product.
During CES 2024, Counterpoint Senior Analyst Harmet Singh Walia analyzed that Apple's entry into the XR market will become a watershed for the industry. The consumer interest sparked by Apple's entry into the XR market will benefit existing manufacturers in the market who offer price competitive headsets. Many enthusiasts who want to try this technology but are discouraged by Apple's high prices will tend to purchase headsets from other manufacturers, Thus promoting the development of the global XR market.
Although many companies are showing off their muscles in the XR hardware ecosystem, after visiting the exhibition, reporters found that many of the applications installed in various XR devices are ported from original 2D applications, and there are still shortcomings in the native applications of 3D space.
An industry insider who has been observing XR headsets for a long time told reporters that currently, for VR/AR headsets, the most important thing is to find application scenarios outside of entertainment and achieve the transformation from entertainment tools to productivity tools. In this process, the role played by developers is particularly important. Apple currently provides a high-quality hardware platform, and whether it can open up the possibility of application in industries, education, and other fields through innovation in popular applications in the future is a direction that needs to be considered by the head display industry, including Apple Vision Pro. (Reporter Zheng Xutong also contributed to this article)