With CES 2017 going strong this week, we're taking a look at some of the tech trends that are evident at the show so far. There are lots of things going on at CES, but these are some of the big, overriding trends that look to have the ability to impact the market, both now and in the future. Part 1: Self-driving cars and the tech that drives them (no pun intended) Part 2: The increasingly wacky world of connected "smart" devices (Note: Much love to the great people at The Verge for the incredible reporting at CES this week. We've linked to many of their articles here and suggest you check out their great site on your own, too.) Trend #3 - AI Assistants (especially Amazon’s) AI assistants are nothing new - every iPhone user has carried Siri around in their pockets for years now - but they are definitely on the upswing as tech companies race to establish dominance in the voice-controlled assistant space. Google’s apparently very capable new Assistant made its debut with the Google Pixel phone last year and now it’s starting to show up in other devices like Android TV and Nvidia’s newly announced Shield TV. They’re even opening up developer access to the Google Home device that will allow third parties to interact through the neat little voice controlled smart home device. But the big story of CES is Amazon’s Alexa assistant. First showing up in Amazon’s own Echo smart home product a while back, Alexa has shown up so many times in my news feed over the past couple of days I started being more surprised when a press release DIDN’T mention Alexa integration of some sort. Amazon has made it easy for developers to integrate the Alexa assistant and service into their devices and developers are definitely taking Amazon up on the offer. It’s a pretty sweet deal for developers - all they have to add is a mic, a speaker, and a little circuitry to their connected devices and Amazon’s back-end servers handle all of the heavy lifting. Then, voila, you’ve got yourself an even smarter thing you were already developing. And develop they are. Already this week we’ve seen Alexa get built into new TVs (from the Chinese conglomerate that makes Westinghouse/Element/Seiki televisions), refrigerators (LG), robots (LG again), direct Echo competitors (Lenovo), lamps (GE), and home assistants aimed at children / infants (Mattel). That’s in addition to the integrations with Alexa - products that can be controlled by voice commands given to an Echo, Echo Dot, or any of the other devices with Alexa built in. Whirlpool has an entire line of home appliances that can be controlled by Alexa, Dish’s Hopper DVR now has Alexa voice control, and Samsung is adding it to their robot vacuum cleaner. Even routers and security systems are getting into the game (from Linksys and ADT, respectively). Ford is even integrating Alexa into its cars. Amazon is obvously serious about making Alexa a serious player in the AI Assistant space, and, given how developer friendly they're being they're making good headway. I can't imagine that Google is not paying close attention to the number of newly Alexa-enabled devices coming out, so I wouldn't at all be surprised to see a more concerted push to work with developers in order to expand Assistant's reach. Microsoft even made news this week with the announcement that Nissan and BMW would be bringing the Cortana assistant to some of their cars. So what's missing here? Despite being on every iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, and Mac out there, Apple's Siri doesn't exactly play well with others and Apple doesn't seem inclined to open up Siri's sandbox. It will be interesting to see if Apple decides to open Siri up to more developer integration, but given their past history I wouldn't hold my breath. Amazon Alexa Assistant News:
Google Assistant News: With CES 2017 going strong this week, we're taking a look at some of the tech trends that are evident at the show so far. There are lots of things going on at CES, but these are some of the big, overriding trends that look to have the ability to impact the market, both now and in the future.
Be sure to check out Part 1: Self-driving cars and the tech that drives them (no pun intended) (Note: Much love to the great people at The Verge for the incredible reporting at CES this week. We've linked to many of their articles here and suggest you check out their great site on your own, too.) Trend #2 - The Internet of (Crazy) Things The so-called "Internet of Things” (IoT) and all its various smart devices have been around for a few years now, but we seem to be reaching new levels of wackiness here. Over the past few years, everyday devices have increasingly become internet-connected and, to some degree or another, “smarter.” My first smart home device was the Nest Thermostat and, I have to say, I love it dearly. Given my excellent experience with that device, I followed that purchase up with Nest’s own Protect smoke detector - then promptly wished I hadn’t since it’s a complete piece of junk. I even bought a Withings WiFi-connected bathroom scale since it actually helped me keep track of my weight (which, given my proclivities for cookies, hasn’t been easy). I never bought into the connected LED lights trend, but at least I can see where it would be useful. But this year, it seems like companies have just gone completely around the bend with this tech, putting smart tech in just about anything they can think of, regardless of whether or not it makes any sense at all. This year so far, we’ve seen smart garbage cans (not kidding), smart hair brushes (seriously), smart cat feeders (yep), smart toothbrushes (supposedly imbued with artificial intelligence, no less!), and even smart toasters. In years past, these oddities would have been one-off bits of weirdness - this year, however, they're seemingly mainstream. Without a doubt, the IoT seems here to stay, but the question becomes where will customers draw the line? It's one thing to be able to change your thermostat setting from the comfort of your bed, but will consumers really care about the level of connected technology in their toothbrushes? And be willing to pay for it? (Also, please, please, please manufacturers think about the security of these devices. Remember the Mirai botnet from a few months back where hackers figured out how to turn an army of these things into a way to mount crippling “distributed denial of service” attacks across the internet? I don't want my ceiling fan to suddenly become the reason I can't get online.) CES 2017 "Smart" Devices:
With CES 2017 going strong this week, we're taking a look at some of the tech trends that are evident at the show so far. There are lots of things going on at CES, but these are some of the big, overriding trends that look to have the ability to impact the market, both now and in the future. (Note: Much love to the great people at The Verge for the incredible reporting at CES this week. We've linked to many of their articles here and suggest you check out their great site on your own, too.) Trend #1 - Self-driving cars and the tech that drives them (no pun intended) Auto manufacturers and chipmakers seem to have caught on to what Tesla, Google, and, if rumors are to be believed, Apple, seem to have known for some time now - that self-driving cars are the future. It seems like everyone in the industry is racing (again, no pun intended) towards developing their own autonomous tech - in order to both be the first to market and the market leader. Chipmakers like Nvidia, Intel, and Mobileye are staking their claims to be the brains behind self-driving cars. And for good reason - with market saturation occurring in the mobile and desktop markets, getting a lot of expensive, complex chips and technology into every new car on the road in the next few years is the picture definition of creating new market opportunities. And Nvidia and Intel both have a lot to gain since their current fortunes are tied to the ever-declining desktop computing market. So witness their partnerships with everyone from Audi and BMW to traditional automotive suppliers like Bosch. Intel is even taking it a step further by investing in their own mapping technology for self-driving cars.
Not to be outdone, the traditional auto manufacturers seem to be, at long last, waking up to the need for both self-driving tech and for electric cars in general. Ford announced a surprisingly robust roadmap of electric and hybrid vehicles along with an autonomous version of its Fusion car. Chrysler and Toyota both rolled out wacky looking concept cars that will probably never be produced (although that Chrysler Portal minivan concept is probably about as cool as you’d ever be able to make a minivan). And Hyundai is pretty clearly targeting the lower end of the market with it’s Ioniq hatchback, which, thanks to “cheaper sensors and less computing power,” should make going driverless more affordable according to the company (although, personally, I’m not really sure if we’re already at the “cheaper and less powerful” stage where self-driving cars are involved). And Hyundai also managed to go straight off the deep end with a completely bonkers “Mobility Vision” concept of the smart home of the future paired with an autonomous vehicle that somehow becomes a part of your house. Make sure to check out the link, below, as it has to be seen to be believed.
Not surprisingly, the wireless carriers want a piece of the action as well since adding every single car on the road to the cellular networks should ensure a profitable new revenue stream for, well, probably as long as there continue to be cars on the road. AT&T, in particular, has decided to get out in front of the pack by partnering with the American Center for Mobility to “provide exclusive network resources needed to advance driverless technologies.” And last but certainly not least, long-in-gestation electric car startup Faraday Future (FF) took the wraps off their long-teased autonomous electric car, the oddly named FF91 (nine-one). The introduction presentation was apparently both weird and quite glitchy (the car refused to move for a self-parking demo, for example), but the specifications for the car are so insane as to be practically unbelievable. 130kWh batter, 378 miles of range, 1,050 horsepower, 0-60 in 2.39 seconds, full self-driving ability, facial recognition with self-opening doors in place of door handles, and so on. The downsides? Well, it’s pretty damn ugly (in my personal estimation) for one, and Faraday Future seems to be teetering on the edge of oblivion if the news of financial difficulties and recent executive turnover is accurate. I guess we’ll find out in 2018 when the FF91 supposedly goes into production for some yet to be announced (but surely insanely expensive) pricetag. Next up, we'll tackle the Internet of Things and "smart" devices. |
AuthorHi, I'm Todd, part of the MarketReady team. I write the blog, too. ArchivesCategories |