There is no Las Vegas this year. CES 2021 is all-digital, and watching the biggest tech show on earth through a browser tab is exactly as flat as it sounds. The energy of the show floor is gone, but the announcements still come, because the product cycle does not stop for anything.
Screens, silicon, and a rollable maybe
Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 888 powers the new wave of flagships. LG teases a rollable phone whose screen expands at the press of a button, which looks incredible in a sizzle reel, and I will believe it when I can buy one. Mercedes shows off the Hyperscreen, a dashboard that is essentially one enormous display stretching across the entire car.
The trend for the year ahead
The screen in your car is becoming the whole dashboard, and the gap between a luxury car interior and a giant tablet keeps shrinking. Expect software and displays to matter more than horsepower in how cars get sold.
A digital CES is better than no CES, barely. The Mercedes Hyperscreen is the thing that sticks with me. Whether you love it or find it distracting, that is clearly where car interiors are heading, and every other automaker is taking notes.
Part of 20 Years of CES Through My Lens, my year-by-year diary of the show.