My deceased brother played the biggest role in my fascination with tech, gadgets and Consumer Electronics Show (CES), the most influential tech event in the world. Due to COVID, CES was a strictly virtual event in 2021. This year, the event is hybrid with both in-person and virtual options. In 2020, the event spanned 3 million square feet of exhibits by 4500+ companies with 188,000 in attendance. I’m not sure what the exact stats are this year, but based on a few articles I came across, it is somewhere around 2000 companies with 50-75,000 in person attendees, notably less than the last time I went. 2022 was initially scheduled to run from Wednesday, January 5th – Saturday, January 8th, but due to the spike of COVID cases, the show was shortened by one day and ends on Friday, January 7th instead. All attendees are required to submit proof of vaccination and provided a self-test COVID kit, with 2 tests, upon picking up a badge. However attendees are not required to self-test, only recommended, to take one test prior to attending and one after the show.
The Las Vegas Convention Center is the main venue where the popular name brands like Sony, Google, and LG showcase their massive, often jaw-dropping exhibits. But there were a lot of companies who pulled out this year, including big ones like Amazon, Google, Microsoft, Lenovo, and Mercedes-Benz. Because I prefer the Venetian (previously Sands) Expo where the smaller companies, including start-ups, can be found for categories such as health/wellness, wearables, and smart home, I spent my entire first day there. I plan to check out the Convention Center tomorrow.
I will say the vibe of CES felt very different to me this year compared to previous years. Before, I purposefully tried to arrive 15-30 minutes early to ensure I found parking without too much traffic and hassle. This year, I was running late and actually didn’t arrive until half an hour after the exhibits already opened. It was apparent immediately upon entering the Palazzo parking garage that this year is different since there was plenty of parking to be found. In 2020, the lot was so full that I, along with many other attendees, made our own parking spots along walls and corners. This time, I was able to find a spot close to the elevators on the second level. As I walked into the casino and made my way to the expo, the foot traffic was glaringly light. Passing by the Starbucks that often would have a ridiculous line that snaked around a corner and down the hall barely had 5 people in line. Because of the drastically lower number of exhibitors and attendees, it felt odd walking through the empty aisles of the expo hall and seeing several booths unmanned, but it was a relief that I didn’t have to be surrounded by a lot of people and had a lot of space between others. I also did feel slightly reassured that all attendees adhered to the indoor mask policy, but of course there were a handful I noticed who didn’t have their masks properly covering their nose.
I didn’t track as much mileage as I usually do at this event since there simply weren’t as many booths , but there were a few things that caught my eye that I already plan on writing posts about. I’m sure there will be others that I see tomorrow at the convention center as well, so be on the lookout for future posts soon!
GGibberish 