To say I haven’t been to CES in a minute would be an understatement. It’s been 6 years since I’ve been to CES, with my last one being CES 2016. This was my last trip being so long ago, tons of reasons why, and tons has changed since that last CES. For the reasons why I haven’t been, initially, I was focused on buying a house and settling into said house, but just when I thought I return, Covid-19 struck further prolonging my return. And what’s changed, well yup I’ve moved, 6 years now as a homeowner, started building a smart series for the site (this is definitely due for an update), no longer am Bronx, NY based, and am definitely a long of other change since. But yes CES 2023, it’s time to return and I’m excited to be back. Since I will be attending, let’s talk about what I’ll be bringing (aka what’s in the bag), and why I’m hoping to see you at CES this year!
What’s In The Bag
While it’s definitely been some time since my last since, just like the last one I attended, I’ve been focusing on bringing less with me. In previous years I forgo-ed bringing a full laptop with me and just brought a table with a keyboard attachment. I won’t be doing that this year, this year I’ll bring my Macbook Pro with me again. I’m debating if I will still bring a tablet for purely viewing/recreational purposes I haven’t decided yet. But definitely Macbook Pro. I will also of course have my Pixel suite of products with me, with the Pixel 7 Pro, Pixel Buds Pro, and Pixel Watch with me. I’ll use the Pixel Buds Pro for audio listening, but if I decide I need a rest of the in-ear feeling, I’ll be bringing my trusty Plantronics (now known as Poly) Back Beat Pro 2s. These have been my companion on trips (especially flights) for some time now. Love these because of their long battery endurance (up to 24-hour playback time), immersive sounds, and active noise canceling. There are definitely newer devices out, but these haven’t failed me yet, with my only gripe being that they don’t use USB-C for charging.
And then for the infrastructure. Instead of bringing a ton of various charging cables and power adapters or plugs, I’ll be trying to get by with two devices I picked up from Anker. I pick up the Anker 40W 512 charger and the Anker 65W 726 charger. This combo will give me a total of 4 USB-C ports for all my main gadgets, with me just needing one additional USB-A adapter for the Back Beat Pro 2s if I ever need it. Slim and light will be how I’ll be traveling this time around. I’ll be able to charge all the gadgets, and my Macbook Pro and toggle with anything else I last minute decide to bring.
What I’m Hoping To See
So now that you know what I’ll be bringing for the most part, with my first trip back to CES, what am I hoping to see at this year’s CES? Generally, while I’m looking to see all the latest devices to come out, my core focus will be the following.
- Smart Home Tech
- EVs and EV Charging Tech
- Something unexpected
When it comes to Smart Home Tech, I’ll be looking to see what is the latest and greatest out there. Looking to see if there is anything new to solve a need I have or didn’t know I had. And above all, I’ll be looking to see if anything coming out in 2023 will be Matter ready/compatible/certified. If you are not sure what Matter is, be sure to check out my recent post on it here. Now on the EV and EV Charging front, I’ll be looking to see what new cars may be on the horizon or EV charging solutions in the works. 2023 is the year that the new EV tax credits come into effect from the Inflation Reduction Act, so there should be a new crop of people looking to potentially pick up a new EV as they replace their older cars. What will be interesting to see, is if EV charging infrastructure will grow to match it or if new creative solutions will be on the rise to meet these new owners.
Finally, I hope to see something unexpected. Each CES we may have our core tech areas we are looking to cover, but there is always a surprise booth or vendor who is showing off something we wouldn’t have even thought of or knew we needed. I’m hoping to be walking the show floor, and run into something unexpected by cool. What that might be this year? Who knows, that is the fun part about CES. So let’s see what this may be.
What are you looking forward to seeing at CES 2023? What do you hope will come out of this CES? Let us know in the comments.