We’re two days into this year’s virtual Consumer Electronics Show, and we’ve already seen big tech announcements from companies like LG, Razer, and even Yves Saint-Laurent and L’Oreal. From a “rollable” smartphone and transparent TVs to a $299 lipstick mixer, here are the highlights from the tech trade show so far.
If you missed it, we covered Day One of pandemic-proof tech gadgets here, and what to expect at this year’s unusual tech trade show here.
Home entertainment, gaming and home office
Increasingly, we’re seeing the category of home entertainment intersect with work-from-home technology.
Enter the surprisingly sleek Acer Predator Triton laptop, which is built for both gaming and working from home. “Normally to get a fast gaming laptop … they’re pretty big, pretty fat and pretty noisy with the fans,” said Acer Pan America President Gregg Prendergast.
Also getting buzz in the home-office space: phones, TVs, desktops and watches.
Even though we’re still years away from 8K resolution being mainstream, TV manufacturers are doubling down on the ultra-high-resolution technology.
TCL, known for value products, announced a full lineup of smart Roku TVs that support 8K. There’s no word on pricing yet, but if TCL can make its new lineup more affordable than the $2,000 to $50,000 that 8K TVs have so far gone for, that could help push content creators and game makers to adopt 8K as well.
TVs are also going see-through in 2021. LG revealed a transparent 55-inch TV on Monday that resembles a sheet of glass. It’s a trend that’s picking up among TV makers like Xiaomi and Panasonic, though early products are still expensive and rare. LG did not announce pricing and didn’t say if the product will be commercially available.
LG also showed off a a phone, called the LG Rollable, whose screen can roll up to make it a tablet. It will go on the market later this year, presumably aimed at people who want to stream Netflix on the go but also want a tablet that can fit in their pockets. “This rollable device is an exploratory look at what the future of smartphones may bring,” LG wrote in a press release. Few other details about the phone were available, but the company told CNN Business in a statement that LG Rollable “will launch this year.”
Samsung will release more phone news later this week, when it announces its Galaxy S21 lineup.
Sony also announced a new drone brand called Airpeak, aimed at professional photographers and videographers. It’s coming this spring.
Lifestyle
Some of the best parts of CES each year are its kooky gadgets for lifestyle and beauty. This year, ColdSnap has a product that serves up ice cream in a pod, and L’Oreal has a $299 lipstick mixer called Perso that uses artificial intelligence to identify color and mixes it at home for you.
Perso uses three lipstick cartridges (purchased separately for an additional $100) and works with an iOS and…
Read more:: CES 2021 highlights: see-through TVs, a rollable smartphone and ice cream pods
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