ChatGPT coming to cars, dual-screen laptops and see-through TVs – the
best futuristic gadgets from CES 2024
Adrian Weckler
Here are some of the coolest and wackiest gadgets from this year’s
Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas
This week’s Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas kicked off the year
with a glimpse of what tech manufacturers are thinking about in the
world of TVs, phones, health tech, gadgets for the home and futuristic
cars. It ranges from the pragmatic to the wacky. Here are eight things
on display at the giant expo in Las Vegas this week.
1. C Seed N1 foldable TV
If Dermot Bannon was a billionaire, this might be something he’d like to
have in his home.
The 137-inch ultra high-end N1 TV from C Seed folds over to become
something akin to a bench. The folding and unfolding process takes
around two minutes at the touch of a button. That’s not all: the screen
itself can rotate 180 degrees to face a different direction. It will set
you back around €180,000, including installation and set up.
Samsung Flex In and Out Flip phone
2. Samsung’s fold-both-ways phone
Samsung has the lead in foldable phones right now. Its latest concept
device, called the Flex In & Out Flip, lets you fold the phone either in
or out. This means that the 6.7-inch vertical display can be folded in
half with the main screen on the outside, allowing you to keep using it.
While just a concept for now, it might offer a glimpse into how Samsung
is thinking for the future of foldable phones.
3. See-through tellies
An actual see-through telly is just about ready for the market now.
They’ve been on display for a few years as concepts, but LG says that
it’s now ready to release one later this year. The idea is that it
changes the room’s aesthetic from a space with a giant black slap to
something with a little discreet, even elegant; LG’s 77-inch model
presents itself as a “fish tank” when transparent.
Mercedes MBUX in-car virtual assistant
4. ChatGPT in your car
We’ve become used to Alexa or Siri or Google Assistant in our cars. Now
Volkswagen is going a step further, incorporating ChatGPT. The car
manufacturer says that this can provide “enriched” conversations between
automobile and passenger. VW is probably doing this as it’s relatively
far behind rival manufacturers in software terms. Meanwhile,
Mercedes-Benz put on display an upgrade to its own in-car virtual
assistant, MBUX, to be able to do things like patch you in to a work
meeting call if it sees from your calendar that you’re running late.
5. New Electric cars
CES has increasingly become a place for announcing new, or enhanced,
cars. While the self-driving craze of a few years ago has died down in
hype, some interesting new models have been on show. Honda’s new series,
called Honda Zero, looks a lot different to the cookie-cutter mini-SUV
or Tesla saloon design of most electric cars released these days. Other
than aesthetics, Honda’s vehicles are being positioned as more
aerodynamic due to being lighter and having a lower floor.
Asus ZenBook Duo dual-screen laptop
6. Asus dual-screen laptop
Ever miss your dual-monitor setup when you’re travelling? Asus’s Zenbook
Duo folds out to give you two 14-inch 3K Oled displays with a 120Hz
refresh rate. Folded out, that equates, vertically, to the equivalent of
a 20-inch display. The keyboard is a Bluetoothth-connected one with its
own trackpad, although you can also just use one of the displays if you
prefer.
7. Wearable-display smart glasses
While all the razzle dazzle of CES is going on, Apple announced that its
Vision Pro mixed-reality headset is being released for sale next month
in the US. Apple’s activity has somewhat re-energised the ‘wearable
display’ market, including this effort from Asus at CES. The AirVision
M1 glasses can show you video and other content on 1080p Micro Oled
display inside the glasses. The content is played from your phone or
other gadget. The glasses also have built-in speakers and a touchpad on
one of the stems to adjust the virtual display.
8. Skyted privacy mask
CES always throws up some weird stuff. The Skyted mask (€550 later this
year) fits neatly into that category. However, it could suit someone
who’s either paranoid or conscientious about being overheard when having
phone or Zoom conversations. The idea is to allow private conversations
in public by putting this large device over the lower part of your head.
It claims to completely cut out your voice to the outside world. In
normal circumstances, this might be considered ridiculous. But in a year
when Apple is launching a giant cranial strap-on of its own, it may not
seem so outlandish.
Irish Independent Technology
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