The year kicks off with the biggest tech event in the industry, the annual Consumer Electronics Show, giving us a bird's eye view of what to expect for the year or the near future, where gadgets and gizmos are concerned.
For the 2016 exhibition, at least 3,200 vendors will be showing off their wares and giving us more things to drool over. Despite the sheer number of exhibitors and products, it's expected that a good number of these have common denominators. According to The Verge, just the first day of the week-long event yielded trends that may set the tone for the rest of the year.
Drones
The tech news source said that at the CES Unveiled event, which is more intimate and eclectic, Parrot and DJI showcased their new drones. The former introduced a new model capable of autonomous operation - meaning it can set flight, steer, and land on its own - although this isn't exactly a new development as this was featured in last year's CES.
ProDrone also showed a new feature for its Byrd line of drones that "allows you to mount a number of popular consumer cameras and remotely control them after you take flight."
Then there's the luxury car that comes with its own drone and launch pad, as noted by Digital Trends. Looks like quadcopters will be more ubiquitous than ever.
Virtual Reality
"The debut of Oculus Rift is imminent (and the latest version will be at CES), services (including Facebook) are already supporting 360-degree video and simpler viewers like Google Cardboard have whetted the appetite for immersive experiences," Mashable declared.
"Though Oculus is the gorilla in the room, and Cardboard is the "democratic" version of VR, there's still space for in the midrange for headset makers (especially since Samsung's Gear VR doesn't leave much for non-Samsung owners)," it added.
Cars
Pundits have noted a striving to produce a self-driving car among the big players in the tech and automobile industry in the last few years. As such, it's expected that there'll be prototypes or conceptual models of this kind of ride appearing in CES 2016.
3D Printers
There have been some developments in 3D printing in the last few years, but still not enough to push this technology into the mainstream market. This means companies have a rich field of opportunities to exploit, especially with the emergence of the smart home.
Smart Home
More devices apt for a smart home will be popping up at this year's CES. On the first day alone, Unveiled hosted the introduction of a batch of smart home products compatible with Apple's HomeKit, The Verge noted.
"FirstAlert was showing an environmental sensor, a thermostat, and a prototype home camera; Kwikset had a new door lock; and Hunter was showing a connected ceiling fan," the site reported.
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