CES 2016: Top 10 exciting announcements from Samsung, Lenovo, Acer and others
We round up the top announcements from the tech trade show
The first week back in 2016 has been suitably jammed with news thanks to CES 2016 in Las Vegas.
Announcements tumbled out thick and fast from the great and the good of the tech world, ranging from new tablets and laptops, to VR headsets, connected car technology and a host of weird and wonderful gizmos.
V3 has put together a rundown of what we felt were the most interesting, exciting and intriguing announcements from the show as CES comes and goes for another year.
10. Weird and wonderful gadgets
As always there were plenty of gadgets unveiled at CES, from bendy, foldable TV screens, to drones and fitness belts. Yes fitness belts.
Samsung's oddly named Welt Belt is designed to be worn as a normal belt, but also monitors the wearer's health information, such as waist size, diet, steps taken in a day and time spent sitting down. It is then supposed to recommend ways to improve your health.
Special mention should also go to Samsung for going big on the annual ‘smart fridge' announcements with an appliance that contains a 21.5in HD LDC screen that can display calendars, photos and text messages.
Another fun product on show was Sensorwake, which can be programmed to emit certain smells when you wake up in the morning, such as fresh croissants or coffee, to help get you out of bed with a spring in your step.
V3 can't help thinking that the disappointing reality of no fresh croissants or coffee waiting for you will lead many to turn against the Sensorwake.
Meanwhile, as the BBC reported, LG showed off the first concept model of a fully bendable TV screen that, while not the finished article just yet, could lead to a world of electronic newspapers and TVs that you can set up and take down at a moment's notice.
CES 2016: Top 10 exciting announcements from Samsung, Lenovo, Acer and others
We round up the top announcements from the tech trade show
9. Dell updates Latitude business devices
CES may be focused mainly on the consumer tech world, but this didn't stop Dell dropping by to announce several new enterprise-grade laptops and tablets, focusing attention on the new Latitude 13 7000 Series, Latitude 12 7000 Series and Latitude 11 5000 Series.
However, it's the consumer influence that makes this new kit so interesting. Dell has taken inspiration from its own XPS line to liven up the Latitude family, supposedly in response to demand for sleeker, less workmanlike work machines.
The Latitude 13 7000 Series, for instance, is based heavily on the XPS 13, featuring similar carbon fibre construction, an almost identical backlit keyboard and a new-found penchant for portability; it weighs just 1.1kg and is Dell's slimmest 13in laptop yet. Meanwhile, the Latitude 12 7000 Series takes its cues from the XPS 12 2-in-1, such as by offering USB-C ports and an optional UHD display.
Administrators need not worry about the dumbing-down of business hardware, either. Besides extras like fingerprint scanners and smart card readers, all these machines are compatible with the same security and management software as previous Latitude laptops and tablets.
CES 2016: Top 10 exciting announcements from Samsung, Lenovo, Acer and others
We round up the top announcements from the tech trade show
8. First Snapdragon 820 smartphone makes a Las Vegas debut
Qualcomm announced the first smartphone to use its Snapdragon 820 chip, and it's not the Samsung Galaxy S7 as speculation had suggested.
It was believed that Samsung had bagged exclusivity on the Snadragon 820 processor for use in the yet to be announced Galaxy S7 until April, but Qualcomm revealed during its CES press conference this week that Chinese manufacturer Letv will get to use the chip first in its Le Max Pro smartphone.
We've yet to be given a full rundown of the handset's specs and features, but Letv said that, with the Snapdragon 820 inside, the Le Max Pro will be the first Qualcomm Sense ID smartphone.
This ultrasonic fingerprint scanner technology can read moist or lotion-covered fingers. It works by bouncing ultrasonic waves off the finger, picking up the pattern and depth of contours, unlike current capacitive options that essentially use a camera to capture a print.
This means that the sensor can be placed anywhere on a device, as it can read prints through glass, metal and sapphire. In this case, Letv has positioned the metal-clad sensor on the rear of the device, but when we got hands-on with the technology last year, Qualcomm showed it in action built into a glass display.
We're not likely to see the handset in the UK, but it's also one of the first devices to include 802.11ad WiFi.
When quizzed as to when the Snapdragon 820 will start showing up in other smartphones, Qualcomm said only "soon", hinting that other Snapdragon 820-powered devices will be shown off at next month's Mobile World Congress.
CES 2016: Top 10 exciting announcements from Samsung, Lenovo, Acer and others
We round up the top announcements from the tech trade show
7. Huawei reveals new smartphone and a smartwatch for ladies
Chinese firm Huawei went big at this year's CES, and in more ways than one. The firm revealed that the Huawei Mate 8, a mammoth smartphone with a 6in screen, will see a global release after making its debut in China in November.
The Huawei Mate 8 has a 1080x1920 Full HD screen powered by the firm's octa-core Kirin 950 processor, the first chip to feature four Cortex-A72 and four Cortex A53 CPU cores, combined with a Mali-T880 GPU and 3GB or 4GB of RAM.
It's also one of the first phones to run Android 6.0 Marshmallow out of the box, but unlike the Huawei-built Nexus 6P, the firm has heavily customised Google's software, redesigning key features of the operating system and adding features such as knuckle tap and keyboard security.
There's a 16MP rear-facing camera, an 8MP front-facing camera, 4G LTE connectivity, 32GB, 64GB and 128GB storage options, and a beefy 4,000mAh battery which Huawei claims will provide over two days of life. What's more, just 30 minutes on charge will equip the Mate 8 with enough juice to last an entire day, according to the company.
The Huawei Mate 8 will be available in Champagne Gold, Moonlight Silver, Space Gray and Mocha Brown.
Seemingly playing a game of female stereotype bingo, Huawei also unveiled two smartwatches aimed specifically at women: the Huawei Watch Jewel and Huawei Watch Elegant. The devices are pimped with Swarovski crystals and feminine colour options, and will be available in the first quarter of 2016.
CES 2016: Top 10 exciting announcements from Samsung, Lenovo, Acer and others
We round up the top announcements from the tech trade show
6. Intel inside and out
+-------------------------------------------+ | iframe | +===========================================+ | https://www.youtube.com/embed/f0HoyJbYCPQ | +-------------------------------------------+
Intel certainly made its presence felt at CES with an extravagant event that used drone firework displays and BMX demonstrations to show how real-time data can be collected and crunched.
The standouts in the Intel showcase were very much involved in wearables and the IoT, including the tiny Curie system-on-a-chip designed to be used with wearable technology that will cost a mere $10.
Intel then announced how it had acquired and worked with Ascending Technologies to create ‘sense-and-avoid' algorithms for drones that use Intel's RealSense image technology. The drone was demonstrated flying through a forest and deftly avoiding ploughing head first into trees (video above).
Microsoft's HoloLens is still more of a concept than a finalised product, and Intel has stolen the lead in the wearable augmented reality race. The firm showed off a helmet with built-in smart glasses that gives the wearer pseudo X-ray vision to effectively peer into objects such as pipes and machinery.
The helmet uses a RealSense camera and was created in partnership with augmented reality firm Daqri. The device can overlay schematics and wiring on machinery and components, making it easier for engineers to diagnose problems in industrial equipment without needing to dismantle machinery.
Intel is clearly bent on taking technology once confined to science fiction and bringing it to real-world applications.
CES 2016: Top 10 exciting announcements from Samsung, Lenovo, Acer and others
We round up the top announcements from the tech trade show
5. Car tech accelerates
Car technology has been a fixture at CES for some years and the 2016 show was no different. Driverless cars and autonomous systems were strong themes being showcased by car and technology companies.
Nvidia went some way to stealing the show with the Drive PX 2 system, which is said to have the processing power of 150 MacBook Pro laptops. It can collect and process a deluge of sensor data and images to feed a deep learning neural net that Nvidia plans to use as a collective digital 'brain' for driverless cars.
Audio and connected car system specialist Harman demonstrated a pupil tracking system designed to assess a driver's mental strain and inform automated driving aids to take action if necessary.
Volvo, meanwhile, showed how the Microsoft Band 2 can be used to remotely control various functions in a car through voice commands.
Car firms Ford and Fiat Chrysler revealed that their latest infotainment systems will have compatibility with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto designed to integrate smartphone apps with infotainment units in a way that allows drivers to control apps like Spotify without having to tap away on a smartphone while hurtling down a motorway.
The car tech on show at CES 2016 was indicative of the growing importance of consumer and enterprise-grade technology in vehicles, and shows the road ahead full of connected cars with smart systems.
CES 2016: Top 10 exciting announcements from Samsung, Lenovo, Acer and others
We round up the top announcements from the tech trade show
4. HP slims down the EliteBook range
Like Dell, HP Inc eschewed gadgetry in order to show off some new business hardware: the EliteBook Folio and the EliteBook 1040 G3.
The latter is a thinner, lighter and faster update to the old EliteBook Folio 1040 G2, adding a diamond-cut aluminium chassis and Intel Skylake Core i5 or Core i7 vPro processors, but the EliteBook Folio is an all-new, ludicrously compact ultrabook that weighs a mere 1kg and measures just 12.4mm in depth.
This sounds like HP Inc is going after people who do a fair chunk of their work on the folding trays of plane and train seats, but the EliteBook Folio actually has designs on replacing the office conference phone. It does this by boosting the four integrated speakers to be up to 40 percent louder than on previous EliteBooks, as well as upgrading the webcam with dual-array microphones and adding special call controls to the function keys.
It's an interesting prospect, although the EliteBook 1040 G3 is not to be ignored; unlike its smaller sibling, it packs two full-size USB 3.0 ports, HDMI, SD and SIM slots as well as an optional fingerprint reader. By HP Inc's own estimates, it also lasts longer, with a claimed battery life of 11 hours to the EliteBook Folio's 10.
CES 2016: Top 10 exciting announcements from Samsung, Lenovo, Acer and others
We round up the top announcements from the tech trade show
3. Lenovo shows off entire family of X1 systems
Lenovo's ThinkPad X1 Carbon is already well known as one of the most desirable business laptops, but the firm expanded the X1 portfolio at this year's CES to include a modular Windows 10 tablet that can be adapted through clip-on modules, along with the X1 Yoga convertible and a ThinkCentre X1 all-in-one desktop.
The ThinkPad X1 Tablet (above) offers customers the ability to adapt the device with optional modules that clip on to its bottom edge. These currently consist of a Presenter Module with built-in projector, a 3D Imaging Module with an Intel RealSense camera, and a Productivity Module that extends the maximum battery life from 10 to up to 15 hours.
An updated ThinkPad X1 Carbon is touted as thinner, lighter and more powerful than ever, weighing about 1.2kg and measuring about 16mm thick, while the ThinkPad X1 Yoga is said to be the first convertible to feature an OLED display as an option, providing richer colours and deeper blacks.
Finally, the ThinkCentre X1 AIO is a 23.8in all-in-one system that is claimed as one of the world's thinnest desktops thanks to an 11mm-thick frame. It has been designed to offer a premium anti-glare display providing a bright picture from any angle, according to Lenovo.
CES 2016: Top 10 exciting announcements from Samsung, Lenovo, Acer and others
We round up the top announcements from the tech trade show
2. Acer strays from budget roots with high-end Windows 2-in-1
PC maker Acer is best known for its affordable laptop and tablet devices, but that all changed at this year's CES with the launch of the high-end Aspire Switch 12 S.
The convertible Windows 10-powered device rivals devices from the likes of Lenovo and Samsung with its top-end specifications, which include an optional 3840x2160 4K resolution 12.5in screen, a 6th-generation Intel Core M processor, USB Type-C, 128GB or 256GB SSD and a rear-facing Intel RealSense camera, which means the device comes with built-in 3D image rendering capabilities.
These specs are impressive, but Acer was more keen to promote the "innovative" design. The Aspire Switch 12 S uses the firm's new Snap Hinge connector, allowing it to operate in four different modes - notebook, tablet, display and tent - similar to Lenovo's Yoga line-up.
The Acer Aspire Switch S will be available in the UK in February starting at €1,199.
Acer had some other tricks up its sleeve. The firm also unveiled the H7 Series of monitors that offer USB Type-C connectivity, and showed off the Windows 10-powered Acer Jade Primo that will be available to buy next month.
CES 2016: Top 10 exciting announcements from Samsung, Lenovo, Acer and others
We round up the top announcements from the tech trade show
1. Samsung's first Windows 10 tablet
Samsung generated interest at CES with the launch of the Galaxy TabPro S, not just because it's a potential rival to Microsoft's Surface Pro and Apple's iPad Pro in the professional tablet market, but because it brings features from the firm's successful Android devices, like a high-res Super Amoled display.
The Galaxy TabPro S is due to be available globally from February, and has been designed to appeal to professionals needing a highly portable productivity device. To this end, it comes as standard with a full-size keyboard cover reminiscent of some of the third-party keyboard covers for the firm's Android-based Galaxy tablets.
The 12in screen and the option of Windows 10 Pro make the Galaxy TabPro S a tempting prospect for those looking for a mobile productivity device, especially as it weighs 693g and is just 6.3mm thick. As well as WiFi, the device will be available with a mobile broadband option supporting LTE Cat 6 for download speeds up to a theoretical 300Mbps.
The 2.2GHz Intel Core M processor, 4GB of memory and 128GB or 256GB SSD storage is comparable with the entry configuration of Microsoft's Surface Pro 4, but Samsung has yet to say how much the TabPro will cost.