Good morning, CES attendees!
Welcome to this special edition of the Quartz Daily Brief for CES, the world’s largest consumer electronics trade show. Nearly 200,000 people are expected to descend upon Las Vegas to catch a glimpse of the latest in consumer technology and maybe try their luck at the casinos.
This is Quartz’s fifth year covering CES, and our reporters on the ground this week are Matthew de Silva, Emily Withrow, and John Keefe. We’ll all be watching for the newest and quirkiest in robotics, health tech, and other gadgets. Matthew will be heading to the cars today, with Emily at Eureka Park, and John among the robots in the LVCC South Hall. We’ll be Instagramming like crazy, so catch us in action there. And you can check out our curated page on qz.com with all our stories from CES.
The show floor opens today, so tomorrow’s newsletter will feature even more weird, wonderful, and questionable gadgets. Send us your tips if you find something we shouldn’t miss!
Tips for today
Grab a light jacket. Today’s weather is like a digital copy of yesterday’s (and tomorrow’s, fwiw): Sunny with a high near 58ºF (14ºC). If you’re hitting the show floors, wear comfy shoes (those miles creep up on you) and bring a spare battery pack or two. We’re also packing snacks, water, and hand-sanitizer.
Give yourself a buffer. If you’re staying on the Strip, plan ample time to get around, as taxis, ride-sharing services, and the city’s monorail are all sure to be packed with thousands of people going to the same places.
Know the floorplans. The show floor is split between two main locations: The Las Vegas Convention Center (LVCC) and the Sands Expo, which connects to the Venetian and Palazzo hotels. Eureka Park is where you’ll find the earliest-stage startups, which tend to produce some of the most out-there ideas. It’s located on Level 1 of the Sands. Each of us will likely visit just one location a day, as traffic is horrific once the floors open. Looking for something specific? Check out the searchable maps.
Setting the scene
“Anything you can do, I can do better!” That’s how we’re feeling after a foray into the booths during media preview days. Tech is busy helping us brush our teeth, wash our faces, and meditate ourselves to sleep. It’s the consumer-tech bedtime routine we never knew we needed. Expect lots of wellness and smart-home gadgetry on the floor today.
TV time. Monday was a big day for TV announcements, and beyond the 8k and OLED upgrades we expected, Samsung announced a new rotating TV that pivots from landscape to portrait for all your vertical-video-viewing needs. And lest you worry about the TV knocking over your Baby Yoda figurines as it rotates, fear not: the built-in stand ensures you have plenty of clearance.
Badge tech. Some badge pick-up locations are testing facial recognition, which is both cool and a little creepy. But the badges all of us are wearing are decidedly low tech: just a folded piece of paper with punch holes. Careful not to lose it: printing a new one will set you back $300!
What to watch for today
Ready, set, go! The LVCC and Sands show floors both open at 10am, but if you want to catch the first keynote, make sure to get up and out far earlier. About that keynote…
Airlines as consumer tech. Commercial aviation is both consumer and tech, yet Delta joins CES this year a non-tech-company company. Delta CEO Ed Bastian kicks off the conference with a keynote about the future of travel. We’ll also get a look at “the state of the industry” from the folks who run this event: Consumer Technology Association president and CEO Gary Shapiro and executive vice president for CES Karen Chupka. That’s in the Venetian, Level 5, Palazzo Ballroom. 8:30am.
Ivanka headlines. After years of criticism that CES keynotes lacked women from tech, the CTA’s pick of the president’s daughter/adviser for a top slot raised eyebrows and outright anger. Not known for her technical cred, Trump is nonetheless set to “fireside chat” with CTA head Gary Shapiro about re-skilling workers and fostering STEM education for kids. Catch them in the Venetian, Level 5, Palazzo Ballroom. 2pm.
Apple in the house. The company’s only CES appearance last year was a salty billboard about privacy, but today Apple enters the LVCC as its global privacy lead, Jane Horvath, joins counterparts from Facebook and Procter & Gamble, along with a US trade commissioner. They’ll talk consumer privacy at scale in the LVCC North Hall, N257, at 1pm.
Traffic iced. Ride-share drivers say the already thick traffic will get thicker around 7pm when the NHL’s Vegas Golden Knights hit the ice against the Pittsburgh Penguins at the T-Mobile Arena, which is near the Park MGM.
Quartz membership
We’re not getting any younger. What’s the difference between nursing homes, assisted living, and “life plan communities”? Quartz’s glossary to senior housing sets the record straight and includes all the resources readers need to understand the industry.
What everyone is talking about
Sexy’s back. “Pleasure tech” companies are here in the health and wellness section of the Sands Expo. Lora DiCarlo, which was at the center of last year’s very public controversy, has a booth in the center of it all.
Invisible keyboards. Among the demos on display from Samsung’s C-Lab today in Eureka Park will be SelfieType, which uses a front-facing camera to translate finger movements into their QWERTY keyboard equivalents. Also from C-Lab is a gift to SAD-afflicted attendees: a window-shaped light you can affix to the wall that mimics the course of a sunny day with full-spectrum light.
AMD’s ultra-thin mobile processors. Following the kind of hype-you-up music that can only be described as “eau de WWE,” the semiconductor company unveiled its Ryzen 4000 series of CPUs. After touting the company’s integrations with Microsoft’s Xbox Series X, Sony’s PlayStation 5, and Google’s Stadia, AMD CEO Lisa Su revealed the tiny chip. It’s just seven nanometers thick, and already it’s been put in Lenovo’s newest laptop, the $850 Yoga Slim 7. AMD could seriously give Intel a run for its money.
Lyft’s self-driving roulette. When you open the Lyft app in Las Vegas, you might be asked if you’d like to test “some of the first self-driving vehicles on the Lyft network.” The company, which partnered with Aptiv, says each ride includes a safety driver and an operator, leaving room for up to three passengers. The average rating has dipped slightly—from 4.97 stars, when the program reached 50,000 rides to 4.95 stars, but it’s still the crème de la crème of ride-sharing. If you get one of these cars, reply to this email and tell us about the trip!
Further reading
Follow all of Quartz’s coverage from CES during the week on qz.com. For even more news and views from the trade show, check out The Verge and Engadget, or for some local flair, the Las Vegas Review-Journal.
News from around the world
Dozens were killed in a stampede at the funeral of Qassem Soleimani. At least 40 people died and more than 200 were injured at the general’s funeral procession in his hometown of Kerman, according to Iranian media. The burial has been postponed.
Ikea agreed to pay $46 million to the parents of a child killed by falling drawers. The two-year-old suffocated under the items at his California home. The company recalled almost 30 million units of the drawers in 2016, following the death of three other children.
Investors sued Daimler for hiding its emissions cheating strategy. They say the German firm should have told them it was using devices to make its cars look greener in tests, and they want $1 billion, which is what Daimler has already paid in fines.
Matters of debate
Don’t second guess yourself. Overthinking makes for worse decisions.
The demand for caregivers for older adults is going to skyrocket. It’s because the US has slow population growth.
Netflix is doing better than Hollywood. At least in terms of hiring more female directors.
Surprising discoveries
Despite Chinese sabotage, tourism in Taiwan has hit a record high. There’s even been an increase in visitors from the mainland.
Someone planted bedbugs in a Walmart fitting room. Police are investigating after the parasites were found.
There could be a mass-produced “plant-based” chicken sandwich soon. KFC is testing it in the UK.
Our best wishes for a great first day in Las Vegas. Please send any news, tips, invisible keyboards, and better toothbrushes to hi@qz.com. Get the most out of Quartz by downloading our app on iOS or Android, and becoming a member.