We published our newsletter this morning – the 24th issue of D2D – with a look at some highlights to CES. Below is the overview of the piece. Please let us know if you would like to be included in the mailing list.

D/D #24: D2D’s CES 2019 Highlights

In this newsletter we hit the highlights from CES 2019. As usual, this year’s show offered an overwhelming amount of everything. We heard a lot of data about 5G, and even more questions about what it means for everyone. We saw some incredible curving screens. We noticed that everything is now ‘Smart’, even things where the meaning of smart is not entirely clear. We examined the growing convergence of Electronics and Transportation. And we spent a lot of time talking to Asian vendors of everything.

5G is coming! Try to contain your excitement

There was a lot of talk this year about the new mobile standard. Carriers are beginning to roll out what they call 5G networks. This left many with the question of “What does it mean for me?” and the answer is not much. Big improvements in data rates are still years away, and there are some thorny, non-technical problems to solve first.

Does every appliance need to be Smart?

The adjective ‘Smart’ got thrown around a lot at the show. This was most noticeable in the home networking category – smart locks, smart ovens, smart washing machines, and smart beer coolers to name a few. We have already seen smart speakers proliferate widely, and now every other appliance is getting connected in some way. Companies are still exploring the utility of these features but competition is definitely heating up.

The growing convergence of Electronics and Transportation

CES feels like it is close to becoming an Auto show with a growing footprint for all sorts of vehicles with cars, helicopters and even boats commanding a large amount of floor space.

What is the Design & Sourcing Hall? A lot of Asian vendors of everything

We spent a lot of time talking to Asian vendors of components and gadgets many of which have been relocated to the newish Design & Sourcing Hall (south of the South Hall at LVCC). Geopolitics is now a big (often unspoken) subtext to all these conversations, but we think it is worth exploring this hall as we often meet people who wonder what is going on with all these companies. They have a big role to play in the electronics industry.

Highlights from the Blog

Over the last month we have published Apple in light of its non-disclosure of unit numbers. We also looked at esports valuations, AI in phone cameras (and what it means for chip vendors) and a new ARM server supplier.