CES 2019 is the trade show leaving nothing to be desired! Around 4,500 exhibitors are currently showcasing their very latest products in Las Vegas. The Consumer Electronics Show, which will remain open until 11 January, is a high-tech show of superlatives. The organizers are expecting about 180,000 trade visitors from 155 countries and there’s a substantial range of brand-new products on display, such as foldable smartphones, digital health gadgets, smart kitchen appliances and 8K televisions. In addition, the first 5G devices supporting the new, fast mobile communications standard are on display. Martin Wild, Chief Innovation Officer at MediaMarktSaturn, is at CES 2019 and told us about the latest trends.

What innovations at CES have impressed you personally the most – and why?

Martin Wild: There are loads of new products which are amazing! One of them is Audi’s vision of a car experience platform – a virtual reality game which changes with the motion of the car you’re sitting in.

According to Audi, films, video games and interactive content will in future be made even more realistic for passengers on the backseat with the help of a virtual reality headset. This technology adapts virtual content in real time to the movement of the vehicle. If for example the car veers to the right, so does, say, the spaceship in the wearer’s virtual world.

Equally impressive is the next generation of UbTech’s Walker robot. It can be used in a host of new ways because it can now actually climb stairs! This opens up interesting opportunities for MediaMarktSaturn and we’re already working on deploying the Cruzr robot at MediaMarkt.

Chinese carmaker Byton has made headlines in recent years with its electric SUV. Instead of a mere prototype, the version on show at CES 2019 is about 80 per cent accurate compared to the final production model.

What’s more, Byton, too, is rethinking digital. The M-Byte electric SUV is going into production with an extra-large 48-inch dashboard display. It also has a range of up to 520 kilometres – and yet is affordably priced. More information can be found here.

Of course, there are also plenty of bizarre novelties at CES! One example is the Kohler Immersive Toilet – a smart lavatory with integrated speakers, ambient lighting and Amazon Alexa support.

What innovations are relevant to our company and why?

Martin Wild: Anything involving AI, voice control and 5G. Almost all devices will be voice-controlled and connected to each other. This creates many ways of supporting customers with new services

We’re also very interested in flexible displays, both foldable and rollable, such as LG’s roll-up television and Royole’s folding smartphone. After years of demos, they now appear to be becoming reality, which could prompt large numbers of people to replace their displays and TVs in the not-too-distant future. In fact, LG plans to put its roll-up TV in the shops this year. More information can be found here.

Video: What’s hot at CES