The World’s Biggest Gadget Show Matters Again
“Hardware, specifically component hardware, is hot at CES because that is what’s keeping VR, AR, and AI from reaching their pinnacle,” says Patrick Moorhead, president of consulting firm Moor Insights & Strategy. The competitors, he says, all need markedly better performance at low power than their current parts can provide.
Alexa operates a new line of smart speakers from Sonos Inc., and three times as many households use an Amazon Echo than use the second-place Google Home, according to analysis firm Consumer Intelligence Research Partners. Apple Inc.’s similar HomePod is loosely slated for release in the early months of 2018.
Facebook aims to change that early in the year with a budget model, the $200 Oculus Go.
Microsoft is refining its bulky and decidedly uncool-looking HoloLens; Amazon and Google are rumored to be experimenting with their own headsets; and Apple is planning on a 2020-ish release for the glasses it’s betting will be the next iPhone. These efforts will require even more specialized lenses and other components than VR headsets. Paul Travers, chief executive officer of Vuzix Corp., which makes AR glasses and components, says his schedule for CES week is packed with meetings focused on both developing and distributing his glasses and putting his optics in other companies’ systems.
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