CES 2024, otherwise known as the 2024 Consumer Electronics Show, is right around the corner, and we’re excited to see all of the latest developments in IoT and the smart home space. 

This year, CES is “all on” with its programming – over 130,000 attendees and over 3,500 vendors will be arriving in Las Vegas for the show. Don’t forget to catch Pepper during the show: Kate Rojas, Pepper’s Head of Marketing, will be speaking on the panel “Building a Consumer IoT Business” alongside Resideo, Rachio, and OliverIQ on January 9 at 2:00 PM. The session will be held at the Venetian, Level 4, Marcello 4404. To join the session, add the ‘Parks Associates: CONNECTIONS Summit’ track to your schedule. 

Here are five topics we expect to hear about at CES. 

5 Popular Topics at CES 2024: 

AI

If you have a CES bingo card, “AI” should be on it. Last year, Walmart’s keynote centered around how AI improved operations. This year, Intel and Qualcomm have both already announced that their keynotes will focus on how chips are enabling AI. 

At CES, the topics surrounding AI will be seemingly limitless, but we’re most excited to hear about how AI will impact cybersecurity, making products safer for consumers and enterprises alike to use.

IoT Data and Cybersecurity 

In July 2023, the U.S. government announced the rollout of the U.S. Cyber Trust Mark, a seal to show consumers that device makers and manufacturers have at least met a standard compliance threshold. The mark isn’t mandatory… for now. However, it’s certainly a call for U.S. IoT device makers to take critical steps toward cybersecurity – before they are forced to retrofit all their devices later, a costly endeavor. 

We expect to hear how companies respond to this call of action, in addition to other IoT certifications such as Matter.

The Latest and Greatest in Smart Home Technology

Smart home adoption is growing fast. Between 2023 and 2027 the number of smart homes will increase by 30.2 million households, so it will be no surprise to see even more smart home devices at CES 2024.

Last year we saw everything from smart home coffee makers that you can set to your schedule, sustainable EV chargers, smart baby monitors that utilize Thermo AI, and LG’s refrigerators with color-changing door panels. 

We’re excited to see how brands utilize more smart home automation and AI in their technology to curate and personalize experiences for every smart home user. 

One App to Rule Them All

While smart home devices are gaining traction, consumers still feel overwhelmed by the number of apps and subscriptions on their smartphones required to keep up. In a survey we conducted last year, we found that 24% of consumers feel they don’t have a smart home because their apps are separate, and 21% admit that even with the apps, controlling their smart home devices is still hard to navigate and not user-friendly. IoT platforms, such as Pepper, can help span multiple devices and manufacturers, and help consumers better manage subscriptions.   

We expect to hear about how smart home device makers are developing more connected experiences, how they help consumers juggle all of their smart home app, and how new protocols, like Matter, can help.

[Learn more about Platform as a Service, or IoT PaaS, here]

Smart Cities, 5G, and even 6G

Smart cities have the potential to impact public health, traffic, air quality, and more. With the increased accessibility of 5G, we’re excited to see applications that impact smart homes, MDUs, and communities at large. 

Yes – we know 6G is still on the horizon, but there’s no doubt that connectivity has become more reliable, faster, and accessible to everyone, and we’re excited to see that impact at CES. 

Let’s Meet Up at CES 2024 

If you’re going to CES this year, let’s meet up. Send us a note at sales@pepper.me to learn how Pepper can develop, manage, and monetize your connected IoT solutions.