CES 2017 news and highlights-Latest launches and gadgets

CES 2017 News & Highlights: Sony launches innovative new OLED TV

CES 2017 News & Highlights: The best TVs, laptops and more from Las Vegas

All the latest CES 2017 news and CES 2017 highlights, including CES 2017 TV news and rumours from Samsung, Sony, Panasonic, LG and more. Bookmark this page for all the latest CES 2017 news on laptops, cameras, drones, robots, monitors, smartphones and news from Nvidia, Lenovo, HTC and Asus.

CES 2017 is now in full swing. The TrustedReviews team is on the ground in Las Vegas soaking up the annual tech bonanza, and with most of the main press conferences and announcements now having taken place, there's a glut of news to digest and plenty more to come as the show opens to the public.

Shall we begin?

CES 2017 News: All the latest highlights

The CES 2017 news came thick and fast on the first couple of days, and there can be little doubt that it's a TV gala this year.

For many consumers, arguably the most interesting reveal will have come from Nvidia, which updated its Android-powered Shield TV box with a number of new features.

While specs were thin on the ground, the Shield – Nvidia has got a case of the Apples and wants us to call the refreshed box simply 'the Shield' – now boasts full-fat 4K HDR capabilities.

A 2016 firmware update allowed the device to stream limited content from YouTube in 4K and Netflix in HDR, but now it now offers built-in support for Netflix as well as adding Google Play Movies, Amazon Video, and games streaming (for those with powerful enough PC rigs) to its 4K arsenal. 

Just as intriguingly, the new Shield also comes with Google Assistant built-in, complete with the usual array of voice-based music control and video playback functionality, plus things like Samsung SmartThings. 

There's even an accompanying peripheral to boot, Nvidia Spot. Similar to Amazon's Echo Dot, you plug it in anywhere in your home and it picks up your voice commands.

The new Shield is available to buy immediately and is priced at £190/$199 for the base 16GB model, or £280 for the significantly more capacious 500GB Shield Pro. UK pricing and availability for the Spot has yet to be confirmed, but it's going for $50 a pop in the States.

On to the wild west of TV sets and Sony finally joined the OLED party, announcing its first 'proper' OLED TV, the AE1 (A1 in the UK). Quite apart from being an OLED TV, which is awesome, it has a 'unique' way of producing sound. Instead of speakers or soundbar, which is the common way many slim TVs give you sound, the AE1 literally vibrates the TV panel to produce sound. 

In other words, the sound comes straight from the screen. Mind blown.

As expected, Samsung launched its new class of 'QLED' TVs. There's three new high-end sets in all: the flat Samsung Q9F, curved Q8C, and the Q7, which is available in both flat and curved models.

The QLED range replaces Samsung's SUHD TVs as the firm's flagship line, with the new models set to be available in four sizes: 55-inches, 65-inches, 75-inches and 88-inches.

Pricing and a release date have yet to be confirmed, but we understand the new QLED sets are likely to start shipping to select regions in March 2017.

Samsung's adoption of QLED technology, however, isn't completely straightforward – check out our updated guide to learn about all the nuances. 

Related: What is QLED? The future of TV tech explained

Rival South Korean firm LG also had plenty to show off, not least its amazing new 77-inch LG Signature OLED W7 TV, which the company describes as the “lightest, thinnest, and most beautiful TV on the planet." 

It's not as brash a claim as it sounds. Measuring a wafer thin 2.57mm, it's a true "picture-in-wall" telly, as LG has chose to describe it, and will come available in 65-inch and 77-inch models running a new version of LG's custom TV software (generally regarded as the best on the market), webOS 3.5.

Pricing and a release date have yet to be confirmed, though the W7 (pictured below) has already gone on show in select US stores, so hopefully it'll come to the UK sooner rather than later. Don't think your budget will quite stretch to it? There's a handful of new LG Super UHD TVs to ponder, too.

Not to be outdone, Panasonic unveiled its second 4K HDR OLED TV, the EZ1002 (pictured below). The Japanese firm says the new set can achieve up to 800 nits of brightness and, as well as supporting the HDR10 and Hybrid Log Gamma (HLG) HDR standards, features an Absolute Black Filter and new chip, the Studio Colour HCX2.

The 65-inch version is set to hit Europe in June 2017, and Panasonic added a trio of new 4K Blu-ray players to its AV range for good measure.

You can learn more about this new 4K OLED TV by reading our Pansonic EZ1002 hands-on review.

Related: What is Hybrid Log Gamma (HLG)?

Moving away from TVs, Asus made a bit of a splash at his year, unveiling a pair of smartphones and a new high-end laptop.

The handsets in question are the ZenFone 3 Zoom and ZenFone AR, with the former coming equipped with iPhone 7 Plus-style dual cameras with "optical zoom," and the latter featuring Google Tango augmented reality technology.

We're itching to get our mitts on them later in the day, so stay tuned for more details and our first impressions.

Related: What is Project Tango?

Asus' new notebook is the ZenBook 3 Deluxe, which as you can probably guess, is an update on last year's excellent ZenBook 3.

While the specs aren't all that different, it does add a few key features, including more connectivity ports (3x USB-C, 2x Thunderbolt 3), a more approachable keyboard, and a larger 14-inch screen.

It manages to add all that without bulking up too much, with the Deluxe weighing in at just 1.1kg and measuring only 13mm in girth.

We're looking forward to putting it through its paces in full, but in the meantime, find out more by reading our first impressions.

Related: Asus ZenBook 3 Deluxe hands-on

Elsewhere, an important new smartphone broke cover in the form of the Honor 6X from Huawei sub-brand Honor. The mid-ranger, which is set to retail for £225/$250, features an average (but competent enough) overall spec sheet, with one major exception – the dual-camera configuration found on the back. At present, this is a feature that's still normally only found on high-end devices like the iPhone 7 Plus, so we're intrigued to put the 6X through its paces in full.

In its press conference, Intel revealed it would be launching its brand-new Cannon Lake processors at the end of this year. Cannon Lake is the followup to Kaby Lake, which officially fully launched earlier this week.

WATCH: Honor 6x hands-on

In other mobile-related news, Qualcommunveiled its newest high-end chipset, the Snapdragon 835, and a pair of VR shades featuring the new processor – scroll down to our "Qualcomm at CES 2017" section to learn more.

Another blockbuster day one announcement came from Intel, who announced final details and specifications of its new Kaby Lake architecture. While a few laptops featuring Kaby Lake snuck out towards the end of 2016, this is the first time we've heard anything official about its desktop capabilities and seen the new processor line-up in full.

So how does it size up? We've already gone hands-on with the most powerful Kaby Lake desktop chipset around – just hit the link below to learn more.

Related: Intel Kaby Lake Core i7-7700K review in progress

We also now know that BlackBerry and new partner-in-grime, TCL, have unveiled a prototype of a keyboard toting phone. The former smartphone giant and its Chinese sugar daddy didn't give much away, but we should hear more later in the year. Aside from the keyboard, we know it'll be running Android 7.0 and have a fingerprint sensor embedded inside the spacebar.

Blackberry aside, TCL had some other big announcements at CES. The TV brand launched the X2 and X3 series, both of which feature 4K resolution, Dolby Vision HDR and Quantum Dot tech. There’s some clever audio stuff going on too, like being able to use the television as a Bluetooth speaker and routing the audio back to your phone for private listening. The X2 is the flat version and will come in 55 and 65-inch version, while the X3 is curved. Both will boast Android TV too, but don’t hold your breath about them coming to the UK. 

Related: Best TVs

You'll also want to keep a close eye on HTC at CES this year, as unconfirmed reports out of Taipei are pointing to the company launching the 'HTC Vive 2', which will be a refreshed, wireless version of the already excellent HTC Vive headset – not to mention a likely show-stealer. 

For sheer audacity, you've got to admire Kingston, who admist the slew of snazzy new TVs, high-spec laptops, and shiny smartphones, announced a USB stick at CES. Except, it's not just any ol' USB stick – it's a monster 2TB USB flash drive that's now the world's biggest.

That's a whole lot of 4K video. 

Lastly, by way of a wild card, Nokia subsidiary Withings has launched "the world's first smart hairbrush," which features a built-in mic, accelerometer and gyroscope that combine to analyse your brushing patterns and provide you with insights into managing frizziness, dryness, split ends, breakage, and more.

Because 2017. Why the hell not?

TVs at CES 2017

With Panasonic and Samsung having played their cards at CES 2017 thanks to the Samsung Q9F QLED TV and Panasonic EZ1002 OLED TV, we're now waiting to see what the other big players have to offer on the TV front.

LG has debuted its latest 4K HDR TVs at the show in the form of the SJ9500, SJ8500 and SJ8000. The trio will feature a new colour-boosting tech LG is dubbing Nano Cell.

Based on quantum dot technology, the South Korean firm claims Nano Cell will negate colour difference at angles of up to 60 degrees thanks to its uniformly sized LCD particles.

Related: What are quantum dot TVs?

In plain English, that means you'll get the same high-quality viewing experience wherever you're sat in the living room, even if you've been relegated to the cheap seats.

We're looking forward to going eyes on with the new LG sets, which support all three existing HDR standards – HDR10, Dolby Vision, and Hybrid Log Gamma.

In addition to these new sets, LG has unveiled its new OLED TVs for 2017, which feature built-in Dolby Atmos support. That has us damn excited. We'll be getting a hands-on of the new TVs soon, so keep an eye out for that.

Sony, meanwhile, is also expected to make a splash and announce its first large scaled OLED TVs based on panels produced by LG.

It's not just the high-end of the TV market on show at CES, either – budget brands are getting some love, too. An announcement from Tong Fang Global, which owns three affordable 4K brands – Seiki, Westinghouse, and Element – revealed that the firm's 2017 line-up will come with baked in support for Amazon Fire TV and its smart assistant, Alexa.

The new 4K sets could go on sale as soon as spring 2017, with 43-inch, 50-inch, 55-inch, and 60-inch models set to be made available.

And finally, praise be to God, a new HDMI standard has been announced. The new HDMI 2.1 spec adds support for 8K and Dynamic HDR. Dynamic HDR will optimise colours in each scene, and even each individual frame. The HDMI Forum has also added Game Mode VRR support, which allows for variable refresh rates and reduces screen tearing and input lag when gaming.

Laptops at CES 2017 

Dell jumped the gun this year and announced a major refresh of its XPS 13 laptop on the eve of CES. The new XPS 13 will be a 2-in-1 convertible designed to rival some of the devices in Lenovo's Yoga range and features a touchscreen display – Full HD and QHD models will be offered – plus a foldable hinge that allows you to use it in a variety of positions.

It'll come packing the latest Intel Kaby Lake architecture (Core i5 or Core i7) and offer two USB-C ports, with a provisional release date of January 5. We've already got our paws on this machine, so hit the link below for our first impressions.

Related: Dell XPS 13 2-in-1 hands-on review

Elsewhere, Lenovo did indeed unveil an all-new ThinkPad X1 Carbon as expected – and outed a handful of other upgraded ThinkPad X1 machines to boot. Exciting times if you're a fan of slim, lightweight Windows laptops. Or want another intelligent home hub option, because Lenovo's Alexa-packing Smart Assistant is just that.

Asus made a bit of a splash in the computing world, as well, revealing a monster new gaming rig, the GT51CH. It also unveiled the ZenBook 3 Deluxe, a larger ZenBook 3.

The Republic of Gamers branded tower packs a 7th-generation Intel Core i7-7700K CPU (Kaby Lake), which can run on “Ultra” graphics settings, meaning it'll play nice with not one but two Nvidia GeForce GTX 1080 graphics cards – the company says its beastly new machine can handle 4K gameplay at up to 66fps.

Acer is getting in on the action, too, launching five laptops and a new a desktop at CES – including the absurd curved screen Predator 21X, which will set you back a cool £9,000.

This product was actually first announced at IFA 2016, but details were scant on the ground. We know now a whole lot more about its internals and finally have a price – albiet one that makes the eyes water. It's expected to start shipping in Europe in October 2017.

For its part, HP quietly unveiled a slew of new products from iMac-rivalling AIOs to gaming monitors and ultra-secure business laptops. 

Given the arrival of both Intel's new Kaby Lake chips and Nvidia's GTX 1050 GPUs, there's likely to be a whole lot more laptops revealed as CES gets into full swing, so watch this space.

Samsung at CES 2017

As well as its new Q9F QLED TV, Samsung used CES 2017 to unveil a bunch of new and updated products taking in everything from the living room to the kitchen. 

Arguably the most interesting are the duo of new Samsung Chromebooks. The Chromebook Pro and Chromebook Plus – the only difference is you get a more powerful Intel Core M3 processor with the former, while the latter packs an ARM chip – offer a 2-in-1 convertible design, Quad HD resolution, stylus compatability, and are Android app-ready. 

On the computing front, the company also showed off a pretty rad sounding new gaming laptop, the Notebook Odyssey, which comes with a dedicated 'Supercharge' button, Core i7 processor, and new Volcano keyboard – though we're not if this machine will ever make it to the UK.

It also showcased the refreshed Kaby Lake Notebook 9 it first announced back in December 2016, and showed off a curved quantum dot monitor, which looked gorgeous on stage and is called the CH711. Hopefully we'll get a closer look at it later in the week.

There were some more AV wares to ogle, too, includingan updated 4K Blu-ray player that lets you stream movies to your mobile device, and a new wireless speaker – the H7 – that upscales all your tunes to 32-bit audio quality. 

And it just wouldn't be Samsung at a tech show if there weren't some white goods to talk about.

On the home appliances front, Samsung introduced the Flex Wash and Flex Dry – a washing machine and a tumble dryer with two drums each. The top drum is smaller and is designed for smaller, quick loads; the idea being to give you more flexibility when it comes to laundry. 

Samsung also updated its Family Hub fridge (read our Samsung RB38K Family Hub fridge review here). The upgraded Family Hub 2.0 software is now voice-enabled – because who doesn't want to discuss the finer points of Nietzschean philosophy with their fridge? – and there's more music streaming options and the ability to set up specific family profiles. 

In addition, Sammy's Family Hub connected fridge tech is now being rolled out to its French door models.

Yep, it's been a pretty busy CES for Samsung – it even found time to issue something of an apology for last year's exploding Note 7 fiasco. 

You can watch the company's full press conference below.

Sony at CES 2017

The big news from Sony at CES 2017 is expected to be the long-awaited announcement of OLED televisions.

To date, Sony has never released a large display OLED television. That’s because LG Display is the primary manufacturer of TV-scale OLED panels, and gives priority to its own TV production business. But several reports have emerged suggesting that Sony has struck a deal with LG that allows the Japanese firm to release its own range of OLED TVs.

For the unaware, OLED screens are a popular (but expensive) type of display that are regularly used on smartphones, tablets, monitors, and televisions. Unlike conventional LED-backlit LCD displays, the pixels in an OLED screen produce their own light, eliminating the need for a backlight. The first benefit of this is that battery life can be improved. But as individual pixels can be turned on or off, the second advantage is that you can display far truer blacks than would be possible with a backlit TV.

Of course, neither Sony nor LG has confirmed any such announcement, but we'll know soon enough if the rumours are true – and you can find out in real-time by watching the company's CES 2017 press conference online.

LG at CES 2017

As expected, LG had plenty of news to share at its CES 2017 press conference, including details about new televisions and the smart home.

The first big announcement was the introduction of webOS 3.5, a new version of LG’s custom-built TV software, which includes “360 VR capabilities”, according to Dr Skott Ahn, President and CTO of LG Electronics.

LG also confirmed a new LG Signature TV that Ahn describes as the “lightest, thinnest, and most beautiful TV on the planet” – we’ll see if we can track down the new set on the show floor shortly.

There were also smart home announcements, including the LG Robot Vacuum that can recognise objects, and can even ask you to move aside if it realises it’s bumping into your leg rather than a sofa. 

LG also announced the LG Smart InstaView Door-in-Door refrigerator, which comes with a built-in touchscreen, a camera that lets you see the inside of your fridge while you’re out and about, and runs on LG’s own custom webOS software.

“The new LG Smart InstaView refrigerator for the US market features our…webOS operating system,” said David VanderWaal, VP of Marketing at LG. “Now consumers can stay connected in ways they never thought imaginable.”

“We’re making life in the kitchen that much more efficient and that much more enjoyable,” he added.

LG has teamed up with Amazon too, bringing Alexa to the Smart InstaView refrigerator. Speaking at the press conference, Mike George, VP of Echo, Alexa and Appstore at Amazon, said:

“You can do things in your kitchen like add things to your shopping list, check the weather, and lots of other stuff.”

“There’s a lot more to come between Amazon and LG,” George added.

As well as the new Nano Cell LCD 4K HDR TVs LG has said it's going to be catwalking at CES, the South Korean firm has revealed details of its new LG G Pad 3 10.1 and confirmed no less than five new phones for January.

We're hoping to find all of these products, and hopefully LG's first 4K HDR monitor, during our explorations of the show floor.

including the new LG InstaView Door-in-Door refrigerator, which has Amazon's Alexa digital assistant built in. That means you can play music, make purchases, and edit your shopping list just by speaking to your fridge. Creepy? Yes. Do we want one? Absolutely.

Nvidia at CES 2017

We've already talked in some detail about Nvidia's new Shield reveal, but there was plenty more of note from the company at CES 2017.

For one, we're seriously excited about announced the launch of the GTX 1050 and 1050 Ti graphics chip for laptops, with Nvidia and its partners promising more than 30 laptops launching with the chip in the first three months of this year. 

The big news here is this is a card that can run many games at 1080p and 60fps, but these laptops should be more affordable than your typical good gaming laptop. 

Don't want a fancy-pants gaming PC but still want to play the latest and greatest titles? Then Nvidia's launch of GeForce Now for Mac and Windows 10 is the news you've been waiting for.

Previously available only on Shield TV boxes, GeForce Now is Nvidia's cloud-based PC gaming service. It lets users remotely stream games from Nvidia-powered PCs to their device, opening up a world of new gaming possibilities for those of us with older laptops or inferior hardware.

Wider GeForce Now rollout is expected to begin in March 2017, and there'll be plenty of free playtime on offer if you want to give it a whirl.

Qualcomm at CES 2017

Qualcomm used its CES 2017 press conference to announce the very first device powered by its new Snapdragon 835 chip, which was revealed back in November.

In a surprise move, it turns out that the first Snapdragon 835 device isn't a smartphone; in fact, it's a pair of AR/VR smartglasses called the ODG R-8.

Related: Snapdragon 835: Everything you need to know

The ODG R-8 smartglasses have a 40-degree field of view and a 720p HD resolution, and supports Qualcomm's Snapdragon VR SDK. Other details were thin on the ground, but we did catch a brief glimpse of the smart shades:

"The premium Snapdragon 835 processor was designed from the ground-up to support new and innovative products and experiences beyond mobile phones, and it's great to see that the first announced Snapdragon 835 devices will be ODG's smartglasses," said Raj Talluri, senior vice president, product management, Qualcomm Technologies. 

"Thermal dissipation on a heavy compute but small device is very difficult so higher power efficiency is a must," continued Talluri. "The Snapdragon 835 processor, with our unique SoC design expertise on a 10nm process node, enables ODG to meet their design goals and develop lighter, smaller and sleeker smartglasses that take advantage of the new processor's superior performance and power efficiency."

Smartphones at CES 2017

Phones aren't normally big news at CES as most phones get announced at the upcoming Mobile World Congress shows in February/March. That said, we've already got wind of some smartphone news at CES 2017.

Xiaomi has confirmed that it will be attending CES 2017, but it hasn’t detailed exactly what we can expect. All we know is that an “all-new product” will be launched globally. And we’ve got this frustratingly vague statement to boot:

“At its CES debut, leading technology company XIaomi will be showcasing an exciting new product that illustrates how it is pushing the boundaries of innovation. XIaomi was founded based on the vision “innovation for everyone” – with the belief that high-quality products built with cutting-edge technology should be made widely accessible."

It's possible, of course, that this won't be a phone at all.

WATCH: Honor 6x hands-on

The other big news right now points to Asusdebuting a new ZenFone at CES, with early online gossip suggesting we'll see a 5.5-inch Full HD device that packs a Snapdragon 625, 4GB of RAM, 64GB of onboard storage, a hefty 4,850mAh battery, and a dual-camera – ZenFone 3 Zoom, anyone?

However, it now looks like the new ZenFone will in fact be the ZenFone AR, after Qualcomm accidentally let loose a blog post that revealed the device would be the second Google Project Tango handset to enter the wild.

Whatever the case, we're definitely getting a new ZenFone in Vegas, with Asus releasing the following CES teaser video that namechecks both the ZenFone and the firm's main 'Zennovation' event, which takes place as part of CES on January.

Cars at CES 2017

At CES 2016, Faraday Future caused a stir with its reveal of a high-performance electric concept car.

The good news is that the company now appears to be readying a production car to show off at CES 2017, following on from the FFZERO1 concept.

A cryptic tweet from the company hinted that it would “unveil the future” at the Las Vegas tech trade show:

When Faraday Future showed off the FFZERO1 in 2016, the car was claimed to boast 1,000 horsepower, a 0-60mph of less than three seconds, and augmented reality capabilities. The firm said it would have a production vehicle ready in two years, and promises that it will be a “premium electric” car that “combines extreme technology, industry leading range, and holistic design”.

In other CES 2017 car news, luxury car manufacturer BMW has confirmed it's going to tease a sneak peek of its new 'floating' HoloActive Touch virtual car interface.

What else is coming at CES 2017?

TrustedReviews' Editor Evan Kypreos got a sneak peek at what's coming up at CES 2017 after attending CES Unveiled in Paris. Here are some of the innovative products he saw there, which we'll be scrambling to get our hands on this week.

Buddy: The Family Companion Robot: If Jonny 5 taught us anything, it’s that robots can have feelings but more importantly that they can be cute. None are cuter than Buddy and its kawaii features. It pootles around your home checking for intruders, and can manage your smart home products, remind you of important events, play music and even call the fire brigade if it senses a fire.

Related: Best 4K TV 

Jooki Bluetooth Speaker: Bluetooth speakers are ten-a-penny but Jooki is a little different. For a start it's also a Wi-Fi enabled which means it can work like a Sonos or other streaming speaker. It's also different because it's aimed at children. It combines Amiibo-like toys with playlists so kids can decide what to listen to simply by placing the right toy on top of the splash-proof Jooki. You can even record your own voice reading out stories so your kid can listen to your voice when you’re travelling abroad. 

CT Band: If you’re a bit of a watch fiend then the idea of dumping your favourite Rolex for a fitness band or Apple Watch Series 2 will freak you out. The CT Band attempts to give you the best of both worlds by providing fitness tracking capabilities and a small LED screen in the strap instead. Still in its prototype stage, the CT Band looks a little chunky, and I’m not convinced a screen that small is useful or needed, but getting fitness tracking capabilities using any watch face is a great idea.   

Rool’in: This is one of the smartest ways I’ve seen a traditional push bike transformed into an electric bike. All you do is attach the wheel to your bike and the small communication to your pedal and off you go. The Rool’in is available to buy now in three sizes but one that can be charged by the sun as you pedal is also in the works. 

What is CES 2017?

One of the biggest technology tradeshows in the world, the Consumer Electronics Show (or CES, for short), takes place in Las Vegas every January. The show sees big-name firms like Samsung, LG and Ford flock to the city to flaunt their latest wares, and CES 2017 will be no different.

Here's how the organisers reckon it'll make you feel: "The moment you find what you didn't know you were looking for, when you feel like you might have found the next unicorn, when your eyes and your brain stare blankly at each other and the only thing your mouth can muster is 'whoa'."

Right then...

When is CES 2017?

CES takes place every January. For 2017, it's on January 5-8, though many of the bigger companies will show off their new goodies in the days leading up the show, typically at dedicated press conferences, which is why we're already shaking off the jet lag over in Nevada.