It’s December now, which means CES 2021 is just weeks away. Here at Trusted Reviews, we’ve put together this guide to keep you up to date on all the latest from CES, including when it’s taking place and what products we expect to see at the event.
This year’s event is going to be a little different to the CES of previous years. For one, the announcements won’t take place in their usual Las Vegas haunts. Rather, CES 2021 will be a digital-only event.
The Consumer Technology Association (CTA) announced the change in setting in July when it was first becoming clear that the pandemic wasn’t going to be over by the end of the year. Many companies have been forced to take their launches online this year, so it makes sense that the CTA would follow the same guidance for the hundreds of product announcements scheduled to take place at CES.
To its credit, the CTA is taking the move to an all-digital event in its stride.
“For CES, the pandemic gives us an opportunity to reimagine how we use our platform to bring our community together in a meaningful way, and enable our exhibitors to meet their customers and to reach new audiences”, said CTA President and CEO Gary Shapiro in a tweet back in July.
The CTA has even revealed that it hopes to combine the best of physical and the best of digital in 2022, making this January somewhat of a learning experience for the organisation.
So, what do we expect to see at CES 2021? Read on for all the latest on the 2021 trade show, including when it’ll take place, which announcements we’re anticipating and where to watch them.
CES 2021 date – when will the event take place?
CES 2021 will take place as a digital-only event from Monday January 11 to Thursday January 14 2021.
Scroll down to discover what we expect to see from each company, along with when you can catch their announcements.
AMD at CES 2021
AMD revealed three Big Navi desktop graphics cards in 2020, the Radeon RX 6800, the RX 6900 and the RX 6900 XT.
This year, we’re expecting AMD to give gaming laptops a performance boost by launching mobile versions. One of the perks of taking the new GPUs mobile is that it would bring 4K to AMD-powered gaming laptops, allowing AMD to better compete with Nvidia.
We think there’s a chance we’ll see Big Navi go mobile at CES 2021. Check out our guide on what we expect from AMD in 2021 for more rumoured releases.
AMD’s keynote will take place on January 12 between 4pm and 5pm.
Intel at CES 2021
2020 was a mixed bag for Intel. The year saw the launch of Tiger Lake mobile processors, as well as the announcement of a gradual departure from Apple’s Mac line. That said, there’s plenty to get excited about in 2021.
Rumours include the reveal of Intel’s Rocket Lake desktop processors. Rumour has it the company will announce the 11th gen x86 chips in Q1, making a CES launch very possible.
Another Intel update expected in early 2021 is the Tiger Lake H-Series. The chips are set to offer a performance boost for creative and gaming laptops, with the Razer Blade 15 and the Dell XPS 15 among those rumoured to carry the new chip.
You can find more on what we expect from Intel in 2021 in our guide.
Samsung at CES 2021
Just the other week, Samsung announced its first MicroLED TV marketed to consumers.
The 110-inch, near bezel-less display uses micrometre-sized LED lights to eliminate the need for a backlight or colour filters. Instead, the display is self-illuminating, producing light and colour from its own pixel structures that cover 100% of the DCI and Adobe RGB colour gamut, allowing the TV to deliver “lifelike colours and accurate brightness”.
However, there’s one major catch – the display is only available in Korea.
The good news is that the tech is slated to be coming to the rest of the world in early 2021, making CES the perfect time for Samsung to introduce the innovative new display to the US and European markets. Just don’t expect to be able to afford it right away – Korean site Pulse has reported that the TV will cost a whopping 170 million won (that’s around £114,000…).
LG at CES 2021
It isn’t just Samsung rumoured to be bringing MicroLED displays to consumers this CES. There’s talk LG could bring the MicroLED tech currently powering its business-marketed Magnit display to the public, though this has yet to be confirmed by LG itself.
The other big news surrounding LG at CES, is that the company could be planning on refreshing its naming conventions for 2021. While 2020 saw the launch of the CX (X standing for 10, in this case), rumours suggest we’ll see a transition back to numbers, with the LG C1 OLED, B1 OLED and W1 OLED for 2021.
Sony at CES 2021
CES 2021 will be one of the first major trade shows to follow November’s PS5 launch, meaning there’s a decent chance Sony will bolster the release with TVs that integrate better with the console.
This year, we’re looking forward to more TVs with variable refresh rates and 4K support at 120fps to pair with the next-gen PlayStation. Other possible announcements include further updates to Sony’s OLED and 8K lines.
Sony’s press conference with take place on January 11 at 10pm.
TCL at CES 2021
Last year, TCL took to the stage at CES to launch the latest generation of its Mini-LED TVs and we’re hoping to see more of them at CES 2021.
TCL’s Mini-LED TVs are designed to combine the brightness of LCD and the contrast of OLED at a low cost. Powered by the company’s Quantum Contrast technology, the displays harness the power of thousands of individual Mini-LEDs to provide “unrivalled contrast and brilliant clarity”.
We got to share our hands on experience with the 8-Series Mini-LED 8K TV last CES, and we can’t wait to possibly hear more about Mini-LED in 2021.
Panasonic at CES 2021
Panasonic surprised us all last year when it announced its first foray into the wireless earbuds market with the RZ-S300W and RZ-S500W earbuds.
The company also brought higher-than-average peak brightness to the table with the launch of its HZ2000 OLED TV. The 55-inch display impressed us last January, delivering high image quality, Dolby Atmos sound and Dolby Vision IQ.
This year we’re wondering whether we’ll see a 48-inch OLED from Panasonic or a TV with more gamer-driven features to tempt next-gen console owners.
Panasonic will take to the stage on January 8 at 10am.