What to expect in tech this year
Expect lots of buzz around AI PC and Wi-Fi 7
CES 2024, the consumer tech trade show of the year, opens in Las Vegas on Jan 9. The first wave of CES 2024 announcements are already in our inboxes, along with embargoed materials that can’t be revealed till next week.
As the CES 2024 website makes quite clear, AI is the star of the show — no surprise here. Of course, the usual suspects such as 5G, augmented reality, and electric vehicles, will be there. But you’re going to be hearing a lot about AI. For instance, AI PC will likely be the buzzword for consumer PCs this year. Intel is certainly hoping that its new AI-enhanced chips will catch on with users and businesses. The PC market is also pining its hopes on AI PCs taking off.
Wi-Fi 7, too, is another tech that will probably get going this year. While the first Wi-Fi 7 routers have been available since last year, we’ll definitely see more client devices (laptops and smartphones) in 2024. The Wi-Fi 7 standard itself only gets certified officially by the end of Q1 2024, so you can expect most Wi-Fi 7 products to launch in the second half of the year. As to why you should upgrade to Wi-Fi 7, the answer is MLO, which offers improved reliability over older Wi-Fi standards.
Meanwhile, smartphones will, like PCs, gain more AI features this year. Samsung has already hinted at this, and we’ll find out more during Galaxy Unpacked 2024 on Jan 18. We’re also expecting big things from foldable phones this year. Last year’s foldables were impressive hardware-wise. Hopefully, the software will be much better in 2024 after a year of tweaks.
If you’re more into audio, then you should be excited about solid-state MEMS drivers that are starting to be used in upcoming earbuds. I have been trying out Creative’s new Aurvana Ace 2 — one of the first earbuds to use these MEMS drivers — for over a week now (review coming soon), and they sound really good for their price. Personally, as a fan of Sonos products, I’m also looking forward to the first headphones from the brand, as well as the purported successor to the Sonos Arc soundbar.
In short, there’s an exciting year ahead for tech, especially if you had been holding off on getting certain gadgets like a new PC. Of course, there will probably be some surprise hits or breakthroughs that no one saw coming.
In other news, we checked out Belkin’s new multi-port wall charger, which can keep two laptops, a phone, and a smartwatch charged at the same time. We also tested a useful extendable tripod, as well as Jabra’s rugged true wireless earbuds.
With three USB-C PD3.1 ports, and one 12W USB-A port, the Belkin BoostCharge Pro 140W wall charger will keep all your devices topped up. The first USB-C port can go up to a max of 140W, while the other two are capped at 65W each. Using all four ports will reduce the charging power, but this charger is still good enough to charge two laptops, a phone, and a smartwatch simultaneously.
The Ulanzi MT-44 Extendable Vlog Tripod looks like a selfie stick, but the bottom opens up to be a tripod. It works with smartphones, or even an action camera — there’s a 1kg weight limit. It also offers good height (up to 146.5cm), which makes it useful for group shots. And at around S$30, it’s pretty affordable.
Thinking of exercising more this year? The ideal wireless earbuds for your journey to a healthier you is the Jabra Elite 8 Active. Not only do these earbuds offer a more secure fit, they are designed to be more durable, with IP68 water and dust resistance. They also sound good, too. Noise cancellation is decent, and features like in-ear detection and Bluetooth Multipoint are present.