VR/AR Took Over CES 2020: What's Next?

CES; the worlds largest tech show came to an end recently yet the impact of the products showcased will be influencing the market for years to come.

The unfathomably large scale of CES means it has room for just about every emerging tech gadget, and thousands of companies come from around the world to showcase their latest products. If you have a consumer tech related product that you want to make a splash, there is essentially no option; your company had better be at CES!

VR Industry leader Tipatat and MXTreality CEO Jeff Rayner ended up taking away similar mementos from their exploration of VR Headsets and AR Eyewear

While at CES 2020, MXTreality naturally was on the lookout for the latest in VR/AR headsets and related immersive tech products. We got to test a lot of headsets; were blown away by some, not so blown away by others, and we also encountered a few surprises that we found intriguing as well as encouraging for VR and AR continuing to flourish.

In fact, in a way, VR and especially AR took over CES this year. Of course we expected to see that many conference sessions related to XR would be featured. We knew we'd get to finally try numerous VR sets we've been eagerly following and get some of our first chances to try out the compact AR eyewear which is emerging quite rapidly. What we couldn't foresee, is the level of how blown away we would be by certain things; like the VARJO XR-1 headset; an experience that mixes reality and virtual worlds like nothing anyone could have imagined just a few years ago. MXTreality CEO Jeff Rayner said "The XR-1 takes immersive spatial computing to an entirely new level. So good it makes you forget you have a headset on."

Nelson tries out the VARJO

And AR eyewear is becoming rapidly impressive as well. Realmax Inc have an experience utilizing their AR glasses that allows multiple people to interact with each other in AR!

While all these product showcases are really fantastic, probably the biggest reason we consider that immersive tech like AR took over CES this year was not only due to the AR related products being showcased but to the marketing efforts by all types of companies to draw people into their booths that utilized AR.

Colgate Toothpaste even had a giant art display that was formed in the shape of someone's teeth that had an augmented reality component allowing the viewer to see the teeth light up and play a screen touch "game" to remove the teeth's plaque.

Every type of company there were utilizing AR; Jeff estimates that about 1 out of every 10 brand exhibitions had some form of AR or other very immersive experience to draw people in. Considering the vast number of companies with a presence at CES, that is a high level of immersive marketing. What's next? We see that in all likelihood the utilization of AR and immersive tech will continue to grow as product showcases at CES, while also further becoming a staple of marketing efforts by the event's exhibitors.

We are definitely looking forward to returning to CES in 2021, and we will likely increase our presence there as well. What's so exciting about an event like CES is that it's a little glimpse into the future for the consumer, yet a celebration of progress for those who live in the tech industry. We loved taking part in that celebration and are excited to continue to help drive the momentum forward.

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To stay up to date on all the latest VR/AR has to offer, follow us on Twitter @MXTreality

Also, follow MXTreality CEO @JeffRayner to see the latest gadgets and wearables he often finds himself testing