CES 2020: Tech Trends to Expect

The countdown to CES 2020 has begun. CES is the biggest consumer electronics show in the world. As we eagerly await for the show to start, here's what we expect to see at CES 2020.

Foldable and Dual Screens PCs

As foldable phones are out, it's evident that tablet makers also to want to follow the league. While we don't expect many (if any) consumer-ready models at CES 2020, but we're pretty sure that we'll be seeing quite a few concepts as companies try to figure out this new medium.

In case we see a consumer-ready device, we expect that from Lenovo. It's been reported that the company has set a date of Q2 2020 for its first foldable, a variation of the ThinkPad X1. Microsoft is another possible contender, which is reportedly launching the Surface Neo sometime in Q3 2020.

Sooner or later laptop manufacturers will also look for ways to add another screen to their setups. Currently, Asus is leading the charge with excellent laptops such as the ZenBook Pro Duo and the ZenBook 15. We may expect a lot of dual-screen concepts at the show.

5G

We are expecting to see a lot more laptops sporting mobile broadband. These always-connected laptops will be faster and can act as a hotspot in a pinch. While we've got previews of some notebooks, we expect to see a lot more options. Rumours also suggest that Apple will be joining the fray with 5G MacBooks.

Qualcomm will be a significant player in this space as the company recently unveiled its Snapdragon 7c and 8c chips, looking to bring always-connected systems to mainstream consumers in a big way. Qualcomm is targeting entry- and mid-level laptops. We should also keep an eye on the Qualcomm's 8cx processor. A 7-nanometer chip, the 8cx chip is featured in the company's Project Limitless concept and is supposed to deliver better performance and longer battery life along with LTE connectivity. As per rumours, Samsung is also working on a 5G tablet, the Galaxy Tab S6.

5G is not only going to be a Qualcomm-only affair. Intel is joining hands with MediaTek to make their 5G laptops.

Beyond 10th Gen

If you are thinking that Intel was done rolling out all the 10th Gen goodies, you're undoubtedly wrong. The company is still working on introducing its Project Athena initiative, which means more laptops.

Business laptops such as the HP Elite Dragonfly have Intel's vPro technology, forced to use 8th Gen chips because 10th Gen doesn't support the technology...yet. We're also eagerly waiting to see the arrival of 10th Gen H-series processors for gaming laptops.

AMD Makes a Comeback

Over the past few years, AMD's been very tough on the desktop front. Andhe Company is long overdue for a serious comeback on the mobile front. We may expect AMD to make some announcements regarding mobile during the company's keynote on January 6.

From there, we're pretty sure to see mid- to upper-tier laptops sporting either a Ryzen CPU or a Radeon GPU. And while we're excited at the potential of getting AMD processors in laptops, we're more positive about the graphics cards. It'd be nice to have an option besides Intel and Nvidia again.