The same things that make CES exciting can also make CES frustrating. Namely: You see a lot of mind-boggling products at the show, things that make you want to take out your credit card right then and there. However, most of those things are years away from mainstream adoption… if they hit the market at all.

This year, many of the show’s biggest announcements will actually be available by the end of 2019. Some of them are already available. That seems like great news! However, when it comes to making a wise buying decision, it’s best to wait a while on some of them.

In their day-two CES recap video, Airfoil Senior Social Media Specialist Connor Grant and Editorial Director Tim Moynihan talked about some of the tech that still needs a bit more time in the oven. You can watch the full video above or read on for more details.

• 8K TVs: There’s no doubt about it: 8K TVs look amazing. The 8K demo footage displayed on the show floor looked incredibly sharp and vibrant, to the extent that most show-goers simply stopped in their tracks and gawked. 8K TVs offer 16 times the resolution of a 1080p HDTV, and they were all over the place at CES 2019. TV market leaders such as Samsung, LG, and Sony were all-in on the 8K showpieces, and some 8K sets will be available by year’s end. However, this isn’t the year to splurge on an 8K set. The prices will be astronomical, and more importantly, you won’t find much (if any) 8K content to watch. After all, we’re still in the middle of the transition from HD to 4K, and while there is more and more 4K content to watch every year, it isn’t ubiquitous. It’s safe to say that 8K video will be hard to come by for the next five years.
• AI-infused gadgets: Especially in the automotive world, artificial intelligence will have a huge impact in the coming years. But at CES, it’s a buzzword that’s being applied to everything. AI is the new “smart”: Everything from TVs to toys to toothbrushes will seemingly have AI-driven features in 2019. That’s really selling the whole idea of AI short. Instead, AI’s ultimate impact will be in solving big challenges in fields such as autonomous driving, healthcare, manufacturing, and other industrial applications. The real value of AI is in going beyond human capabilities when analyzing vast amounts of data, identifying patterns, and predicting things that will happen in the future.
• 5G: 5G networks will be very fast, but the rollout will take some time. Things are already getting confusing. Verizon offers in-home 5G broadband, but it’s based on Verizon’s proprietary technology instead of industry standards. As for AT&T, they’ve simply pushed out a “5G” icon to many users’ devices, even though those devices are on a 4G LTE network. Point is, carriers are touting 5G as a transformative next-gen network that will connect everything that requires a connection… but that’s not the reality yet. 5G service likely won’t hit critical mass until next year. Until then, 5G-capable devices will have premium prices -- without the super-fast performance that users will be expecting.   

Want to learn more about the trends coming from this year's CES? Head on over to Airfoil’s CES 2019 insights page to get news, photos, and videos from the show floor in Las Vegas!