A new year brings with it new expectations, resolutions and horizons – and, if you’re in Las Vegas between 7 – 10 January, the latest cutting-edge technology at CES 2020, too.
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While you might have always thought ‘CES’ stood for ‘cool, exciting and sexy’, this is surprisingly not the case. Not even close, actually. Still, that’s exactly the kind of wearable tech we’ll be getting.
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CES acts as the stall for companies to unveil their plans for the upcoming year, so expect plenty of news from the heavyweights of the wearables industry.
Just not from the biggest, Apple, who will continue playing the cool kid and no-show the event.
The Wareable team is on the show floor in Las Vegas, and we’ll be updating this roundup with all the latest announcements as they happen. For now, though, let us speculate recklessly about what we might see.
Amazfit
The only guaranteed new arrivals we have ahead of CES come from Amazfit, who appear to be on the verge of launching at least three new wearables for 2020.
Before Christmas, a company tweet confirmed that a the Amazfit Bip S – a renewed version of the original Amazfit Bip -would be announced at the show, and we’ve also witnessed plenty of leaks surrounding the incredibly-named T-Rex watch.
As we say, though, the new wearables might not end there, with Amazfit also indicating in another tweet that smart earbuds and potentially even smart running shoes could land at the show.
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We’re less sure about the shoes, but, if the smartwatches are an attempt to push more advanced fitness features, it would make sense if the company decided to go all-in with other companion devices.
Fossil Group
A mainstay at CES, we’re expecting the Fossil Group – which includes a cohort of fashion houses it produces watches for – to deliver plenty of new devices for 2020.
Last year, we saw new smartwatches from Michael Kors and Kate Spade previewed ahead of a summer release, and this year we expect to see some of the brands that haven’t yet released Gen 5 devices.
The likes of Emporio Armani, Diesel, Michael Kors and Fossil’s own brand likely won’t feature, but we could see new devices from brands such as Skagen, Kate Spade and Misfit.
After Fossil debuted the Hybrid HR – showing off all-new hybrid smartwatch technology – before the turn of the year, we may even be treated to some variations from the horde of brands under its banner. Fans of E Ink displays, prepare the edge of your seat.
Garmin
With so many Garmin wearables now in the yearly refresh cycle, it’s pretty much inevitable the brand will have some kind of presence at this year’s show.
The question, of course, is what new devices there could be. Last year, we saw the release of the Garmin Vivoactive 3 Music, which perhaps points to the recently released Vivoactive 4 receiving a similar upgrade at this year’s CES.
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Elsewhere, we could also see a special edition of the Garmin Fenix 6, though it does still feel a little too early for that. And while Garmin is long overdue to release a new fitness tracker – perhaps to the Vivofit or Vivosport line – we would be surprised if it actually did.
Fitbit
Fitbit is no stranger to CES, but it has been quieter at the show in recent years.
And with the Google takeover still being pored over by the US Justice Department, with concerns over data privacy and antitrust issues, any potential wares we might have seen at this year’s show have likely been quashed.
A long-shot is that we see the Fitbit Charge 4, but it feels much more likely the company uses the show as an opportunity to talk software and perhaps provide an update on the Google deal.
Withings
Now back under the control of co-founder Éric Carreel and away from Nokia, we’re expecting Withings to continue its previous strong showings at CES.
Last year, we saw the French company start the year by releasing a blood pressure monitor and two hybrid watches, with one able to perform an ECG.
The Withings Move ECG has approval in Europe, but is still waiting in the US. It might use CES as the platform to provide an update on this, as well as debut a couple of new health-focused wares.