CES is the world’s biggest annual consumer technology show, held in Las Vegas in January, where thousands of consumer electronics brands show off their latest innovations.
CES 2023 hosted roughly 2400 exhibitors including huge names such as Google, Amazon, Microsoft, Sony, LG, Samsung, Panasonic and JBL.
The event is often where we get a first glimpse at what these companies will launch that year and beyond. This January we saw demos of next-gen TVs from the likes of LG, Panasonic and Samsung. There were also plenty of audio announcements, too, with launches from JBL, Naim, and Nakamichi.
Press conferences, keynotes, and tech talks are all made available online via live streams, so you can tune in and follow everything as it happens from the comfort of your seat.
What Hi-Fi? will be in attendance, as always, bringing you all of the news from on the ground, plus hands-ons with all of the latest and greatest kit and opinions on what we've seen.
In the meantime, though, here's everything we know and think we know about what's going to be announced at the show.
CES 2024 dates: when is CES?
CES takes place between Tuesday 9th and Friday 12th January 2024 in Las Vegas, though the 'Media Days', when most product news is announced, are held two days prior, over the 7th and 8th of January. These are the two days you'll want to keep your eye on whathifi.com if you want to hear all the latest announcements as they happen.
The CES 2024 schedule can be viewed here
CES 2024 news: what will be announced?
It’s early days so it’s difficult to know exactly what will be shown. Brands haven't announced much yet and keynote speeches and press conference times are still to be confirmed by many brands. But based on past launches, brand activities over the past 12 months, and some early teasers, we can speculate on what could come out of this January’s show.
As we find out more, we will be sure to keep you up to date with all the latest news.
Sony at CES 2024
Sony probably won’t announce anything, at least not in our worlds of hi-fi and AV. In 2023, it announced its new TVs at a separate event in March.
With no new TVs at CES 2023, Sony instead opted to focus on its PlayStation VR 2 in particular, the company's TVs came later at a separate event in March. We are expecting a similar approach for 2024.
The holding image on Sony's website suggests the company will again focus on movie production, sound and VR.
When Sony does announce its new TVs, we expect to see a new QD-OLED model to replace the A95L, and presumably a new standard OLED model to replace the A80L. We predict these new models could be titled A95M and A80M respectively. On top of this, we also expect to see more backlit LCD models.
Press conference: 8th January, 01:00 am GMT
Livestream: TBA
Panasonic at CES 2024
Traditionally, Panasonic tends to only announce its flagship TV at CES and we have no reason to expect a deviation from that approach this year.
In all likelihood, Panasonic's 2024 flagship, which will replace the MZ2000, will be called the NZ2000, and it will almost certainly be an MLA OLED model with a substantial Dolby Atmos sound system.
Considering our experience testing the MZ2000 this year, we'll be curious to see if the newer set takes further advantage of MLA's brightness-boosting powers and potential improvements to the TV's sound system.
Stay tuned for more information!
Press conference: 8th January, 6:00 pm GMT
Livestream: TBA
Samsung at CES 2024
Samsung will be in attendance and will be sure to announce new products but we’re not yet sure exactly what those will be.
Smaller QD-OLED panels are now available so we could see new, smaller QD-OLED TVs (the current smallest are 55 inches) and there could be more ‘standard’ OLEDs that use panels from LG.
In 2023, Samsung released its first TV that uses a standard LG OLED panel. It has long been predicted that the company will use those panels to release more and cheaper OLEDs, so we could see these at CES 2024.
The company will also almost certainly announce a new range of Neo QLED TVs that use Quantum Dots with Mini LED backlighting. And don't forget 8K QLED models – unlike most other major TV brands, Samsung is still very focused on 8K.
Finally, we can also expect to see a new range of absolutely huge and ridiculously expensive Micro LED displays, as Samsung appears to be betting big on this as the TV technology of the future. Will this be the year that it announces a model small enough to fit into the average home and affordable enough to be purchased by the average person? We highly doubt it.
Press conference: 8th January, 10:00 pm GMT
Livestream: TBA
LG at CES 2024
LG goes bigger than most brands at CES, and we don't expect 2024 to be any different. We anticipate a whole new TV range to be announced, with the focus clearly placed on the brand's dominant OLED models.
In fact, we already know that new B4, C4 and G4 models are on the way, thanks to a recent leak confirming the resolutions and refresh rates of those models (4K/120Hz for the B4, 4K/144Hz for the C4 and G4). Rumours also point to this being the year that LG's TVs launch with an entirely new Alpha 10 processor rather than a tweaked version of the slightly long-in-the-tooth Alpha 9.
We're most looking forward to finding out whether the brightness-boosting MLA technology that debuted in the G3 in 2023 has trickled down to the mainstream C4 model this year. That would be a very big deal. It would also arguably be a very big deal if it hasn't.
We're also keen to see whether LG announces a new version of its 'wireless' M3 OLED TV, or perhaps a completely different concept TV. We'd personally like to see the return of the brand's 'Wallpaper' range of insanely thin TVs that could be hung on the wall using magnets, but alas, no signs are pointing that way at present.
Press conference: 8th January, 4:00 pm GMT
Livestream: TBA
Audio at CES 2024
Sennheiser and JBL (and other Harman brands) usually launch new products at CES. At the moment, however, any specifics on what they may release are yet to be confirmed.
In terms of trends we can expect to see, our money is on more streaming turntables, more wireless earbuds (and potentially an innovation), and a focus on spatial audio across the board.
CES 2023 highlights: what impressed last time?
LG’s MLA technology
The LG G3 TV and the arrival of MLA technology were definitely big highlights of CES 2023. LG Display’s use of Micro Lens Array (MLA) has meant that its OLED TVs have reached dazzlingly bright heights this year.
In a nutshell, MLA is made of a layer of microscopic lenses that are layered on top of the OLED pixels. To contextualise how microscopic these lenses are, LG Display claims that it can fit 5000 microlenses on a single pixel.
LG M3 wireless OLED TV
LG's impressive wireless M3 4K OLED TV got its world-first showing at CES 2023. A wireless 4K OLED TV? You had better believe it!
While the M3 does require a power cable, it receives video and audio content totally wirelessly via a separate transmitter box. No tangles of HDMI cables dangling from the back of the TV. LG calls its proprietary tech 'Zero Connect' and, following the tech demo at CES, the M3 hit store shelves in the second half of 2023.
JBL TT350
At CES 2023, JBL announced its Classic Series of hi-fi components that includes a music streamer, amplifier, CD player, and the brand's first-ever turntable, the JBL TT350 Classic.
The TT350 sports a direct drive design with a heavy die-cast aluminium platter set in a natural walnut wood veneered chassis. It also comes with adjustable dampened feet to help cut down on vibrations and enable you to play the TT350 on uneven surfaces. Its S-shaped, curved aluminium tonearm is fitted with a "high quality" Audio Technica moving magnet cartridge in a removable headshell.
Naim NAP250 Power amplifier
Naim celebrated its 50th anniversary at CES 2023, revealing a range of new components including the NAP 250 power amplifier.
It is the sixth generation of this product, which has been going since 1975, and it’s one of the best products the brand has made over those five decades. It features some tech that has trickled down from Naim's flagship Statement amplifier, such as an eddy-current circuit breaker between speaker outputs and balanced XLR connections, alongside Naim's promise of "more power, even better performance, and greater system-matching flexibility".
Nakamichi Dragon soundbar
Featuring an impressive 21 channels of audio, the Nakamichi Dragon soundbar definitely turned heads at CES. It’s also the first bar to support DTS:X Pro as well.
The Dragon is a huge 11.4.6-channel soundbar that measures 58 inches and features 31 drivers – six upfiring, four main soundbar drivers, two 2D Omni-Motion Reference Surround speakers and four subwoofers. Each surround speaker is fitted with two three-inch drivers and an Air Motion Transfer tweeter, too. Plus, the Dragon supports Dolby Atmos, Dolby Vision, and aptX HD.
Panasonic MZ2000 OLED TV
At CES 2023, Panasonic showed off what it described as its "best and brightest picture" ever courtesy of its MZ2000 OLED TV.
It features a custom OLED panel powered by Panasonic's HCX Pro AI processor, a multi-layer heat management system, and MLA technology. These new features reportedly have improved max brightness by a massive 150% over the previous year’s model, bringing the total peak brightness to around 1500 nits.
It also comes packed with a Technics-tuned Dolby Atmos audio system with multiple built-in upward-firing, side-firing, and front-firing speakers. The front speaker array runs the entire length of the TV and has been revised to come with a wider soundstage alongside a variety of different listening modes.
JBL 4329P Studio Monitor speakers system
JBL was in the spotlight once again, this time with its 4329P all-in-one speaker system with streaming powers: the JBL 4329P Studio Monitor speakers.
It's a pair of active loudspeakers featuring what JBL described as “extensive wired and wireless connectivity options" alongside built-in Digital Signal Processing and the brand's now-iconic horn-loaded compression drivers. Each speaker is powered by a 300W amp, with 250W being delivered to the 8-inch paper cone woofer and 50W going to the 1-inch compression driver.
The good news doesn’t stop there though, as the 4329P come with wi-fi and ethernet, built-in Chromecast, AirPlay 2, Bluetooth 5.3, and aptX Adaptive support. There's also a built-in DAC to enable hi-res music playback support up to 24-bit/192KHz. There’s also MQA support and Roon Ready certification.
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