Will CES 2022 be important for smartphone releases?
NOTICE: CES 2022 is just a few days away, and what better way to cure that headache than by gorging on some of our tasty mobile predictions for the huge tech show.
CES (or Consumer Electronics Show) is an annual convention that takes place in and among Las Vegas hotels, casinos and skyscrapers. After a year of virtual conferences in 2021, the show is back in its physical format for 2022 and we expect to see a whole host of technologies unveiled.
Typically, CES is home to more concept technology than you might find at MWC in Barcelona or IFA in Berlin and over the past few years we've seen a strong focus on advancements in television. If there's any great screen tech coming up, there's a good chance it'll be unveiled at CES.
From what we've seen so far, CES 2022 could very well shift its focus from TVs to IT. Nvidia, Dell, and others are widely used to advertise merchandise. But what about new smartphones?
CES isn't known for smartphone releases, and we don't expect too many new phones to get big releases at the show. There are a number of reasons for this, ranging from most phone brands now preferring to go it alone and host their own shows at the Mobile World Congress (usually the home of many phone launches) which takes place a month later. . We've seen several phone launches at CES before, but these were mostly mid-range options like LG.
OnePlus, for example, might have a minor presence at CES - previously it has used the show to show off some concept devices - but that probably won't be where we'll see the OnePlus 10.
So, should smartphone fans stay away from the series altogether? Well, not quite.
One of the biggest rumors going into CES 2022 actually revolves around the launch of a phone, specifically Samsung's Galaxy S21 FE. It is a sequel to the very good Galaxy S20 FE and should be a more affordable alternative to the Galaxy S21.
We've been waiting for the S21 FE for ages. The original rumors were for a summer launch (similar to the original), but when that didn't materialize, some even suggested that the phone had been canceled altogether due to the ongoing chip shortage.
A few months later though, and it's clear the device exists. There have been plenty of leaks, ranging from discussions about the price, to a look at the user manual, and lots of pictures. We also have a really good idea of the specs: OLED display, dual rear cameras, Snapdragon 888 chipset, and wireless charging.
The S21 FE certainly isn't shaping up to be the most exciting phone on the market. Many of the best midrange phones today meet these specs, but Samsung produces reliable devices and chances are they are a big seller.
Away from Samsung, Qualcomm will be present at CES 2022, so we'll likely get more information on the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 chipset that will power the majority of the best phones of 2022. This was officially announced in early December, but other than a Motorola device. only in China, we have not yet seen a phone with it. TCL will be at the show as well and chances are we could see some budget and mid-range offerings from them.
CES 2022 may of course have some surprises, and we'll bring all the news straight from Vegas to you so you don't miss a thing.
