Why the 2013 Consumer Electronics Show is a Look into the Future of Home

Sci-fi movies and The Jetsons cartoon would have us believe that the future home is minimalistic in nature. Scenes of these home in the future centuries are often portrayed as seemingly sterile environments with fewer objects and often all white decor. I say that’s a false view of the future, or at least the foreseeable future. If anything what is expected to unfold at the 2013 Consumer Electronics Show (CES) this week will give us a look into not just what to expect this year, but for the next few decades. Here’s what I think you should be on the lookout for:

Sci-fi movies and The Jetsons cartoon would have us believe that the future home is minimalistic in nature. Scenes of these home in the future centuries are often portrayed as seemingly sterile environments with fewer objects and often all white decor.

I say that’s a false view of the future, or at least the foreseeable future. If anything what is expected to unfold at the 2013 Consumer Electronics Show (CES) this week will give us a look into not just what to expect this year, but for the next few decades. Here’s what I think you should be on the lookout for:

The TV is Becoming Your Home Computer

Image courtesy of Flickr user LGEPR

When was the last time you gathered around your computer at home to see something? Probably not as often as you used to. But as much as we like to talk about TV becoming less prevalent, just the opposite is happening. In fact at this year’s CES, I think you’ll start hearing more talk about your TV becoming your home computer.

I’m not suggesting you’ll be writing term papers or replying to emails on it, but for pretty much all the other stuff you used to use your PC for like downloading movies, editing photos or even playing games will become more TV centric. Samsung is expected to release a “smarter” version of its already pretty intuitive SmartTV. Xbox is already the number one gaming console which is basically a computer disguised as a video game system. I expect other manufacturers and software developers to start using the TV more like we do our computers rather than trying to retro fit an Internet experience into our existing units.

Your Phone Will Be the Real Key to Your House

Image courtesy of Flickr user LGEPR

Watch for your phone to become increasingly important to how your house runs. More and more devices will be using phone apps as remote controls and creating connections to the infrastructure of your home. Today you can program your DVR, turn on your lights, adjust the temperature or even set the alarm for your home from an iPhone app. Why wouldn’t we be able to cook the turkey, open the garage door or start a bath too?

Everything from Apple TV to XBox to your lights can be controlled by your phone and that trends is sure to continue as we become more reliant on our phones for doing pretty much everything but talking on them.

Home Internet Speed to Become Increasingly More Important

Image courtesy of Flickr user Francis Carnaúba

All these amazing devices and electronics to be showcased at CES this year, have one thing in common: they thrive on Internet connections. The number of devices in your home that are connected to the Internet may very well double, or even triple, in the coming years. If you’re still on a DSL line or a limited connection speed, you may find that these amazing tools will be rendered useless without an increase in your home Internet speeds.

What are you looking forward to seeing come out from this year’s CES? Let us know in the comments.

David Marine

Husband. Father. Socializer. Mets Lifer. TV Aficionado. Consumer Engager.

David Marine is the Chief Marketing Officer at Coldwell Banker, where he oversees the brand’s marketing efforts and content strategy including acting as managing editor for the Coldwell Banker blog and heading up video production efforts. While CMO by day, David runs a three ring circus at night as he is the father of 4 boys. He also happens to be married to Wonder Woman. True story.