A Brief History of CES

Let us take you back in time...to 53 years ago.

It’s 1967. You’re in New York City for the first-ever CES, or Consumer Electronics Show. It’s a day in late June, cloudy but warm, and you—along with more than 17,000 other attendees—are gearing up for a day of perusing over 200 exhibitions across two hotels.

One thing you’re excited to see? Brand-new pocket radios. It’s an exciting debut—you’d love to be able to listen to Aretha Franklin’s “Respect” on the go.

Fast-forward to CES 2020, an event that brought in over 170,000 attendees and 4,400 exhibitors—and expanded from two NYC hotels to 11 Las Vegas venues.

Over the past half-century, a grab bag of major technologies have debuted at the innovation showcase. Here’s a condensed timeline:

• 1970s and ‘80s: VCR, Camcorder, and Compact Disc Player
• 1990s and ‘00s: DVD, HDTV, Satellite Radio, Microsoft Xbox, and OLED TV
• 2010s: Android Devices, Driverless Car Technology, 3D Printers, 4K UHD