The first day of CES was dominated by two major themes – delivering amazing new experiences and saving people time with technology.

For news on the top gadgets and blow-by-blow accounts of the major keynotes, check out Kent German’s day one round-up on CNET or follow James Laird’s live updates on Trusted Reviews.

New consumer experiences

CES is always a bun-fight for attention as the major device manufacturers display their finest wares of today and tomorrow. TVs and displays are a cornerstone of the CES device highlight reel and why not?
We still consume so many technology experiences through the medium of screens and displays, so giving us the highest visual quality available is paramount.
You’ll find a round-up of the hottest TVs and laptops on offer (or not yet on offer as is the case with Samsung’s 146” MicroLED TV, The Wall) by Britta O’Boyle and Chris Hall on Pocket-lint. One device which interested me greatly, however, was LG’s 65” OLED TV with a “rollable” display.

Taking your TV for a walk

The idea of rolling a TV screen up and taking it round to your friends, on holiday or even just to another room in your house is a staggering concept.
However, I did grow up squinting at a tiny box in the corner of the room which you had to kick before you turned it on for the best chance of manually tuning a channel.
LG’s proposition is an appropriate poster child for yesterday’s show as it’s all about giving you an incredible audio-visual experience, as well as making you faster and saving you precious time.

Powering new possibilities

Intel has been making people faster for decades, powering the devices we rely on every day to get our work done, be creative and entertain ourselves.
In his keynote this year, Intel CEO Brain Krzanich announced the company’s first foray into the quantum computing chip market.
Quantum computing sounds scary but in layman’s terms it’s about giving computers more brainpower by enabling them to process more thoughts at the same time.
It will be a central technology to the autonomous vehicles which will come to dominate our streets one day – and potentially our skies as hinted at by Intel’s launch of the experimental Volocopter – an electronic helicopter designed to be a manned flying taxi.

Tech for the time-poor

It’s not just driverless cars and drones that will make us faster. Following the success of Amazon’s Alexa voice assistant launched at CES 2017, we expected to see a raft of voice-recognition robots and assistants launched at this year’s show and we have not been disappointed.
People don’t have time (or hands) to browse Google when they’re cooking, holding a baby or playing a game. To help with that voice assistance is now everywhere: in TVs, game consoles and, of course, fridges! “Why are you always empty?” would be my first question.
With so much still to take place at the show, it’s a little early to say what CES 2018 will ultimately be remembered for. If yesterday has told us anything though, it’s that the winning ticket this year is delivering incredible experiences and giving people back their most valued and elusive commodity: time.

Authored by Joe McNamara