【Nanda van Bergen】

After an all-online 2021 event,Nanda van Bergen the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) is coming back to Las Vegas.

The Consumer Technology Association made it official with an announcement on Wednesday. CES 2022 will take place from Jan. 5-8 next year, with media days on Jan. 3-4. The CTA said a quadruple-digit number of companies including Amazon, Sony, and Lenovo have committed to showing off their upcoming wares at the event, which is a welcome sign given the relatively sparse selection at the 2021 online show.

CES might be an in-person gathering again, but the CTA is adapting some of that online energy from this year into next year's show. Viewers at home will be able to stream some keynotes and announcements, which is a godsend both to regular folks who are curious about what's coming in tech and media members who may not feel safe attending a convention in January.

Now you might be wondering: How will an in-person CES work while keeping COVID safety in mind? More than 50 percent of adults in the U.S. have received at least one dose of the vaccine, and even with recent concerns about vaccine hesitancy, that number is only going to go up between now and January. Still, precautions might still be necessary by then. Here's the entirety of what the CTA had to say about it:

CTA will be reviewing guidelines for coronavirus safety measures from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, in addition to state and local guidelines. CTA will be following applicable federal, state and local laws, adapting CES plans accordingly and sharing updates with its audiences.

In other words, we don't know how COVID will affect in-person attendance at CES 2022. Maybe attendees will have to wear masks. Maybe they won't. Maybe attendance will be capped at a lower level than usual, but then again, maybe not. It's a fluid situation. Regardless, if you missed traveling to Vegas for a few sleepless nights in January this past year, you can look forward to doing it again next year.

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