How Big Are the "Next Big Things" in Tech?

Thousands of tech enthusiasts and industry insiders are flocking to Las Vegas this week to find out about the latest developments in the world of consumer electronics at CES 2019. The convention has barely started and manufacturers are already trying to steal the show by showing off their (often literally) biggest or most outlandish innovations.

LG made some waves on Monday by unveiling a rollable 65-inch OLED TV that appears out of a box when needed. Meanwhile others have shown their belief that bigger is in fact better when it comes to living room entertainment. While it will probably take a couple of years for rollable or giant 8K television sets to reach anything close to mainstream adoption, some innovations that also started out as futuristic brag projects at tech shows have started to deliver on their promise.

According to estimates published by the Consumer Technology Association, smartwatches, smart home devices and smart speakers have all grown into multi-billion dollar categories within a few years and wireless earbuds, a category boosted by Apple's release of the AirPods two years ago, are also expected to see significant growth this year.