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The Verge Awards at CES 2017: Hi, Alexa

Baby steps forward

For at least the second year in a row, CES was quiet. Much like 2016's show, this year's consumer electronics spectacle lacked blockbuster products, brands behaving badly, or unpredictable trends. Technology, whether it's our phones, TVs, or computers, is in its adult period, where changes happen slowly and iteratively.But there was still movement at CES this year. Self-driving technology took a couple more baby steps forward, while the smart home continued to expand and develop. Even the age-old PC was interesting, as Windows laptops showed they could have sleek designs with great battery life; monitors grew even larger and got more pixels; and the lowly Chromebook was imbued with new life (and a stylus).

The inescapable trend this year was from a company that wasn't even officially at the show. Amazon's Alexa technology showed up everywhere, from cars, to TVs, to watches, to things that even looked and worked an awful lot like Amazon's own Echo devices.

There wasn't a breakout star this year, but there was still a lot of stuff to see and a lot of interesting ideas on display. The thing about living in the future is that it's hard to see it coming, but rest assured, the future is here and you're in it. Here's the stuff that we found most interesting at this year's show.

—Dan Seifert