Apple will return to CES to talk privacy after a long absence
But don't expect it to pitch any new products. A company executive is speaking at a privacy roundtable at the show.
The billboard overlooking the Las Vegas Convention Center at CES 2019.
The annual CES, formerly known as the Consumer Electronics Show, will descend on Las Vegas once again next month. Yet for decades, Apple's skipped the show. On Jan. 7, however, one of its executives will be making an appearance to talk privacy.
Jane Horvath, Apple's senior director of privacy, will be speaking on a "Chief Privacy Officer Roundtable" on Jan. 7, according to the CES agenda, which Bloomberg earlier reported on.
Though Apple won't be pitching new products at the show, it does suggest the company's increasing its participation after putting up an ad at CES 2019 by the conference's main hall that said "What happens on your iPhone, stays on your iPhone" -- a privacy-focused twist on the Las Vegas slogan "What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas." Apple didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.
Apple's move to participate in CES, the world's largest tech show, comes as the industry grapples with slowing phone sales, a bumpy rollout for next-generation 5G wireless and seemingly endless privacy scandals. CES historically has been a place where the industry shows off its next big thing -- or at least nifty ideas like a robot to fold your clothes or a television that rolls and unrolls like a poster.
Various Apple employees have attended the show over the years, and Apple's made some announcements during or immediately after the show concluded. But it hasn't been an official participant since 1992. Whether Apple will up its presence even more is yet to be seen.