Best Press Events, Conferences and Trade Shows, Rated by CNET

Being an editor at CNET has its perks, and being able to travel to cover big product announcements, trade shows and other events is one of them. Many of the events we attend are closed to the public, invite-only affairs hosted by deep-pocketed companies, although some trade shows let the public pay to attend as well.

These conferences provide a front-row seat to where the next wave of technology is headed, from the devices in our pockets to the apps on our phones and the video games on our TV screens. CNET readers experience our coverage in the form of live blogs, articles, videos and social posts galore, but maybe you’re curious what it’s like to actually go to them. You’re in luck. Here’s our insider take on a handful of the events we’ve attended in the last year. And because this is CNET, we’re rating them all on our 10-point scale. 

While CNET pays for all of its own airfare, travel and expenses to events — other companies do not pay our way — you shouldn’t expect the kind of robust rating system we use for the products and services we officially review. Instead, the number represents our quick take on the impact of their announcements and new products, as well as the kind of on-the-ground elements only members of the press like CNET get to experience. Think atmosphere, Wi-Fi connectivity, food, weather in the host city and figuring out how to get around. Here’s the list, in order of when in the year the event falls.

CES

When: Early January
Where: Las Vegas, Nevada

CES is the biggest tech trade show in the world and the largest trade show in the US, period. I’ve been every year for the last couple decades, give or take a couple during COVID. It’s a sprawling collection of booths, private demonstrations, meetings and press conferences that takes place basically right after the holidays end. CES is where the newest innovations across the world of tech debut, including new TVs, car tech, AI products and more. It’s also home to plenty of wacky stuff you’ve never heard of and will likely never see again (until the next CES), like dancing plants, AI-powered meat cookers and smart toothbrushes.

Every year I dread going, but every year I have fun. The atmosphere is overwhelming: tight schedules, blinking lights and huge screens, thousands upon thousands of nerds rushing everywhere. Vegas has some amazing restaurants, including my favorites Lotus of Siam and Tacos El Gordo, but you have to make the time to enjoy them. Logistics are a nightmare, including horrible traffic, long waits for cabs and Uber and hours of walking through endless casinos. And even after a week of intense schlepping, writing and shooting, I always feel like I missed most of it.

Best moment ever: Shooting a video of Samsung’s 292-inch MicroLED in 2020, still the largest TV I’ve ever seen in person.

Worst moment ever: After avoiding getting sick at CES for most of my career, I came down with COVID after the 2024 show.

Rating: 5/10

– David Katzmaier

Mobile World Congress

When: February/March
Where: Barcelona

Barcelona is a city known for many things: Gaudi, giant gin and tonics, Catalonian independence protests, pickpocketing, patatas bravas, overtourism and the world’s biggest mobile show. I’ve been to Mobile World Congress so many times over the past decade that I’ve been able to experience all of it and so much more. It’s always a treat for me to return to this beautiful Spanish city at a comparatively quiet time of year, although when I arrive back at its conference center, the Fira, I routinely experience the kind of overwhelming sensations only comparable with CES. 

MWC isn’t just a show about phones, it’s about every aspect of mobile technology from chipsets to networks and every mobile company worth mentioning (except Apple — and even then, I suspect it sends its moles). The starts are early, the dinners go late and there’s absolutely no time for siestas. Still, I wouldn’t want to miss out on all the mobile gossip and, of course, the delectable Iberico ham served at every event.

Best moment ever: Snagging an original Nokia 3210 at a backstreet market mere hours before the phone was relaunched for a new audience in a new millennium.

Worst moment ever: Norovirus. If you’ve ever had it, you have my sympathies.

Rating: 6/10

– Katie Collins

Vision Expo

When: March
Where: New York

The vision industry is often where health necessity meets fashion, and this collision was on full, flashy display this year at Vision Expo East in New York. I’d never been to a Vision Expo before (there’s also a Vision Expo West), but I couldn’t peel my eyes off anything once I stepped into the glossy Javits Convention Center off the Hudson River. There were eyeglasses galore, of course, as well as health tech companies displaying their latest innovations in vision, with hopes they’ll one day hit the offices of eye doctors. There were even appearances from companies CNET has covered and reviewed in the past, including EssilorLuxottica. I was there specifically to review a new adaptive pair of sunglasses called 32°N that make regular sunglasses reading glasses with the swipe of a finger. 

In between devices made for people with macular degeneration, more machines for eye doctor offices and more glasses frames, there were servers handing out champagne in at least one of the company’s sections and an award show. Is this the place to find ground-breaking innovation in preventive medicine? Probably not. Is it a fun sight to behold? Definitely.

Best moment ever: Learning that “Geek Eyewear” is a real prescription glasses brand. 

Worst moment ever: The unsettling reminder that health care is often made unnecessarily extravagant. 

Rating: 7/10

– Jessica Rendall

Google I/O

When: May
Where: Mountain View, California

You have to give Google credit for being a little unconventional. The search engine behemoth kicked off its annual developers conference with a zany performance from electronic musician and internet personality Marc Rebillet, a choice that probably delighted fans of his work but bewildered anyone else in the audience.

It set a fitting tone for the Google I/O event, which at times felt like a glimpse into the future (I’m looking at you, Project Astra) and at other times all over the place, jumping from its Astra prototype digital helper to search updates, Gmail upgrades and then ping-ponging back to digital assistants with Gemini. 

Still, if you piece all the announcements together, you can see how Google is aiming to reinvent the way we search. That message would have landed more convincingly if Google’s AI Overviews didn’t come under scrutiny for providing outlandish answers following the conference (folks, please don’t put glue on your pizza). 

Google I/O is always about the company’s software platforms and emerging technologies, and we certainly expected AI to be the center of the event. But as my colleague Abrar Al-Heeti wrote, there’s an argument to be made that this year’s conference felt a little empty following the onslaught of new gadgets we saw at Google I/O 2023. 

Best moment ever: Running into Google cofounder Sergey Brin in the demo area and asking him about Google’s Project Astra prototype virtual assistant, smart glasses and Google Glass.

Worst moment ever: Waiting in the long line to see Google’s Project Astra demo. (I eventually gave up and left to write about our conversation with Brin.)

Rating: 6/10

– Lisa Eadicicco

Microsoft Build

When: May
Where: Seattle

I attended two back-to-back Microsoft events in May: One was a Copilot Plus PC event for media and the other was Microsoft Build. The media event was a pleasant affair, even if it was weirdly set in a large tent on a Microsoft soccer field. I got to test some of the new features in the Copilot Plus PCs and hear about how the company was approaching AI integrations. They also had fun breakfast pastries.

And then there’s Microsoft Build, which aimed squarely at developers, developers, developers. Build wasn’t talking about sleek or flashy tech products so much as talking about creating custom versions of Microsoft’s Copilot AI and upgrading tech stacks. Sure, I can say that I’ve seen Satya Nadella and Sam Altman in person, but the convention hall was large enough that I’m really stretching the definition of “in person” and maybe also “seeing.” I knew it wasn’t an event made for media, but even still the interminable rows of seats and screens that made up the main hall felt like something out of (very boring) dystopian fiction. 

Best moment: Watching Copilot-Plus PCs’ Cocreator attempt to generate AI art from my hasty sketch in Paint.

Worst moment: Getting sick for the vacation I took the next week.

Rating: 6/10 (buoyed considerably by those pastries)

— Adam Benjamin

VivaTech

When: May
Where: Paris, France

For a smaller, startup-focused event, VivaTech packs a big punch. It has a history of drawing some of the biggest names in tech to speak, from Mark Zuckerberg to Tim Cook to Elon Musk. Among expected exhibitors such as Meta and Samsung are French fashion and beauty brands such as Louis Vuitton owners LVMH and L’Oreal. Many of the products and announcements from the show focus on the intersection of luxury lifestyle and technology, which makes a nice change for tech journalists like me who have smartphone fatigue. 

Even before AI became the trend it’s been over the past few years, the show has been a hotbed of interesting conversations about artificial intelligence. No wonder — France’s AI scene is one of the most exciting in the world. Getting in to see the big-name speakers in a diminutive venue can mean big queues and the event overall is packed. At the end of the day I can’t wait to head north back into the city where I can feast on duck and crème brûlée rather than the overpriced conference center sushi they sell inside the event.

Best moment ever: Getting to hold some freshly bioprinted skin — gross but cool!

Worst moment ever: Panicking that I wasn’t going to make it into the auditorium to see Mark Zuckerberg speak before they started to allow media to skip the queue.

Rating: 6/10

– Katie Collins

Summer Game Fest

When: June
Where: Los Angeles, California

I’d only been to one big gaming show before — the 2019 Electronic Entertainment Expo, aka E3, my first and sadly the last full-scale edition of that event. But whereas E3 was titanic in scale and hubbub with press and fans flooding the floors, my first Summer Game Fest was a smaller and more manageable affair, taking over an event space of converted warehouses in grimy downtown Los Angeles’ garment district. I dashed between appointments, rubbing elbows with fellow journalists and getting gleeful playtime with upcoming games, often guided by the game’s developers themselves.

While my peers insisted this was the biggest SGF yet, with an expanded campus and more big publisher presence (Capcom, EA, Sony, Ubisoft, Amazon and more snared lots of floor space), it still felt casual enough for me to talk my way into sessions and have normal conversations with a lot of big names (like talking with Elden Ring creator Hidetaka Miyazaki). Living in southern LA, I saved some dough driving in every day, but my only real complaint was only getting to go two out of the three days of the show… because the last one overlapped with Apple’s WWDC event. I loved getting closer to upcoming games, developers and other games journalists — I just wish they’d checked the calendar for events from the biggest tech company in the world.

Best moment ever: Chatting with Miyazaki, a kind and soft-spoken person — who I forced to say who his favorite child (game he’s made) is.

Worst moment ever: Registering late and missing early looks at new games.

Rating 8/10

— David Lumb

Apple WWDC

When: June
Where: Cupertino, California

This year’s Worldwide Developers Conference keynote followed a familiar and highly curated process, including previews for the next major versions of operating systems for Apple products, like: iOS 18, WatchOS 10 and MacOS Sequoia. It took place outdoors in the open area at Apple Park which was equal parts cinematic and hot — lots of direct sunlight. And like previous years, the keynote address was prerecorded (it felt more like a watch party), kicking off a week of sessions for engineers and companies developing apps and software for the iPhone, iPad, Mac and more.

But this year there was something different in the air leading into the event. Analysts, commentators and tech industry insiders hoped Apple would share its plans for generative-AI and using large language models to compete with the likes of OpenAI, Microsoft and Google. In fact, as we were being seated in the press area prior to the keynote, OpenAI’s founder and CEO Sam Altman, walked right past me — clearly ChatGPT would be (and was) a big part of this year’s WWDC. My CNET colleague Scott Stein caught a snap of Altman walking by me with his Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses (notice me trying to discreetly get out of the way).

And thus we got Apple Intelligence, the show’s biggest reveal. The Cupertino company wants to use gen-AI to make things more personalized and helpful, and Apple Intelligence encompasses new tools for having AI compose messages or change a tone of something you wrote. Other tools turn a rough sketch into AI-created clip art, called Genmoji, and Apple also introduced a version of Siri that understands context better. This year’s WWDC was all the more impressive to me considering that Apple didn’t launch or tease a single piece of new hardware.

Best moment ever: Being one of a handful of people to try out and test iOS 18’s new Satellite Texting feature at Apple Park.

Worst moment ever: At the start of the keynote, our seats were in direct sunlight which made it hard to see. In fact my colleague, Lisa Eadicicco, had her iPhone warn it was getting too hot. But like the Staff of Ra scene in Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark, the sun slowly moved behind us into a more optimum position to provide some relief.

Rating: 9/10

– Patrick Holland

Motorola Razr VIP launch event

When: June
Where: Brooklyn

Motorola kicked off the 2024 foldable phone season by launching new versions of the $1,000 Razr Plus and $700 regular Razr. In my hands-on tests I found that the updates push both new phones forward in major ways, while competitors like Samsung and its Galaxy Z Flip 6 (which launched in July) have yet to match Razr in terms of overall value and usability.

Motorola held prebriefs in Brooklyn for invited members of the press and formally announced the new phones the following day via its website and social media. At the event in a Brooklyn warehouse, I walked through a maze of drapes and curtains, passing tuxedo’d servers who offered champagne. Magician Dan White wowed the crowd with a number of “math” tricks that culminated with a guest receiving a free Motorola Razr Plus as part of the finale.

But the main event of the night was Paris Hilton, who DJed the party alongside her pink Razr. 

Best moment ever: Paris Hilton’s entrance into the Razr VIP celebration and her saying, “I’m excited to be here tonight for the launch of the iconic Razr. I have so many memories with this phone and I’m excited to make more with you guys tonight! Let’s ‘slive!'”

Worst moment ever: Trying to convincingly use the Razr Plus’ cam-corder mode around the CNET NY office while my colleagues laughed at my efforts.

Rating: 8/10

– Patrick Holland

Augmented World Expo

When: June
Where: Long Beach, California

AWE is a convention entirely focused on metaverse, AR and VR tech. Despite covering that world extensively I haven’t been to AWE in the last decade, but I finally attended this year. I loved to get a chance to go and even got a kick out of the new location in Long Beach. It meant a reunion, if brief, with LA and some of its iconic arts and entertainment venues. I didn’t just see AWE… I went up to the Magic Castle in Hollywood with some of Supernatural’s VR coaches, too, a real treat since magic is one of my hobbies.

AWE has an expo floor that feels like a microcosm of CES, with hundreds of booths showing off smart glasses, haptic gloves, display and interface components and plenty of off-the-beaten-path startups. Big companies like Apple, Meta, Google and Microsoft weren’t around much (Meta had a small booth) but companies like Magic Leap and Xreal were. Taking in technologies and demos that I missed by skipping CES and networking with important players in the XR field, was fantastic. There were also dozens of talks that I completely missed, although I got to chat with Gorilla Tag’s founders.

Long Beach is a bit of a tech wasteland compared to Silicon Valley, but I had a great time browsing AWE. It felt like a strange time for a show like this, though, and the type of conference that only a specialist truly focused on XR (like me) would appreciate. I’ll definitely do it again if I can, but I learned to keep my expectations for big news low. Connecting with veterans in the industry was the best part.

Best moment: Talking with Gorilla Tag’s creators about a game my kids can’t stop playing.

Worst moment: Getting COVID right after the show.

Rating: 7/10

— Scott Stein

Samsung Galaxy Unpacked

When: July
Where: Paris

Like clockwork, Samsung unveiled new foldable phones and wearable devices this month just as it does every summer. But in recent years, the tech giant has added another element to that tradition: holding its press keynote in a major international city. Last year’s event took place in Seoul, the capital of Samsung’s home turf, South Korea. And in 2024, Samsung used Paris as the backdrop for the introduction of its new Galaxy Z Flip 6, Galaxy Z Fold 6, Galaxy Ring and Galaxy Watch 7 and Ultra smartwatches just ahead of the Olympics.

When it comes to testing out new smartphones, there are few scenarios that are better than travel. It’s the best way to assess cameras and battery life — two of the most important elements of any phone. That’s because traveling often involves capturing a lot of photos (especially in a city as beautiful as Paris!) and relying on battery-intensive features like GPS. 

But there’s a special reason why Paris was the perfect testing ground for the Galaxy Z Fold 6 and Z Flip 6. Samsung introduced a new language translation feature that leverages both the inner and outer displays to show translations during a conversation. Being in a city where I don’t speak the native language was a great way to get an authentic sense of whether this new tool is actually useful.

As for the keynote itself, Samsung laid out its vision for how AI will change our phones and wearable devices, affecting everything from generating images to crunching health statistics. Not all of it was a surprise; we expected Samsung to reveal next-generation foldables, new AI features and more concrete details on the Galaxy Ring. But we didn’t know exactly what those implementations would look like. I’m thrilled with the design and camera improvements to Samsung’s new foldables but left wanting more from the new software tools. 

Best moment ever: Testing the Galaxy Z Fold 6 by snapping photos close-up of the Eiffel Tower and strolling along the River Seine. Also witnessing Sydney Sweeney’s reaction to her AI-generated portrait in real time.

Worst moment ever: Struggling to order a sandwich at the busy Le Marché des Enfants Rouges food market using Samsung’s Conversation mode feature. 

Rating: 8/10

– Lisa Eadiccico

Black Hat and Defcon

When: Early August
Where: Las Vegas

Only a truly special kind of person gets excited about going to Las Vegas for a conference… in August. Perhaps that’s why you’ll run into some of the world’s most interesting people there during the week of “Hacker Summer Camp.” Black Hat and Defcon, which are held back-to-back each August, are two sides of a hacker challenge coin. 

Black Hat kicks off the week and is more corporate. Executives spend millions of dollars on trade show booths, schwag and lavish open-bar receptions, hoping to strike equally impressive business deals. The leaders of three-letter government agencies come to speak about the latest threats facing America and there’s always at least a few cool research presentations. Defcon, on the other hand, is more for actual hackers and these are the guys (sadly, yes it’s still mostly men) that I look forward to seeing every year. It’s held over the weekend and people pay their own money to go. Sure, there are parties and they can be crazy, but they’re more likely to be sponsored by a guy who bought the right crypto at the right time than a Fortune 500 company. 

There’s an entire “village” devoted to social engineering — the art of breaking into places or computer systems often by just convincing people to let you in — as well as another where attendees practice their lock-picking skills, which I’ve long found to be a healthy way to decompress after more than a week of Vegas insanity. And this is where you’re going to see really great research. People will hack everything from pacemakers to Teddy Ruxpin. As you would expect, there are some hacker shenanigans. Everytime I’m in an elevator and it stops for just a little bit I hold my breath, but that’s part of what makes Defcon truly special.

Best moment ever: Getting up at 5 a.m. before the heat hit triple digits to do a 9-mile marathon training run on the Vegas Strip with a group of Defcon hacker runners.

Worst moment ever: Probable food poisoning that made me violently ill during the middle of a day of executive interviews at Black Hat.

Rating: Black Hat 7/10, Defcon 9/10

– Bree Fowler

Amazon Devices and Services Event

When: September
Where: Arlington, Virginia

It’s been a tick since Amazon launched a splashy smart home device or bulldozed into a new category altogether, like home robots, so this Apple-style presser has become more about feature additions and system updates to existing devices versus the big reveals of yesteryear. 

In 2023’s Amazon Devices and Services Event, AI was on full display (are you shocked?) with Dave Limp, Amazon’s outgoing SVP of devices and services, doling out a keynote that showcased, sometimes awkwardly, how advanced conversational AI was being incorporated into Echo Hub and other Alexa-controlled gear. A smart panel, the Echo Hub, proved to be the only true new release.

The event was well attended, albeit much smaller than the Google I/O or Apple WWDC keynotes, and executed with Amazon-esque precision. At times, however, it bordered on dull as a parade of ho-hum updates to well-established products paraded past attendees. After the presentation, we were were invited to a separate area to get hands-on with it all. Most of the smart home products and device were on hand including the Echo Hub, some rereleased Echo Frames and the latest Ring home security cams. The circuit of product demos was underwhelming, but served its main function for those looking to look under the hood at Amazon’s latest smart home devices. 

Best moment ever: Getting to try on several dozen pairs of smart glasses.

Worst moment ever: When Alexa’s new AI-powered conversation skills simply wouldn’t cooperate during its on stage debut.

Rating: 6/10

– David Watsky

Meta Connect

When: September
Where: Menlo Park, California

Ever since Facebook bought Oculus, the company’s Connect conferences have been gatherings where developers and Meta’s executives go over big moves in the company’s VR and AR plans. Connect’s self-contained mix of keynotes, sessions, occasional demos and meet-and-greets has been a helpful way for me to cover company moves in the space without needing to wade too far into Facebook/Instagram territory. In recent years, Connect has also become the conference where Meta’s expanding AI efforts are discussed. I like the sneak-peek product demos, and Connects have been where new VR headsets and smart glasses tend to be announced. 

I’ve gotten more executive access at Meta Connect events than I have during Apple’s WWDC — I’ve interviewed Mark Zuckerberg and talked with Meta’s CTO Andrew Bosworth many times. I don’t think being at Connect in-person is essential, since a lot of the news gets streamed online and the new products tend to appear in stores shortly after the Connects, but it’s become one of the developer events I most look forward to. Meta hosted Connect on its campus last year, and there was plenty of food and snacks and casual seating to keep people comfortable. But the keynote, in direct sunlight, got really hot.

Best moment ever: Meeting developers who knew me from my videos and getting a chance to chat with them about what interested in them about Meta’s newest tech.

Worst moment ever: Melting in the sun as I tried to listen to a seemingly more shaded Mark Zuckerberg on stage.

Rating: 7/10

— Scott Stein

Qualcomm Snapdragon Summit

When: October
Where: Maui, Hawaii

For years I’d heard about Qualcomm’s vaunted Snapdragon Summit, held in hotels on the beautiful shores of southwest Maui. When I finally went, I enjoyed an event that met my expectations: Qualcomm sure is leaning on the aloha vibes of one of the most gorgeous and serene environments on the planet as it introduces its new slate of silicon for the next year. Luring everyone in one place for a series of days gave me the chance to snag time with Qualcomm execs like Alex Katouzian (SVP of mobile, compute and XR) to chat about the company’s AI laptop chips and Chris Patrick (SVP and general manager for mobile) for mobile on-device AI. If it was a day or two in San Diego around the Qualcomm campus, we wouldn’t get nearly the focus or the summer camp-like opportunity to keep people in one place.

I won’t deny how much easier it is to watch nitty-gritty presentations when you can walk outside a conference room to a jaw-dropping island sunset. And the announcements are for technological potential, not certainty of features dependably coming to everyone’s products next year.

But I did tack on a day of vacation during which — my mind abuzz with days of chatter around on-device AI — I reflected on how the new technology could’ve helped me while driving around the island on remote roads without phone signal. Unfortunately, my zeal to attend every panel chat and volunteer to make recovery bags for those affected by the Maui wildfires put me in contact with enough people to give me my first COVID infection. Alas for coming back together after a pandemic.

Best moment ever: Surviving the Road to Hana and realizing how new tech could have given me a richer experience.

Worst moment ever: COVID! I couldn’t fold in a scuba session and ended up missing Halloween.

Rating 6/10

— David Lumb