Strategy in TECH...
At CEDIA Expo 2026, Sonance announced the all-new James Natural Collection, a design-forward line of on-wall speakers that set a new standard in both audio and visual performance. Utilizing high-quality premium natural materials, the Natural Collection delivers a truly superior performance that looks as though it was literally designed for that home.
Late last week, Emerald Expositions, now part of Forge, announced that the 2026 CEDIA Expo had a “verified attendance” of 9,653 people. The company put out a press release in which it called the tally “almost 10,000” attendees. However, this result is around 14.4% lower than the 11,270 attendees at CEDIA Expo 2025, which was also held in Denver, CO.
What does this mean for the future of the CEDIA Expo event?
The Custom Electronic Design and Installation Association (CEDIA), in connection with the CEDIA Expo 2026 (now owned by Apollo Global Management and managed by Forge), announced a series of Smart Home Awards for 2026. The tagline or theme for this contest was “Beyond What You See,” which was intended to suggest that these awards “captured the outstanding achievements in innovation, technical excellence, and design.”
A panel of judges assembled by the association considered all candidates’ entries and rendered their decision, with awards presented at a ceremony that took place at CEDIA Expo 2026 in Denver last week. In this post, I will highlight those winners I feel deserve even greater recognition.
This is CEDIA Expo week, and many in the custom integration industry have travelled to Denver for the last CEDIA Expo to be held with the big blue bear. Next year, CEDIA Expo moves to Las Vegas, NV, and in 2028 to Orlando, FL. But this year, all signs point to a noticeably scaled-back event in Denver, with more exhibitors pulling off the floor and cutting back on events and attendance.
Apollo Global Management, the large private equity company that recently acquired both Emerald Holdings and Questex, announced this month the creation of a new corporate entity that will manage and control the combined business of both trade show aggregators from this point forward. That new corporate parent will be known as Forge.
In a communication with dealers this week, Nice North America, the global holding company for many important custom integration brands, announced it has pulled out of the CEDIA Expo 2026. The company says this is a “strategic” move as it seeks to focus its marketing investments on “initiatives that deliver greater value…”
The popular Northern California CI Expo & Technology Conference is preparing to run on May 28, 2026, in the same facility where the event was hosted last year – the DoubleTree Hotel at the Club, in Pleasanton, California. Organizers tell me that this year’s CI Expo will be even bigger and better than last year, with expanded exhibition space housing a greater assortment of booths presenting all of the latest technology innovations in the custom integration (CI) industry.
Holy Cow! The Harman Luxury Audio Group lion has reared back its head and roared AUDIO!!! I mean, the company is launching a total of 24 brand-new audio products at the 2026 Integrated Systems Europe (ISE) show. Even for a company the size of Harman, that’s a lot! For now, I’m going to focus on the moves the company made with its JBL Synthesis Custom Loudspeaker line, which includes nine new speakers and three new “next-generation” AV processors.
Emerald Expositions (NYSE: EEX), owner of the CEDIA Expo, CEPro, Commercial Integrator, and more, has formally announced on its website that it has decided to “indefinitely postpone” the Total Tech Summit. Quite a buzz erupted on social media as word of this decision spread among those in the custom integration industry.
Sonance, a long-time leading manufacturer of custom integration gear valued by integrators all around the world, has announced its plans for the Integrated Systems Europe Show 2026 (ISE) taking place now in Barcelona, Spain. Key to the announcement is that the company will display in two different “stands” (the European name for a “booth”), one optimized for the professional/commercial channel and another optimized for the residential/marine channel.
The company also announced the launch an all-new, high-performance Ultra Thin-Line VX Speaker.
