Let’s start with the obvious: MicroLED will dominate digital signage in the 2030s. Everyone knows that. But fast-forward back to 2026, and LCD remains the market’s workhorse. Despite impressive MicroLED booth demos and ambitious roadmaps, it is LCD that still shapes most procurement decisions today. Anyone expecting a dramatic shift at ISE 2026 will once again walk away disappointed.

The same is true for something the industry keeps asking for but still cannot get: digital signage standards. The fragmentation of platforms and operating systems is as bad as ever – maybe worse. Microsoft’s push for MDEP as the new Android standard is certainly noteworthy, but just in its infancy. Vendors continue to cultivate their own ecosystems, meaning integrators and end users will again face a patchwork landscape rather than a unified one.

And then there’s AI, the topic that will overshadow all others this year. AI will be everywhere: on hardware, in CMS platforms, and at every booth where “innovation” needs a story. While we expect few breakthroughs on the hardware side, software developers will be in full swing showcasing AI-driven features. But AI doesn’t arrive without baggage. Security, data governance, and compliance – the topics no one likes to address publicly – suddenly become non-negotiable. At the same time, cybersecurity quietly becomes the most critical aspect in 2026. Few will talk about it, but everyone should.

Also strangely absent from many conversations: sustainability. But perhaps that’s not surprising. Sustainability in digital signage increasingly happens quietly, embedded into new SoC generations and more efficient LED controllers. Green Signage isn’t a slogan – it’s a slow, steady evolution.

The Elephant in the Room: Geopolitics and Volatile Demand

The most significant forces shaping digital signage today are not on the show floor in Barcelona but in Washington, D.C. The geopolitical climate and the resulting trade policies influence supply chains, component availability, and pricing strategies. And digital signage buyers feel the volatile consumer sentiment resulting in postponed projects. These factors will influence the strategic direction of the industry far more than any product launch at ISE.

But the second major elephant in the room – and perhaps the more consequential one – is the industry’s struggle to reduce complexity.

For years, digital signage and ProAV integrators have prided themselves on taking care of the solution complexity by solving problems. But customers today don’t want to pay for “problem solvers.” They want simple, scalable, integrated solutions that just work – digital signage as infrastructure.

Global IT integrators are already showing what this looks like: managed services, standardization, platform thinking, lifecycle management and business-critical reliability. This is the model digital signage must adopt if it wants to remain relevant.

That means:

Open, API-first architectures instead of closed ecosystems
Interoperability instead of proprietary features
Digital signage becoming an integrated component of enterprise digital platforms, not a special-solution category with its own rules
The future belongs to cross-channel, data-driven, platform-integrated digital experiences – and signage can be a core part of this, but only if the industry embraces simplicity and integration.

What We Will See in Barcelona

Those who walk the halls of ISE with open eyes will discover the outline of next-generation digital signage already forming:

Less complex architectures
Smarter software
More secure infrastructures
More relevant, context-aware experiences

All of this signals an industry on the brink of redefining itself – not so much through spectacular product announcements, but through maturity.

ISE 2026 will not be the year of one big headline trend. Instead, it will be a year of quiet but meaningful evolution.

We look forward to countless conversations and the innovative ideas that will shape digital signage beyond 2030.