This year marked the 50th anniversary of the Consumer Electronics Show, a conference that has showcased some of the leading technologies of the past five decades, including the introduction of color TV, the personal computer, and wireless telephones.

This year's show was the biggest yet, organizers say, with more than 2.6 million square feet of exhibit space hosting more than 3,800 companies.More than 175,000 tech-industry professionals attended the Las Vegas-based conference, including 55,000 from outside the United States.

"CES 2017 shifted to a new level as large and small companies from around the globe gathered to reveal solutions for many of our world's most challenging problems," said Gary Shapiro, president and CEO of the Consumer Technology Association. "Today's connected world was on full display this week at CES 2017 – our largest, boldest show in history."

"Connected" was a buzzword at this year's CES.Connectivity was an enabling feature within almost every product category, from intelligent urban environment systems and 5G wireless communications to self-driving cars and digital health instrumentation.

Steve Mollenkopf, CEO of chipmaker Qualcomm, devoted the Friday morning keynote address to 5G technology, which he identified as a key enabling technology for the nascent Internet of Things.

The CEO used the keynote as an opportunity to introduce the Snapdragon 835, a mobile processor that Qualcomm says can deliver extended battery life, built-in security features, eye-based user-authentic measures, secure audio, and AI features.

Friday afternoon's keynote was delivered by Under Armour CEO Kevin Plank, who said the company is investing $1 billion in health and fitness technology.He announced that the company is releasing three new models of its Record Equipped smart shoes, which collect data and give users feedback on their workouts.The company's new Rest Win Repeat sleepwear is intended to soothe muscle aches after workouts with infrared technology.

Ford Motors President and CEO Mark Fields addressed the annual Leaders in Technology dinner on Friday evening, sharing the way connectivity can transform self-driving cars and the cities they travel through.Fields noted that Ford has partnered with Toyota to form the SmartDeviceLink Consortium to evolve standards for in-vehicle applications.

CES will return to Las Vegas Tuesday, Jan. 9 through Friday, Jan. 12, 2018.