CES 2025 – A Few Highlights and Reflections
Attendance and Overview
The Consumer Electronics Show (CES) 2025 once again attracted over 140,000 attendees, with more than 6,000 media representatives, content creators, and industry analysts. With 4,500 exhibitors, including almost 1,400 startups, navigating the vast venues in just 3 days required extensive planning just to see a small fraction of them.
As a third-time judge for the Innovation Awards, this year I covered three categories:
There were 33 categories overall, with 458 Innovative Award Winners/Honorees.?
Of note, over the past few years there has been an increase in the number of companies whose products could not easily be classified as “consumer electronics”. For example, Caterpillar, John Deere, Eaton.
This curated look at CES 2025 highlights a transformative year where AI, innovation, and assistive technologies took center stage alongside familiar household advancements.
International Presence
About 25% of the exhibitors were from China, maintaining a steady percentage over past years.
Examples:
Zeekr – This Chinese EV manufacturer is not likely to enter the United States for a while due to tariffs and regulations. If it did, it would compete with the likes of BMW and other luxury cars, but at pricing more in line with less expensive domestic offering.???
Rictor, a Kuickwheel sub-brand, unveiled a flying motorcycle concept that could ride on a road but also take off and land vertically, with an estimated price of $60,000. If it launches (pun intended), the price will be close to $60,000.
AI was here, there, and everywhere!? AI-AI-Oh!
Artificial Intelligence (AI) was a pervasive theme throughout CES 2025. Companies integrated AI in products ranging from agriculture to home appliances.
If Old MacDonald had a farm today, he would likely use “Agricultural Intelligence”.
?Home Appliances and TVs
Household technology saw significant advancements:
Major manufacturers of such products had the largest footprints at CES. Here is just one ---
Samsung’s slogan this year was “AI for All”:
?HiSense:
o??? Enhanced the picture quality, the audio quality and the ability to have any of 1,000 classic art pieces from The Met displayed on a large, thin (1 inch deep!) screen that can easily be mounted on a wall.???
LG:
o??? LG has the slogan ‘Life’s Good’ and now refers to AI as “Affectionate Intelligence”. As one example, each passenger's expressions and words in a car can be captured when a family goes on a trip. Later, in addition to regular photos, such videos can provide a reminder of each person’s unique reactions to experiences.
o??? If desired, each person in a household can be identified and provided with a customized set of daily audio prompts such as the weather, a list of things to do for the day, or items that need to be purchased.
The two favorite areas for most attendees at CES have always been:
?·???????? Eureka Park which is devoted to small companies (often startups with little more than a prototype) as well as to country pavilions (e.g. Holland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Turkey).
?·???????? Innovative Awards area where Winners and Honorees are displayed.
Rather than ‘cool’ or fun products such as smartphones, sports equipment, DIY beer or coffee machines, I seek out new products that can truly benefit people, especially those with any kind of disability.
.lumen is?a French startup which builds?glasses?that empower?the?blind?to live a better life.?The founder comes from a family where all members except himself have disabilities, which motivated him to solve?the?lack of assistive technology. At?CES?they presented?the world’s most advanced?‘self-driving technology’ scaled down to a headset for use by the pedestrian world.
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“The?Glasses”?replicate?the?main features of a guide dog without?the?drawbacks that make?the?guide dog a non-scalable solution (i.e. there are not enough guide dogs for all the people who would benefit from them).
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Artha - One wears a smart camera attached to their glasses that then relays visual information to a sensory belt worn on the back. With a series of ‘pressure pins’, an ‘image’ or ‘tactile map’ is drawn which allows the wearer to mentally visualize their surroundings. (Unfortunately, this product did not arrive in time to be demonstrated at the show.)
If a person wears these, they can detect objects or obstacles – i.e., they can “see” stairs, know when doors are open, and even tell if there are holes or bumps in the ground ahead!
The glasses also have the ability to read a sign and say what the words are.?
Children's AI and Robotics
Not all AI or robotics were aimed specifically at adults.?
Heyaime (“Hey, Amy” – like Hey, Google or Hey, Lexus) seems to be a play on AI and ME. This AI-enabled robot is intended to be a companion for children. Its eyes blink, it can move around on wheels, and it can take photos or videos for keepsakes or for security purposes.
Assistive Technologies?
One of my favorite areas is the innovation that helps people with disabilities such as mobility and vision.?
Exoskeletons were evident in a few booths…
XoMotion has been developed by Human in Motion Robotics, a Canadian tech company. Its innovation is an advanced exoskeleton that enables a user to stand, walk forward, backward, sideways, and even turn around. Its primary use is for rehabilitation.
Developed by a woman whose lower body was paralyzed due to an accident, this invention allows a person to strap into this device and be able to stand without further assistance, step forward, backward, side to side and even turn. For now, it is not available in the US, but if it gets approval, the cost would be about $250K.
BionicM - Bio Leg is a robotic prosthetic knee designed to enhance mobility for above-knee amputees. Integrating an electrical motor with multiple sensors, it provides powered assistance to reduce discomfort and improve smoothness of movement. The design prioritizes a natural, human-like appearance, featuring a calf muscle. Bio Leg's innovation lies in its ability to mimic the human knee's kinetic characteristics, offering both power and flexibility.
Hurotics introduced an all-in-one rehabilitation and prognosis wearable medical robot for gait disorders. It uses AI to create customized support.
Cosmo Robotics - This company is from South Korea. They provide exoskeletons to aid workers in factories or other situations where heavy lifting is involved. They are developing an exoskeleton which they hope will enable paralyzed people to stand and have some mobility.
So far, they do not have any product that would be suitable for adult consumers, but they will soon have a wearable walking system for children with neurological disorders to assist them with gait training.? ?
Neurotech startup Augmental has created a wearable interface for people living with motor impairment and limited hand function. Their “MouthPad” offers a convenient alternative to a brain-computer interface, or BCI, that circumvents the need for brain surgery by enabling users to control a mouse cursor using their tongue, breaths, head gestures, and soon, voice. Using 3D printing, each MouthPad is custom-3D printed based on dental scans.
Other Notable Products
NextSense Tone Buds: Their AI-powered audio system claims to improve sleep by responding to a user’s stage N3 brain waves. They are planning to launch in Spring 2025.
EssilorLuxottica is the holding company behind eyewear brand Ray-Ban. They introduced Nuance Audio, a pair of glasses with a built-in hearing aid. The product will be for sale in Q1 for about $1,000. The price is reasonable considering it is both for vision and hearing. Ray-Ban also introduced a pair of ‘smart glasses’ which were developed with Meta that can utilize a built-in camera for photos and video.
Eyebot had constant lines of attendees who were curious to see how a 90-second, self-administered exam at a kiosk could determine their prescription for lenses. As it turns out, the results are based on an AI algorithm and then sent to a network of vetted opticians for ‘authentication’ after which they are sent to a retail store that can fulfill the order.
Sensera is a self-care device for women. It can provide both pleasure and wellness using AI to adapt to the user’s need and desires. Lubricating modules can be easily attached and removed.
Lovense literally demonstrated its line of products, aka ‘adult toys’, that are designed to bring pleasure to both genders and to their partners (who might not be in the same physical place!). These pictures leave little to the imagination.
A few cool new products:?
Coldsnap - Well, this one really was 'cool'! This machine makes soft ice cream in a very short time. They cost $3,000 each, and the ‘capsules’ that you insert are about $4 each. At this time, it's mostly for businesses, schools, hospitals or other establishments rather than for home use.
2nd-Curv debuted its small, 5-second High-Speed Dishwasher at CES 2025, introducing a revolutionary detergent-free rapid cleaning solution designed to avoid the use of chemicals in cleaning, minimize energy consumption, and provide a faster and cleaner cleaning experience.
Roam SodaTop: A compact device that carbonates water directly in a bottle within seconds. An alternative to SodaStream, the SodaTop screws right onto a water bottle and carbonates water in five seconds.?
Not a product, but useful for product development and testing:
Prelaunch.com – This company appealed to my lifetime, professional involvement in Market Research. Instead of paying recruited panelists to ask them what they think about new concepts, with Prelaunch.com, potential customers indicate their level of interest by placing small monetary deposits on a product to reserve it at a discounted price. Putting “skin” in the game may be a better indicator of purchase potential. Think of Kickstarter meets online panels where early participants are first in line and can get a lower price for a new product.?
Entertainment and Experiences:
Everything about Las Vegas is oversized, from the hotels to the streets to the shows and buffets.
The SPHERE – perhaps the highlight of my highlights, I visited this new entertainment venue that offers a multi-sensory experience that is like IMAX meets Disney on steroids. Words are insufficient to explain the immersive experience that one gets in any of the 20,000 haptic (vibrating) seats facing a 270-degree screen along with surround sound. There is even the capability to provide wind and aroma effects to enhance the sensory feelings of being ‘in’ the show.
Luckily, this was only about a 10-minute walk from the Venetian hotel (which is the venue for Innovation Awards and Eureka Park where I spent most of my time).?
·?Delta’s CEO and keynote speaker used this venue to celebrate its 100th anniversary. Of course, Delta is using AI to better serve its customers and has had tremendous success with its app, Fly Delta. And since nearly 50% of Uber’s bookings begin or end at an airport, Delta’s Sky Miles members will soon earn miles on Uber transactions.
·?And as for size, this structure at 366 feet in height was nearly as tall as my 40-story hotel. In the background you can see the High Roller, a 550-foot-tall giant Ferris wheel on the Las Vegas Strip.
that's it for now -- i hope to add more insights and observations at a not too distant date.
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Innovative Executive | SaaS and Information Hardware Leader | Expert in Driving Customer Monetization
5 天前It was great seeing you there again this year!
Experienced marketer, specializing in AI, big data, cloud-based solutions, application, and infrastructure software.
1 周Super helpful overview and great company/product selection.
CEO | Board Member | Non-Executive Director | Strategic Advisor | Investor | 20+ years in FMCG & Direct-to-Consumer | Driving Governance, Innovation & Sustainable Growth
1 周Thank you, interesting wrap-up!