The worst of CES 2025: behind the scenes

The future is now, but do we really want to be a part of it?

To you, my dear reader, this is probably just another spammy notification about CES 2025.

Over the last week, we've seen so many listicles, mostly of the best CES gadgets. It seems like everything was decided and determined on day one: best, worst, and weirdest tech categorized.

In one of the newsletters, I saw a listicle about gadgets titled "We are not sure yet." And that's how it should have been. Only time will tell because we just don’t know how most of the products showcased will turn out in reality.

To me, the worst part was undoubtedly the media coverage of the conference, with quite a few exceptions, of course.

In racing to beat competitors and break through the algorithms, journalists forgot about journalism. Of course, we are not saints here, as we play by the same rules and have our own algorithmic overlords to please.

However, it's important to reflect on the experience and also ask for your feedback – what could we do better next time?

We also sent a squad to Las Vegas, where they had to cover 2.5 million net square feet and visit 4,300 exhibitors. Given the scope of the conference, is it really possible to know the best or worst of them?

At the end of many videos, our creative producer Josh Murphy, who was hunting for curious tech gadgets, would say, "The future is now." He didn't look even close to confident, though.

Cybernews, a small newsroom of 12 staff writers, including myself, sent two journalists to cover the conference. Konstancija Gasaitytė, still a novice in journalism, was pretty skeptical about the whole experience.

While there were moments when I felt hyped, especially after leaving a booth with an interview on my phone and contact information in my hand, there was one moment when I felt like I was back at uni.

During the media days, there’s an event called CES Unveiled, where media representatives can see some of the tech firsthand.

While going through the aisles and thinking about where I should go next and who I should strike up a conversation with, it was clear to me that some companies made a better effort to showcase their products than others.

Some had interactive booths and finished products with clear purposes that were ready for the market: keyboards, AI-powered earbuds, robots, and more. Of course, how necessary half of those products are is a topic for another time.

Meanwhile, a number of companies that I passed by seemed to lack this kind of preparation, making me go and question everything they offer, since I was afraid to miss the next best thing.

This is when I felt like I was back in university, where some people poured their hearts into their projects, while others were just doing the bare minimum to put a checkmark that they'd attended an event.

Of course, it was the first day and these were just my first impressions. But after talking to some of these companies, it also made me think that many products will probably never see the light of day. Which, for some reason, made me even sadder, seeing how much money they had already invested and made some sort of progress, likely for no end result.

I do get that the event is all about inclusivity, giving a platform not only for big brands like Samsung, Sony, or Panasonic but also for smaller start-ups to look for investors, manufacturers, etc.

However, it made me wonder if it's really worth bringing so much of everything together under one roof just to be able to call it the world’s biggest tech event.

Here are a couple of Konstancija’s articles that I really enjoyed.

• Due to the war in Ukraine, the market for limb replacement has grown. Considering this, SYLA, a Ukrainian company, started working on an AI-powered prosthetic knee that would allow people to move more comfortably.

• Konstancija, an avid hiker, tried a $800 exoskeleton that she wasn’t hyped about prior to CES 2025. “To my surprise, once I put the device on, it wasn't that heavy, and I could instantly feel it supporting my lower back and knees.”

Paulius Grinkevičius, an experienced journalist, shared the following:

One of the most difficult things for me at CES was determining what truly mattered. Every one of the 4,500+ companies that attended said that their products were truly unique, so I had to do thorough research.

Before arriving at CES, I was really excited. Having visited the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona and IFA in Berlin 5+ years ago, I expected CES to be much bigger and much more inspiring.

It did indeed feel bigger, as three venues spread across Las Vegas housed nearly any consumer gadget you could imagine, from cars to laptops, robot vacuums to routers. However, all excitement aside, I also saw many companies fighting for consumers' attention with gadgets that offered little to no value.

In fact, I’d estimate that significantly more than half products showcased fell into this category.

A $500 stringless guitar, a $3500 robot that looks like a table or a bunch of smart glasses that are either uncomfortable to wear or have a narrow field of view are just a few examples of tech that will not meaningfully impact our lives.

Here are some of Paulius’s most thought-provoking pieces:

He tested a prototype of the upcoming ‘world’s cheapest foldable’ at CES 2025, and he said it needs improvement. In fact, many things do. One of his catchphrases from the event was that he was “not having it.”

This year's CES did not feature eye-catching announcements related to transparent TVs and displays, but this doesn’t mean that the technology is standing still. What’s new then?

In total, we ran ~50 articles about CES-related things. Sorry for the noise. They’re not all must-reads and must-haves. Nothing is. But here are a few pieces (in case you are interested) that cut through the noise and ask important questions.

• Come explore the shifting priorities in tech and how CES 2025 wasn't just about what was unveiled in Vegas but who and what was missing.

• As Konstancija said herself, many of the CES' so-called innovations will never see the light of day. But why?