Tech in 2025: fun to see, but not life-changing innovations

The Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas featured plenty of eye-catching flashy gadgets, but few of them will be life-changing.

For the past week, I’ve been at CES 2025 in Las Vegas, the biggest tech consumer show in the world. It was my first CES, and it was unlike anything I’d ever seen. Previously, I’d visited two of the biggest tech events in Europe – the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona and the IFA in Berlin, Germany. CES was much bigger.

While the IFA in Europe attracts more visitors, the Las Vegas Show has more than twice as many exhibitors (4,500+). You can feel the size by traveling from one massive venue to another and seeing virtually every type of consumer gadget you can imagine: robots, projectors, routers, home security systems, laptops, and so much more.

After taking it all in and talking to some of the companies, I got a glimpse of the trends that may dominate this year and what the major tech companies will focus on. During the show, I spoke and interviewed a few dozen attendees and visited dozens of booths. Here are five trends I witnessed for the upcoming year.

AI remains the top trend

Virtually every company is integrating AI into their products, whether it's laptops, robots, robot vacuums, or cars.

For example, I tried out a neural wristband by Israel company Wearable Devices, which allows hands-free device control using sensors and AI algorithms. This technology, which also features in Meta’s upcoming Orion glasses, will soon become more widespread.

My colleague reported on a prototype autonomous cooking device by the US company Chef AI. The system could cook meals according to your preferences without your intervention.

AI is also marketed as the main new feature of earphones. I tried out an earphone concept made by Swiss company Rolling Square that offers quite a novel approach. The Natura Umana earphones allow you to talk to AI personas based on major large language models and are designed to be worn all day.

However, some of these AI integrations feel stretched. As demonstrated by last year’s smartphone and AI laptop launches, AI alone isn’t the primary reason people purchase devices. Many of this year’s new product releases are likely to follow the same trend.

Screen technologies are advancing

Among the most exciting tech at CES I saw was LG’s bendable 5K2K monitor with a variable refresh rate. It looks like a regular 45-inch monitor. However, after pressing a button, users can switch between aspect ratio and picture size. Currently, the price and availability are unclear, though we can be sure that it wouldn’t come cheap.

Meanwhile, Lenovo has showcased another eye-catching innovation, the world’s first rollable laptop. At first glance, the ThinkBook Plus Gen 6 looks like a regular 14-inch laptop with an OLED screen and a 400-nits peak brightness.

Five seconds after pressing a dedicated button on the keyboard with two arrows, the laptop unfolds to reveal a 16.7-inch display. The display has practical implications, such as multitasking, coding and watching social media content.

Lenovo will retail the device for $3500 for the base configuration.

I also talked to a Canadian startup, VueReal, which wants to bring transparent microLED screens to consumers much cheaper than its competitors thanks to its patented technology. However, there is still work to do, as many of its devices are prototypes.

Smart glasses are a work in progress

Before attending CES 2025, I had written about several smart and AR glasses models but never had the chance to try them out - except for the Google Glass. To my disappointment, many of these devices were of poor quality. They were often uncomfortable to wear or had a narrow field of view.

I demoed a pair of AR glasses from Xreal that felt quite solid. However, they will come with a $600 price tag and are unlikely not have multimodal capabilities at launch.

The key takeaway here is this: if you’re considering buying smart glasses, make sure to test them first if it is possible. The actual user experience may differ significantly from what you might imagine or read about.

You'll soon be able to buy modular robovacs

Every year, companies announce robot vacuums designed to eliminate more tasks from our daily routines. At this year’s CES, quite a few new models were introduced.

Roborock unveiled the Saros Z70, which can remove socks, tissues, and other obstacles under 300g (10.6 ounces) from its path, while Dreame showcased the X50 Ultra, which can climb small platforms.

Meanwhile, SwitchBot demonstrated a robovac that can double as a security camera, fan, and air purifier, signaling that we may soon see more modular robot vacuums.

Fun to see, but not life-changing innovations

While many of the devices showcased at the show are fun to read about, a significant number of them have little to no value for consumers besides entertainment. A $3,500 robot resembling a table might seem entertaining, but it will not have any meaningful impact on our lives.

In the show, I tried the C1, the world’s first stringless guitar, which connects to your smartphone with interactive chord sheets. The guitar currently retails for $500 and will later cost $800.

However, as a person who sometimes plays classical guitar, I am quite skeptical about it. For $800, you can buy a new instrument that would be quite good for you to start with.

The plethora of prototypes at CES reflects the broader trend of consumerism – companies are ready to sell us everything. But how many of them do we actually need?