CES 2025 has begun. This means that a whole fleet of new gadgets has been unleashed on the world. As always, Team Engadget is here to bring you all the print-friendly news you need to fight jet lag, sleep deprivation, and the dreaded casino carpet static.
But if you’re too busy to keep your browser connected to the site (or our handy dandy live blog), here’s a quick recap. This may not be everything we cover, but it is a compilation of the biggest, most important and generally interesting news.
The biggest names in the PC space put on strong displays, with Intel showing off the latest in its Arrow Lake chips. These are AI and gaming-friendly slices of silicon that will be in PCs and laptops from major manufacturers within the next three months.
Speaking of which, Dell showed up at the show and announced that it would be discontinuing most of its own brands in order to copy Apple’s naming strategy. Instead of XPS, Inspiron, and Latitude, you’ll be using Dell, Dell Pro, and Dell Max. In Sam and Devindra’s minds, this is a major unforced error.
On AMD’s side of the chip wars, it announced the new Ryzen Z2, which will power its next generation of gaming handhelds. Rumors have suggested that Z2 will be at the heart of Valve’s next Steam Deck, which Valve quickly transitioned to.
But when it comes to handhelds, Acer wanted to show off its Steam Deck mega-rival, the Nitro Blaze 11. As the name suggests, it packs an 11-inch display, kickstand, and removable controller, like a Switch out of a cage. And I found the secret stash of human growth hormone.
Samsung was excited at the show, showing off the Galaxy Book5 Pro powered by Intel’s new Arrow Lake chips. But the company’s real focus is new home entertainment gear, including a new soundbar and 8K Neo QLED screen, which is also featured in the new Frame Pro TV.
CES isn’t a mobile show, but Samsung has announced that its first Unpacked keynote of 2025 will take place on January 22nd. But, well, whatever, the real Samsung mobile device news we’re talking about is the company’s ball-shaped robot. Ballie is expected to be released later this year.
When it comes to objects flying around the floor, many companies are trying to find ways to make their robot vacuums stand out. Dreame’s X50 can overcome obstacles up to 6cm in height via its ‘ProLeap System’, helping you avoid getting stuck in awkward door sills. This is a useful feature considering that most robovacs can become stranded on the threshold between rooms.
Roborock’s Saros Z70, on the other hand, has a small robotic arm inside the lid that can pick up and move small objects that get in the way. As a parent of a child who has a habit of leaving socks in inconspicuous places, I already know I want them.
As for what I want, I’m pretty much on board with Halliday’s idea of AI glasses, even though I’ve hated AI for years. They are designed to proactively answer questions, help you remember important information, give your tired brain a break, and help you navigate life.
Yukai Engineering is also working on taking care of your tired brain with Milumi, a robot designed to make you smile. In theory, if you’re feeling down, it will stare at you until you feel a moment of bewildered joy that snaps you out of your funk.
It wouldn’t be CES without an appearance by LG’s recently appointed new chief executive will.i.am. The company was showing off new TVs and soundbars, as well as new will.i.am-infused xboom speakers with built-in boom, boom, and pow.
Moving on to the body fluids portion of our presentation. Two different companies showed up in Las Vegas with saliva testing devices and asked consumers to spit into the devices to monitor stress. cortiSense and Hormometer are two products that monitor cortisol (“stress hormone”) levels in saliva.
The first day ended with press conferences by two leading companies: Sony and NVIDIA. Sony didn’t talk much about consumer electronics, instead offering prices for the (shockingly expensive) cars it was making with Honda, and then talked for an hour about broadcasting. Hey, at least we have a date for season 2 of The Last of Us. As for NVIDIA, CEO Jensen Huang talked for 30 minutes about AI, then announced some new (and eye-wateringly expensive) GPUs, and then talked about AI for about 30 minutes. Full of thrills!
