This is a guest post by Yevgen Yakovlev, Vice-President at Sigma Software Group, a trusted IT partner who has been serving customers for over 22 years, providing comprehensive IT solutions to various businesses, ranging from startups to established software product houses. A few months have passed since CES 2025, the world’s largest electronics show — enough time to separate the highlights from the hype and thoroughly evaluate its impact. In this article, Sigma Software’s VP Yakovlev, shares his thoughts on the most surprising new products, both the impressive and the disappointing.
General trends
The first thing that caught my eye at CES 2025 was the overwhelming presence of AI. Nearly every manufacturer embraced this trend—even those from whom it was least expected. Last year already hinted at this shift, with artificial intelligence being integrated into everything, including kettles and coffee grinders.
This year’s exhibition reinforced the trend. Some manufacturers brought AI solutions to CES 2025 not as polished products but as prototypes, aiming to gauge audience interest and gather feedback. It was evident that these solutions were not fully developed; instead, manufacturers were testing concepts using a startup-style approach, focusing on proof of concept (PoC).
However, many AI-powered solutions at CES 2025 were more than just for show. One standout was Samsung’s live translation feature, integrated directly into its TVs. This technology allows the device to generate subtitles for movies in languages the viewer doesn’t understand.
Of course, AI translation services are still in their early stages and sometimes perform worse than Google Translate. But the trend is exciting—imagine wanting to watch an untranslated anime without knowing Japanese. With this feature, a Samsung TV could bridge the gap and bring the content to life.
Samsung also showcased a long-anticipated feature—if you pause a broadcast and click on an object on the screen, the TV can initiate a web search for it. For example, it can recognize a product and show where to buy it, identify a dog breed, or find similar clothing items. Overall, there were many interesting and useful AI applications at CES 2025—along with plenty of ridiculous ones, which I’ll discuss below.
As always, CES featured a range of exciting electronics, including LG’s frameless screens. These are fully transparent displays that can replace windows or storefronts, creating a stunning visual effect. And it’s more than just a gimmick—imagine using such a screen to display a sunny day while it’s raining outside. More importantly, I see great potential for offline marketing and retail. High-end stores, for instance, could use these screens instead of traditional glass to showcase dynamic messages and promotions. The effect is truly impressive.
There were many exciting innovations in the automotive space at CES 2025. Five years ago, Sony and Honda first introduced the concept of a joint electric car at the event. This year, the long-awaited vehicle finally made its debut and is now available for pre-order in two versions. Named Afeela, the car is packed with advanced technology—and, unsurprisingly, AI plays a key role.
However, there’s a downside to the AI-powered features. In my opinion, they negatively impact the car’s reliability and durability. Additionally, in electric vehicles, a significant portion of the battery charge will inevitably be used for these non-essential functions, which doesn’t seem particularly practical. All these high-tech extras also risk distracting from the car’s primary purpose, so their effect on road safety should be carefully evaluated.
On the computing side, one standout was the Lenovo ThinkBook Plus Gen 6 Rollable—the world’s first laptop with a flip-up display. With the press of a single key, a 14-inch laptop expands into a 16.7-inch device.
Of course, there were also presentations of new processor and graphics card lineups. However, these followed a more predictable path—representing a steady, incremental evolution rather than any groundbreaking innovation.
Three CES 2025 products I’d like to buy
CES 2025 featured many impressive products, though most of them were fairly predictable. However, a few innovations truly stood out, and I’d like to highlight three.
At this point, expectations for Nvidia are so high that surprises seem unlikely. Yet, the new Project Digits device—a miniature supercomputer—managed to do just that. Priced at $3,000, it runs Nvidia’s full AI stack, making it possible to move certain AI computations from the cloud to on-premises hardware.
This addresses several pressing issues. AI is already consuming enormous amounts of internet traffic, leading to noticeable network slowdowns and reducing bandwidth for other users. Project Digits helps alleviate this by enabling local computation. Additionally, it solves a major security concern—since all AI processing happens on your own hardware, you can confidently work with confidential data without worrying about cloud security risks. Personally, I’d love to get my hands on this device for testing.
Another pleasant surprise was a seriously impressive router from NPU. It’s so smart that it can analyze a room and find the best signal paths to bypass obstacles and interference. For example, if there are microwaves or charging stations with powerful batteries in the way, the router will automatically map out the optimal route to minimize signal loss. It also supports multiple Wi-Fi channels and offers a blazing-fast 10 Gbps network. The only downside? The price—around $800.
This router stood out to me as one of the coolest innovations at CES 2025. In Ukrainian homes, Wi-Fi interference from overlapping signals between apartments and different providers is a huge issue. This device can intelligently identify the least congested channel and optimize the signal path accordingly. Sure, $800 is steep for a router, but this one is truly next-level.
Finally, CES 2025 showcased a device that solves one of my personal pain points. Lately, I’ve been traveling a lot for work, and carrying a large-screen device everywhere is a hassle. One manufacturer introduced an ultra-portable projector with a built-in magnet. It’s no bigger than a smartphone, easy to use, and can project images onto any surface—including a TV screen if there’s a large plasma in your hotel room. Or simply onto a wall. The bottom line? With this gadget, you don’t need a bulky screen to get a great viewing experience. For frequent travelers with small laptops, this could be a game-changer. Personally, I’m definitely interested.
The three worst novelties of CES 2025
For balance, I’ll tell you about three devices from the exhibition that I would never buy. First up, there was a washing machine with AI functionality. The AI applications were pretty strange—like the ability to make calls and things of that sort. But why would I need a washing machine that can make a phone call? If the AI at least improved the washing process, I could understand. But, in most cases, these are just unnecessary extra features that don’t add value.
Moreover, this added functionality actually harms the machine’s longevity. When people buy a washing machine, they expect it to last for 15–20 years. But adding a bunch of smart electronics undermines that, especially considering the constant vibrations during operation. It’s a similar story with the electric car from Honda and Sony, though the car itself is worth paying attention to.
Next on the list is a children’s bed with AI and a host of other unnecessary features. The bed informs parents about things that are pretty obvious—things they would already notice or feel without the help of AI. Essentially, the bed collects data and connects with other devices, but to me, this is pure overkill. It seems like these AI-powered washing machines and children’s beds are designed more for media headlines than for actual sales.
And in third place is the RAZR gaming chair with a heated seat and neck airflow. Imagine, at the world’s biggest electronics exhibition, where you have AMD’s new processors, Intel’s microelectronics, and Nvidia’s supercomputers—then you come across a heated chair. All I can say about this is: a true gamer’s chair is already warm, and sometimes, even too warm.
