CES 2025 officially kicks off in a couple of days (January 7, to be exact), and we know one word will surely be at the center of this year's event: AI.
Being a gadget geek at heart, though, I'm somehow more excited about..well, actual, physical gadgets, and this being CES, we'll probably see a few really cool ones this year (AI-powered or not).
With the biggest announcements just a few days away, we already have a pretty good idea of what's coming, even though most of the news is under embargo. So here's some of the stuff I'm most eager to see at CES this year.
Honda's EVs
The Consumer Electronic Show is not by definition a car event, but car manufacturers often do use it to show off the tech in their new and upcoming vehicles. This year, a few of the big manufacturers are skipping the show, but Honda is going all in, with a number of announcements lined up for CES.
The company already announced it will premiere new 0 Series prototype models on January 7. These are follow-ups to the 0 Series prototypes we've seen at CES 2024, and this year we'll hopefully see updated designs that are closer to finalized, mass-market versions of these cars. The company will also show off a new vehicle operating system that will be running in the 0 Series cars, and we should find out more about Honda's new automated driving tech.
That's not all from Honda, though. The company recently teamed up with Sony to build an electric vehicle called AFEELA, and the two companies will show off the latest AFEELA tech at CES, on January 7.
4K and 5K OLED monitors
Sure, OLED monitors have been a thing for a while. They bring rich blacks, incredibly fast pixel response, and massive dynamic range. But it still feels like they're not quite there yet, especially when it comes to gaming, as they don't come in all sizes and resolutions as their LCD brethren.
This changes now. Manufacturers including Samsung, Asus, and MSI have announced 27-inch, 4K OLED monitors with 240Hz refresh rates (these are all based on Samsung's QD-OLED panels). And LG will launch new OLED models at CES as well, including a futuristic, bendable 45-inch display with a 5K resolution.
CES in general is the premier event for monitors and TVs of all shapes and sizes, and we definitely expect to see a few surprises, especially from heavyweights such as Samsung and LG. Last year, LG brought a transparent OLED TV to the show, and it was one of the most exciting gadgets we've seen at CES 2024.
Lenovo Legion GO S and GO 2
This is far from a given, but Lenovo is rumored to bring new Lenovo Legion GO gaming handhelds to CES 2025.
The original Lenovo Legion GO was launched in September 2023, and it was a pretty capable competitor to the likes of Nintendo Switch and Valve's Steam Deck, in particular because of its beautiful, 8.8-inch display.
Now, Lenovo is rumored to follow up with a more affordable model, the Lenovo Legion GO S, and (possibly) an upgraded version of the original handheld, the Lenovo Legion GO 2. A third handheld, the Lenovo Legion GO S Steam Edition, is rumored to arrive with Steam Deck's SteamOS instead of Windows.
The Lenovo GO S will reportedly come with an 8-inch, 1,920 x 1,200 pixel LED, as well as an AMD Ryzen Z2 Go chip. The Lenovo GO 2 should have the more powerful, AMD Z2 Extreme chip, and a slightly larger, 8.8-inch OLED display with a 2,560 x 1,600 pixel resolution.
Nvidia's new graphics cards
Nvidia's founder and CEO Jensen Huang is holding the central keynote at CES this year, and the company is widely expected to launch a bevy of new graphics cards, including new RTX 50 series GPUs.
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If you're not a gamer (I haven't been one for a while either), you may not care much about gaming hardware. But Nvidia's major graphics cards launches are always huge news, not only because they'll power the beautiful-looking, next-gen games, but because they (typically) set the benchmark for what a graphics card for personal use can do.
Rumors claim the RTX 5090 will offer a 50% performance increase compared to RTX 4090, which is currently the most powerful graphics card you can buy for your PC. If true, this will not only unleash next-level gaming performance, but also pave the way for new AI and scientific applications.
This weird 'emotional-support AI robot'
A company called Mixi is about to show the Romi Lacatan, a cute gadget described as a "palmtop, emotional-support AI robot." Apparently, the little guy can hold a complex conversation in real time, remembering what you've previously said. It goes beyond just talking; the robot will also have gestures (meaning physical rattles and turns" and facial expressions (on the built-in LCD display). Still doesn't sound very robot-y, but it certainly could be one of those gadgets that steal the spotlight at CES.
