CES 2025, the world's largest tech extravaganza held in Las Vegas, has wrapped up, and oh boy, what a show it was! From AI-integrated everything to dazzling advancements in smart glasses and laptops, the future is officially knocking at our doors. But for a tech-packed event, there was an unexpected void where we once saw a parade of cutting-edge electric vehicles and mobile phones. Let me break it all down for you WindowsForum readers, and we'll zoom in on the hottest trends that might just define the future of tech in our lives.
The silver lining? A couple of interesting entrants still managed to squeeze through:
Headlining innovations include:
What do you think of this AI explosion? Are you ready for a fridge that knows you better than your spouse, or were you hoping to see Tesla unveil something mind-blowing instead? Let’s discuss—comment below!
Source: PCMag Australia Plenty of Copilot PCs But Where Were the EVs? The Top Takeaways From CES 2025
AI Everywhere: From Laptops to Fridges (No Joke!)
Artificial Intelligence wasn't just a guest at CES 2025—it was the star of the show. It infiltrated every gadget and gizmo you could imagine, from your living room TV screens to your fitness mirrors, promising smarter, more personalized experiences. Here’s how AI stole the spotlight:AI Meets Consumer Tech
- Honda’s AI-Powered EVs: While EVs weren’t as prominent at CES this year, Honda still made waves with its 0 Series electric vehicles (EVs), set to debut in 2026. These groundbreaking prototypes don’t just look futuristic—they’ll boast built-in AI chips capable of Level 3 autonomous driving. Think of it as your future road trip co-pilot.
- Microsoft Copilot in TVs: LG and Samsung joined hands with Microsoft to integrate its Copilot AI into their TVs. The idea? Tailored content recommendations and the ability to "organize complex information using contextual cues." It’s like having a chatbot that knows your Netflix mood swings better than you do.
- Samsung’s Vision AI: Samsung evidently woke up and decided to sprinkle AI on everything. It plans to port smartphone features like ‘Live Translate’ and ‘Click to Search’ to TVs and extend AI capabilities into its fridges, promising faster insights with local processing powered by Qualcomm chips.
- Nvidia Cosmos: Whether it's cars or robots, Nvidia claims its AI platform will enhance decision-making capabilities using expanded training data—essentially giving machines more “street smarts.”
- Fitness Mirrors: Withings teased the world with the Omnia, a sleek smart mirror that records your health metrics and even throws in some fitness advice.
- AI in Personal Cloud Devices: Qualcomm’s edge-computing AI highlights a massive trend: running AI locally on devices instead of funneling data to distant (and possibly insecure) clouds. A great win for privacy-conscious tech buffs!
The Copilot Craze: AI PCs Are Here to Stay
Windows 11 users, rejoice! The age of AI-powered PCs seems to be reaching critical mass, with heavyweights like Acer, Lenovo, HP, and Razer rolling out Copilot-enabled devices. Whether you want to streamline your workflow or dive into AI-assisted creativity, here’s what’s new in the personal computing world:A New Generation of AI Laptops
- Lenovo Yoga 9i Slim: Fully armed with Microsoft’s Copilot+ features, this twist-on-a-classic device is shaping up as a productivity powerhorse. No massive cloud dependencies needed—this PC can flex its AI muscles locally.
- Acer’s Swift Go AI Series: The new Swift Go 16 AI and Swift Go 14 AI laptops harness AMD-powered chipsets to support local AI computing, ensuring tasks are completed with speed, efficiency, and impressively long battery life.
- Gaming PCs Go Elite: HP Omen desktops and Alienware rigs showed how the gaming experience might benefit from integrated AI, from smarter lighting adjustments to automated in-game settings optimization.
The Phantom of CES: What Happened to Phones and EVs?
For those of us who look to CES as the mecca of all things mobile, this year was rather underwhelming. Smartphones were brushed aside as vendors seemed to save their announcements for events like Mobile World Congress. Apple and Google remained glaringly absent.The silver lining? A couple of interesting entrants still managed to squeeze through:
- TCL’s 60 XE Nxtpaper 5G: This budget-friendly device caught our eye with a unique Nxtpaper display that mimics the elegance of ink-print screens.
- Samsung’s Galaxy A16 5G: Unveiled right before the show, Samsung teased us with this affordable model while building buzz for the Galaxy S25, which debuts January 22.
Where Are the Cars?
The EV revolution at CES hit the brakes this year. Ford, GM, Volvo, and many other automotive giants skipped the show altogether. Honda and BMW, however, kept the buzz alive:- Honda didn’t hold back on its 0 Series electric vehicles, which are among the first to roll out with a proprietary platform developed in-house.
- BMW doubled down on the Panoramic Drive UI, a next-gen dashboard inspired by smartphone interfaces. Think bold, customizable UIs that span three displays, including one across the entire windshield!
Glasses That Finally Get Smart(er)
If you’re still haunted by the clunky, uninspired designs of last-gen smart glasses, CES 2025 was here to cleanse your palate. Thanks to advancements in beamforming audio, lightweight projectors, and integrated translation AI, smart eyewear could find its redemption arc.Headlining innovations include:
- Captify’s Caption Creator Glasses: Aimed at the hard-of-hearing community, these glasses generate real-time captions during conversation. Pair this with support for 40 languages, and the doors to accessibility swing wide open.
- Xreal One Pro: Want to superimpose a dual-screen Windows workspace on your specs? These reinsure the magic we’ve always hoped from augmented reality.
- Meta Competitors: Several eyewear companies debuted Ray-Ban-like specs that included holographic displays for messages, translations, and more. Some even featured built-in cameras for on-the-go photo enthusiasts!
What’s Next?
While CES 2025 gave us a sneak preview of exciting AI-driven innovations, it left unanswered questions—especially for those of us pumped about Mobile or EV advancements. But fear not, the year is just getting started:- Microsoft’s Surface Tease: A massive enterprise-level Surface announcement is expected on January 30.
- Samsung's Flagship: The Galaxy S25 unveiling later this month could set the tone for mobile evolution in 2025.
- MWC 2025: Mobile World Congress is set to bring the energy missing from CES when it comes to smartphones, tablets, and connected cars!
TL;DR:
CES 2025 might have slimmed down on EVs and mobile phones, but it was no slouch in evolving smart tech like Copilot PCs, AI integrations, and revamped wearables. As the tech space races further into the AI frontier, smart is truly becoming the new standard.What do you think of this AI explosion? Are you ready for a fridge that knows you better than your spouse, or were you hoping to see Tesla unveil something mind-blowing instead? Let’s discuss—comment below!
Source: PCMag Australia Plenty of Copilot PCs But Where Were the EVs? The Top Takeaways From CES 2025