CES 2025 promises to light up Las Vegas once again, showcasing some of the most exciting and groundbreaking tech announcements of the year.
From Monday, January 7, you can expect to see everything from highly anticipated product launches to revolutionary gadgets and inventions that could reshape how technology integrates into our lives. The biggest names in the tech world will unveil everything from next-gen TVs and smart home innovations to cutting-edge AR and VR solutions — all with tightly integrated AI smarts.
The Tom’s Guide team will be on the ground, exploring the show floor to deliver the latest news and our first impressions of the hottest new tech.
Expect detailed coverage throughout the event, and be prepared to see many of these products featured on our site in the months to follow as we dive into in-depth reviews. If you’re looking for a daily recap, rest assured, we’ll have you covered every step of the way.
For now, I've asked our experts for predictions on what to expect from the show.
TVs at CES 2025
Big bets
- Major TV brands going all in on AI integration
- We’ll see brighter OLEDs than ever before
- More affordable Mini-LED TVs are on the way
My predictions
While I’ve yet to see a truly useful (and exciting) AI-driven TV feature, I’m wise enough to know that most major TV brands are champing at the bit to make AI functionality a key part of not just their next TV lineup, but their entire brand identity.
I think we’re about to see a slew of software-based features that promise to leverage AI responsibly, delivering exciting and useful new ways to interface with your TV. I’ll be interested to see if their claims hold up.
On the hardware side of things, you can all but guarantee that we’re due for a brightness bump for 2025 OLED TVs — particularly those whose displays are enhanced with quantum dots or Micro Lens Array technology (like Samsung and LG’s flagship models).
With some clever engineering, these impressive displays have seen slow-but-steady upticks in brightness with each passing year. The brighter they get, the better they tend to look. The display tech still has quite a ways to go if it’s to match the scorching highlights of high-end Mini-LED TVs, though.
Speaking of Mini-LEDs, I very much expect CES 2025 to be a victory for viewers vying for more value-forward Mini-LED TVs. Hisense broke the dam a couple of years ago when it announced that its entry-level U6 series would begin implementing Mini-LED backlighting at an ultra-affordable price point.
We’ve yet to see any competing brands join Hisense in its efforts to bring Mini-LED TVs to the masses, but I suspect that’s about to change. Keep a particularly close eye on rival brand TCL, a perennial purveyor of affordable TVs with premium features.
AI at CES 2025
Big bets
- The AI devices war is over — expect more AI/AR glasses than ever
- It’s not a buzzword anymore, so CES 2025 will be a showcase of how agentic AI can be useful across multiple technologies
- Get ready for all the robotics
My predictions
AI was the buzzword of CES 2024. This specific abbreviation was mentioned over 300 times during our seven days in Vegas earlier this year (yes, we counted). But what has it really amounted to when it comes to consumer tech? That’s a little unclear.
The start of this year was defined by companies trying to figure out what an AI device actually looks like, and the results? …Well, they were bad. The Humane AI Pin was rather essentially ethered into obscurity to the point that the company has pivoted to doing software, and the Rabbit R1 left a bad taste in a lot of mouths.
Really, the only one that made any headway (emphasis on head) was the Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses for the sake of actually being a wearable that made sense for its position, and also rather stylish too. So when it comes to AI hardware, expect to see a whole lot more smart glasses come to Vegas.
Elsewhere, I anticipate that AI will play almost like a dual role between more thoughtful implementations into the likes of TVs, kitchen tech and audio, while also being off the walls in enabling some truly impressive robotics prototypes.
Laptops at CES 2025
Big bets
- Nvidia RTX 50-series looks set to take flight in new gaming laptops
- New CPUs from AMD and Qualcomm take Copilot+ to the next level
- More experimentation with form factors — including more detail on the parts to make it work
My predictions
For a while now, new laptops at CES have become as inevitable as day turns to night. You get a little spruce up in the hardware design, a bump in performance and you call it a day. But see, we’re heading to a point where I predict three things are going to happen: new GPUs, new CPUs, and more developed tech to flirt with new form factors.
You’ll see the usual suspects — Asus, Acer, Lenovo, Dell, Razer and more — all bring new systems sporting either:
- Significantly improved specs thanks to the new Nvidia RTX 50-series GPUs we’re expecting to see, or the rumored new top-of-the-line AMD CPU that has the graphics performance equivalent to an RTX 4060…kinda makes you think dedicated graphics cards could end up being made redundant!
- Better value for money, as CPU companies continue to aggressively chase the bottom line and really bring a value message to the Copilot+ PC party and take on Apple’s mighty MacBooks.
And finally, I think we’re fast approaching whatever the next stage of laptop design is. Companies have dabbled with the foldable display/dual display format for a while now. Some have been successful like the Asus Zenbook Duo, and others a little less so like the HP Spectre Fold.
The only real barrier here is the parts: namely the reliability and capability of them. You’d find a lot of these foldables sporting older internals, so expect progression in foldable displays, improved reliability of the mechanical parts, and some evolution in the core parts to keep a form factor like this so slim (such as the fans).
Gaming laptops at CES 2025
Big bets
- Next-gen CPUs and GPUs for 2025’s new gaming laptops
- Laptops with more subdued designs
- Greater software customization through on-device apps
My predictions
It’s a new year, so I expect to see the new best gaming laptops sporting equally new CPUs and GPUs during CES 2025. This isn’t a bold prediction given how we always see spec bumps with new laptops, but it’s still worth getting excited about. I’m especially intrigued by whatever new CPUs the likes of Intel, AMD and Qualcomm might announce. And of course, I’d be shocked if we didn’t get official word on the next Nvidia laptop GPUs.
While companies will no doubt boast about greater performance and new cooling solutions, I want to hear more discussions centered on enhancing the player experience. To be specific, I’d like apps such as Legion Space and the Omen Gaming Hub to allow us greater control over how machines allocate resources when gaming and not gaming.
The ability to automatically optimize a game’s settings to maximize performance (similar to the Nvidia Experience app’s solution) would be fantastic. And of course, we can’t forget about RGB lighting control.
A trend I noticed in 2024 that I expect to carry over in 2025 is more gaming laptops that don’t look like gaming laptops. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy flashy and wild designs of old Alienware laptops, but I wouldn’t want to be seen in public using a laptop that screams “WATCH OUT! THIS GUY’S A GAMER!” I fully expect (and hope) to see more laptops like the subdued HP Omen Transcend 14 and Asus Zephyrus G14 at CES 2025.
Computing at CES 2025
Big bets
- Wi-Fi 7 will find its way into more devices as its cost comes down
- More mini PCs as a middle ground between desktops and laptops
- Spatial computing for everyone else
My predictions
Wi-Fi is something most people take for granted until their connection drops or they can’t get a signal which is why networking companies and device makers will be pushing Wi-Fi 7 hard this year. At CES 2024, we saw a few new Wi-Fi 7 routers but this year, TP-Link, Netgear, Asus and others will likely be showcasing their mid-range and budget options in a much bigger way.
The first wave of Wi-Fi 7-equipped routers and mesh routers were prohibitively expensive for all but early adopters. Now though, mid-range options and even a few more budget-friendly ones are starting to hit store shelves. A big reason for this is dual-band Wi-Fi 7 routers which forego the faster 6 Ghz band first introduced with Wi-Fi 6E in favor of affordability. They still have most of Wi-Fi 7’s new features though.
Cheaper Wi-Fi 7 routers and a greater selection of them is just the push smartphone and laptop makers need to start adding this new wireless tech to their devices. However, I expect we’ll start seeing Wi-Fi 7 show up in other devices like TVs and even consoles now that the PS5 Pro has it.
Mini PCs are having their heyday too and I expect there will be loads of them at CES this year. The launch of the Mac mini M4 helped renew interest in them across the board and I wouldn’t be surprised if we see some Windows-based mini PCs trying to emulate its slick and smaller design. Desktops and laptops both have their place and mini PCs fit nicely between the two.
Finally on the computing front, I think that spatial computing will see a big push now that the Meta Quest 3S has made it more accessible as well as affordable. The Apple Vision Pro wasn’t quite the hit we initially expected and now other companies will look to bring this very futuristic tech to even more people.
Phones at CES 2025
Big bets
- Plenty of wireless charging accessory announcements, particularly around the Qi2 standard
- Announcements around AI will likely have a spillover effect for mobile devices
- Enabling technologies like display improvements are often on the show floor
My predictions
As a person who spends most of his time focusing on smartphones, CES marks an important time of year for me — it reminds me that Mobile World Congress, the trade show where there actually is phone news, is just a month and change away. That's not to say CES won't have some phone news, but there's a reason I haven't set foot in Las Vegas for the last six years.
The biggest phone announcements looming on the calendar involve both Samsung and OnePlus, and the new smartphones both companies are planning on launching. OnePlus has already confirmed that the global launch of the OnePlus 13 will occur on January 7, coinciding with CES 2025. But that event appears to be happening online at the ungentlemanly hour of 7:30 a.m. Vegas time, so a CES tie-in for the OnePlus 13 seems unlikely. Samsung hasn't set a date for the Galaxy Unpacked 2025 event where we'll likely get to see the new Galaxy S25 phones, but online rumors have that event taking place January 22, two weeks after CES packs up its tent and goes home.
That's not to say there won't be any phones at CES 2025. Smaller phone makers like TCL have used the event in recent years to show off lineups for the new year, and that could repeat itself this time around. But for the most part, phone makers tend to have their own events where they can command undivided attention from the tech press.
Your best bet for mobile news related to CES will likely come from accessory makers, particularly if rumors about the Galaxy S25 adding support for Qi2 wireless charging prove to be accurate. For its part, the Wireless Power Consortium, the open standards developing group, plans to be at CES 2027 where it's promising some "significant new announcements and foreshadowing future Qi2 innovations."
In fact, CES tends to be helpful for showcasing enabling technologies and prototype designs that might influence future phones. Back when I was attending CES, I saw previews of technologies like folding screens and in-display fingerprint sensors that routinely ship with phones these days. I imagine there will be similar forward-facing technologies for my Tom's Guide colleagues to tell me about at this year's show.
That's especially true of AI. Everything my colleague Jason England has said about AI on display at CES will likely have some impact on the smartphone world, though again, phone-specific features will likely be tied to future product announcements from the likes of Samsung, Google and Apple, just to name three of the bigger mobile players.
Wearable tech at CES 2025
Big bets
- New rugged smartwatch models from Garmin with class-leading battery life
- Smarter, comfier and longer-lasting smart rings to compete with the Oura Ring 4 and Samsung Galaxy Ring
- Lots of AI-powered smart glasses
My predictions
While I don’t anticipate any major wearable tech announcements at CES 2025 from megabrands like Google or Samsung (and certainly not Apple), Garmin has historically launched new smartwatches at the show. This year, there’s been a bit of buzz around the possible launch of a Garmin Instinct 3 smartwatch.
I’m a huge fan of the Garmin Instinct 2, which is a sporty and rugged device boasting 100 meters of water resistance and mind-blowing battery life. It also supports many of the brand’s best training tools along with useful features including Garmin Pay, all for under $300. The Instinct 2 additionally comes in a Solar version for $100 more that technically never needs recharging with enough sunlight.
These models — which are popular with the outdoor adventure community — have been on sale since early November and continue to be, even while other Garmin models have returned to their pre-Black Friday prices, suggesting attempts to clear inventory space by retailers.
Last year, Garmin launched the Lily 2 smartwatch at CES to fanfare and a follow-up product unveil seems likely. Plus, with so few other big smartwatch brands to compete with, Garmin will mostly have the spotlight.
Like smartwatches, I don’t expect smart ring announcements from the most prominent brand in the space, Oura, as the Oura Ring 4 just debuted a few months back. There are rumors that Samsung may tease a Galaxy Ring 2 around the same time as the CES show but it’s unlikely to be on display there.
This leaves space for smaller brands like RingConn and Circular to make a case for their latest releases, but it’s unclear if Amazfit will follow up last year’s Helio Ring launch with a newer version. Either way, expect the latest crop of smart rings to boast new health-monitoring tools, improved battery life and comfier designs.
Finally, AI-powered smart glasses are sure to be a hot trend at this year’s CES. With the relative success of Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses and murmurs of Samsung AR glasses in the works — with a possible announcement as soon as late January — there’s much incentive for smaller companies to make a splash before there’s no room left in the tub.
Personally, as an occasionally forgetful glasses wearer, I’d love a pair of smart specs capable of beaming the names of approaching casual acquaintances into my field of view; it would alleviate quite a bit of awkwardness, particularly at industry events (like CES). Expect me to be on the lookout for such a device all show long.
Cars and rideables at CES 2025
Big bets
- We'll finally get a proper release date and price for Sony-Honda’s Afeela EV.
- More car tech revolving advanced driver-assistance systems (ADAS) for improved safety and convenience.
- AI playing a larger role in vehicle technology.
My predictions
Considering that we get more official unveilings of upcoming cars at the Detroit Auto Show, CES 2025 is mainly a showcase for the tech behind today's vehicles. However, we will more than likely get one official news regarding the release and price of the Sony-Honda Afeela — which has been teased innumerable times over the last couple of CES shows.
Autonomous driving will continue to be an area where I expect to see more development, in hopes that the tech is finally good enough to implement in commercial vehicles. I've seen how smart cruise control systems in today's best electric cars are increasingly becoming better, but there's still more needed around them to instill confidence in consumers that they can fully take on the task of self-driving.
I'm also eager to see new accessories and tech that could add more safety and assurance. For example, I've seen companies like InfiRay release a thermal camera for cars to help them see hazards on the road at night — like deer on the side of the road. Furthermore, I really expect to see artificial intelligence playing a critical roll in the infotainment system in a car.
