Must-Have Tech Marvels I Regretted Missing at CES 2025!

I didn’t attend CES 2025, and ordinarily, I wouldn’t regret the 10-hour journey with carry-on luggage overflowing with lip balm and moisturizer or the continual walking through casinos upon arrival. However, observing the event from a distance this year brought me more than just a hint of FOMO.

I witnessed associates and coworkers discover devices that not only appeared enjoyable (generally the highlight of CES) but also items I truly desire to possess in the future. Here are seven that piqued my interest, alongside one aspect that annoyed me considerably.

Plantaform Smart Indoor Garden

Whether it connects to my fascination with quirky sci-fi like Silent Running, YouTube channels such as AntsCanada, or simply due to my struggle to remember to water my houseplants, Plantaform’s Smart Indoor Garden truly intrigued me.

It’s reportedly self-cleaning and self-watering, which aligns perfectly with my hands-off strategy regarding my struggling indoor plants presently, and the blend of colored lights and mist inside will certainly meet my sci-fi aesthetic expectations.

I don’t intend to cultivate vegetables or herbs in it, but rather decorative plants and blooms. I favor tech gadgets that also serve as conversation starters, and since the Smart Indoor Garden is enormous, nobody who visits my home will overlook it.

Nekojita FuFu

The Japanese robotics firm Yukai Engineering produces wonderful inventions, from the charming Qoobo tailed pillow to the eccentric Amagami Ham Ham, and I felt quite disappointed not to witness its latest invention, Nekojia FuFu, firsthand. True to Yukai Engineering’s style, it addresses a problem you weren’t aware you had in an endearing manner. This adorable cat-like robot features an internal fan that cools hot beverages and meals, and as an admirer of coffee, felines, and gadgets, I’d very much like one, please.

LG AeroCat Tower

One issue that worries me regarding the Plantaform Smart Indoor Garden is my new kitten gaining access to it, so I will attempt to divert its attention to a novel gadget designed specifically for it. LG’s AeroCat Tower serves as an air purifier featuring health-tracking technology for your feline.

This device includes two platforms — one for resting and another for lounging on — outfitted with sensors for weight and sleep monitoring, and it operates via LG’s ThinQ app. While I am fond of the concept of multipurpose gadgets, I’m quite convinced my kitten will completely disregard it, based on how it ignores most of the items I’ve already purchased for it.

Samsung Ballie

Samsung’s spherical robot has been a fixture at CES for numerous years, and it seems it is nearly set for launch. I’ve been yearning for a robotic companion for some time, and Samsung claims it will be available in 2025. I should have refrained from adopting a kitten.instead, merely for a brief period longer. Ballie is part AI companion, part household robot, and part pet caregiver, so I’m certain I’ll still discover a role for it in my existence. If only it handled the vacuuming as well.

Amazfit V1tal

Setting aside privacy concerns, the Amazfit V1tal truly appears to address the challenge of recalling to log your meals in a wellness application. The camera observes you while you eat, and the software evaluates your food consumption before categorizing it into calories and macros within an app. I’ve never felt compelled to log my meals, but I do believe it would be advantageous. Overcome the oddness of having a camera watching you consume food, and the V1tal presents considerable promise.

Lenovo ThinkBook Plus Gen 6

I have absolutely no necessity for the Lenovo ThinkBook Plus Gen 6, yet each time I witness the 14-inch display unfurl to transform into a 16-inch tall screen, I grin. It’s absurd, not particularly useful, and I suspect I’d end up solely utilizing the smaller screen after some time, but it’s simply delightful CES amusement, and everyone who views it will surely exclaim, “Wow!” It’s reportedly set to be launched later this year, and I eagerly anticipate pairing it with the Motorola Rizr for a fulfilling rollable experience.

PocketBook InkPoster

I possess a relatively spacious, blank section of wall in my residence that’s pleading for some artwork, but I can’t determine what to place there. My indecision would be resolved with the PocketBook InkPoster, a colossal 31.3-inch E Ink “poster” that comes with a library of images pre-installed, or you can utilize your own. It operates on batteries, so there’s no requirement to hide any cables, there’s no backlighting, and E Ink closely mimics the appearance of paper, ensuring it won’t resemble a display on the wall. The downside is, the 31.3-inch variant costs $1,700, and I have a hunch I’ll need two.

One thing annoyed me

What list would be complete without an item that I found unappealing? It’s not that I disapprove of BMW’s Panoramic iDrive dashboard; it simply lets me down. Automotive interior design focused on multiple screens is just not particularly captivating to observe, but even worse is if you detach the BMW logo from the steering wheel — there is utterly nothing that indicates it’s a BMW interior whatsoever.

Recently, automotive brands appear determined to eliminate all distinctive, defining features associated with them, leaning toward faceless “high-tech” interiors that are as uninspiring as they are cumbersome to navigate. The Sony Honda Mobility Afeela experiences the same fate. It’s all forgettable, lifeless, and completely uninspiring.

However, as automotive interior designs in vehicles I will never own are the sole elements that bothered me from CES 2025, I’d assert it seemed like a rather good event, and I regretted missing the opportunity to experience all these innovations firsthand.