Inside CES 2025: New Tech, Trends, and Historic Keynotes

I’m still coming down from CES and mentally preparing for TikTok’s pending takeover of the news cycle next week. Is anyone else feeling like January got way too serious way too fast?

Let’s jump into the news.

A peek into today’s edition:

Sights and sounds from CES 2025
Tech Byte: Kirin’s electric salt spoon
Meta dumps its third-party fact-checking partners

After nearly a decade as a tech reporter, I finally got my first Consumer Electronics Show (CES) experience under my belt. CES 2025 spanned 11 venues in Las Vegas, including the Las Vegas Convention Center and the Venetian Expo, bringing in more than 4,500 exhibitors to showcase their latest tech gadgets, platforms, and more. In addition to the eye-popping innovations, there were countless panels, keynotes, private events, and happy hours to add to the schedule.

I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t vastly overwhelmed by the layout of the whole event. I left with so many questions, such as why the Consumer Technology Association (CTA) would let CES get so big—it’s impossible to make it through every exhibit. Has the intended audience changed over time? The trade show is primarily advertised to tech professionals and media personnel, but the sheer scale and variety of offerings suggest it’s also a platform for anyone interested in the future of technology.

Key players like LG, Samsung, Panasonic, Hisense, and Sony truly stole the show this year. As far as the most represented industries? Smart home tech, advanced TVs, smart glasses, and robots of all kinds—from humanoids to self-climbing vacuums. Sadly, I didn’t see as many drone companies. However, there was a nice selection of electric vehicles and related tech on display.

Let’s take a look at some of my key highlights from this year’s event.

LG x will.i.am

LG’s keynote at CES 2025 focused on its “Affectionate Intelligence” strategy, highlighting its AI integrations, which were featured prominently throughout the event. The tech giant unveiled new wireless OLED TVs and announced a partnership with Xbox Game Pass to bring cloud-based gaming to supported LG TVs. The company also demonstrated the seamless connectivity of its devices, from its Home Appliance OS tech to AI-powered vehicle tech and its smart home AI agent, spotlighting the future of interconnected living.

One of the more significant moments from LG’s presentation was announcing its collaboration with Black Eyed Peas frontman will.i.am. LG unveiled the xboom by will.i.am audio product line, which includes a line of Bluetooth speakers and a pair of earbuds. This comes as LG appointed will.i.am as the “Experiential Architect” of the LG xboom brand. Will.i.am brings a fresh perspective to the world of audio tech, and his work with LG is a testament to his ability to blend sound, design, and emotion into products he envisions people implementing into their everyday lives. For will.i.am, every detail counts, from the sound quality to the feeling it evokes.

“I’ve tuned the speakers EQ-wise. I’ve created the audio suite, meaning all the sounds—the hoops and bops, the on-off sounds,” will.i.am told Boardroom in an exclusive interview. “It may sound insignificant, but it takes so much time to craft these sounds to bring the emotion out of the speaker.”

Will.i.am’s partnership with LG is built on the idea of identifying the gaps in the existing marketplace, with an acute focus on creating a connection with users that goes beyond functionality. Will.i.am was one of the earliest investors in Beats by Dre, recognizing the potential of the brand’s fusion of high-quality audio and celebrity appeal. His involvement helped shape Beats into a cultural phenomenon, paving the way for its eventual acquisition by Apple. Now, he’s taking his talents to LG.

“What will render success for us is filling the void that Beats has left,” he said. “It’s about building a relationship with customers.”

This philosophy is reflected in the xboom line, where the design and sound experience are crafted to evoke emotion. While he mainly focused on the tech behind the products, will.i.am closely considered the experience of the overall branding as well.

“Unboxing is just as important as holding it,” will.i.am explained. “The packaging has to rhyme with the product. It’s about making sure everything aligns, from the product itself to the experience of opening it.”

Looking ahead, will.i.am sees a major shift in the audio industry ahead. His vision for the future of audio is one where technology and music intersect in ways that are both revolutionary and deeply personal.

“We’re going to see some stuff we’ve never seen before,” he predicted. “We’re going to see a boom as far as new form factors. I think audio products will innovate in ways we haven’t seen before—whether in glasses or something entirely new.”

This forward-thinking mindset is part of his larger goal to inspire the next generation of creators and innovators.

“It’s OK to be audacious,” he says. “It’s OK to be ambitious. Just surround yourself with a team to execute.”

The Creator Space

Speaking of creators, CES introduced a dedicated Creator Space for the first time in conference history to recognize the growing influence of content creators in the tech industry. The space was hosted by Shira Lazar, the co-founder and host of the popular digital media brand What’s Trending. The area was open to creators and media personnel looking for space to film content, test new cameras and editing software, or listen to discussions from top creators across the tech space.

The Delta Keynote at Sphere

Delta Airlines raised the bar with its keynote at CES 2025, marking a milestone as the airline kicked off its Centennial Celebration at a traditionally tech-focused event. Taking over Sphere, Delta drew over 10,000 attendees on CES’s opening night.

One of my favorite aspects of the presentation — aside from Viola Davis‘ narration and Lenny Kravitz‘s closing performance — was how Delta fully utilized Sphere’s screens. The airline created a sense of depth that made you feel closer to the stage, even from my seat in section 400.

Throughout the presentation, Delta made several exciting announcements, including a new partnership with Uber, allowing users to earn SkyMiles on rides and UberEats orders, signaling the end of its relationship with Lyft. Delta loyalists can also look forward to exclusive in-flight content, such as a new series dubbed Well Traveled with Tom Brady, along with enhanced premium and music offerings through a new collaboration with YouTube. Additionally, Delta introduced its new AI-powered concierge service, offering personalized support for its premium customers before, during, and after flights.

By leveraging CES’s global stage, Delta raised the bar for future keynotes, demonstrating how companies at the margins can leverage the tech-forward conference to highlight their forward-thinking strategies.

To make a comparison: CES keynotes increasingly resemble Broadway shows, with their extravagant productions and high-profile appearances, turning into a spectacle that captivates audiences. While they are meant to showcase groundbreaking innovations, they also serve as a platform for brands to create an unforgettable experience, blending entertainment with tech reveals. The scale of these presentations, complete with elaborate sets, live performances, and celebrity cameos, shows how the conference is evolving beyond traditional product launches into a full-fledged media event.

Tech Byte

The most bizarre gadget I spotted at CES 2025 was an electric salt spoon from Japanese beer and beverage company Kirin Holdings. This device, designed to enhance the saltiness of low-sodium foods, earned a 2025 Honoree award in the Digital Health, Accessibility & AgeTech category.

This Week in Tech

The internet is in an uproar after Meta announced that it’s shifting its approach to content moderation by ending its third-party fact-checking program in the U.S. and introducing a Community Notes model. That’s not the only thing changing at the Big Tech giant. Meta is discontinuing its high-end headset, the Quest Pro, and Axios reports that the company is terminating major DEI programs across hiring and training.
Elsewhere, UFC chief Dana White has joined Meta’s board of directors, a move that elicited mixed reactions online. While some view his addition as a strategic alignment with the incoming Trump administration, others have expressed concerns about potential biases and the implications for content moderation across Meta’s family of apps.
We have a week until we officially find out TikTok’s fate in the US, prompting an uptick in downloads for its parent company ByteDance’s lifestyle app Lemon8. Still, ByteDance released TikTok’s “What’s Next 2025 Trend Report,” detailing how brands work with creators to make authentic storytelling moments that drive business growth.
WWE and immersive entertainment company Cosm have partnered to bring WWE events, like WrestleMania and Royal Rumble, to fans at Cosm’s experiential venues in Los Angeles and Dallas. Cosm’s venues will offer fans a virtual ringside experience with enhanced visuals, starting with the Royal Rumble on Feb. 1, 2025.
Watch Duty, an app that tracks real-time wildfire and evacuation alerts, surged in popularity during recent Southern California fires this past week, reaching half a million downloads in a single day. Founder John Mills told Gizmodo that he’s committed to keeping the app nonprofit and aims to expand its disaster coverage beyond wildfires.
Getty Images and Shutterstock have announced a blockbuster merger valued at approximately $3.7 billion, with plans to create a premier visual content company with a combined annual revenue of around $2 billion. Getty Images shareholders will own about 54.7% of the combined entity, while Shutterstock shareholders will hold approximately 45.3%.

Michelai’s Bet of the Week

It makes sense why Big Tech doesn’t show up big at CES. For that reason, I’m going to bet that CES 2026 will feature a smaller, more focused layout. Expect niche, specialized halls for specific industries and a more selective approach to the companies showcased.