The world’s greatest tech showcase is underway in Las Vegas right now, and our man on the ground (CB’s reviews editor, Erlingur) has been reporting back to us about some of the wackiest tech we had no idea we needed.
Just one of the weird and wonderful inventions at CES this year is a little robot cat from Yukai Engineering that has the power to prevent you from burning your tongue on hot coffee. This has happened to me on several occasions with hot chocolate, but not an overwhelming amount that I’d ever considered needing robot assistance to manage the problem.
From rolling laptop displays to even more Ring doorbell developments, we’ve rounded up some tech highlights from CES below. Honestly, my biggest interest has always been with robots, and it takes a lot to impress me. Take a look at some of the smart home robots that stole my heart at IFA earlier this year including a demo of the Samsung Ballie which I cannot wait to buy in 2025.
A smartphone toaster??
Everyone at CES is talking about the Swippitt charger. If your morning routine is a little bit manic and rushed, then what better device is there than a toaster-shaped hub that can charge your phone to max capacity in a matter of seconds?
There’s actually a lot more to it than this – the Swippitt involves swapping out an external battery attached to specialised phone cases for your phone, that are replaced with fully charged batteries when you insert your phone into the hub using a mechanical process.
In other words, this means that you’ll basically never have to plug your phone into a wall socket ever again, but this CES debut device is, as expected, very costly at $450 for the hub, and $120 for the compatible phone case. Yikes.
Our favourite art TV now has Pro power
Possibly our favourite TV of all time at Creative Bloq is the Samsung Frame TV, with its incredible matte display, beautiful frame bezel, and catalogue of exquisite artworks from around the world. Samsung has debuted a brand new version of its popular Frame TV series at CES, introducing the Frame Pro TV.
With that said, what the Samsung Frame TV brings to the table in terms of home decor design, it’s always lacked in picture quality. This new model is changing the game, equipped with Neo QLED mini-LED technology for an HDR and contrast boost, and an improved variable refresh rate of 144Hz, making it a better TV for gaming.
But that’s not all. With The Frame Pro, you also get a Wireless One Connect external connection box (which looks surprisingly like a PlayStation 2 console). This is excellent for minimalistic households that don’t want all of the wires and cables on show. With the Wireless One Connect, you can hang The Frame Pro TV on the wall with just a power cable and nothing else.
As close as we’re going to get to Bee simulator
Bird feeder cameras are super popular among photographers and nature lovers – but now, bird watching is out and bug watching is the new 2025 trend (at least at CES). From the company that brought us the Bird Buddy camera comes a new range of products, the Petal camera and Wonder Blocks, a modular habitat system.
This is pretty revolutionary for those who like bug-watching, and involves models like a Bee Hotel, and camouflaged pedestals to stack the modules on. The Petal has such a cool design, with fake leaves that double as solar panels, and a 12MP camera with a 1/1.9-inch sensor disguised as an orange flower on a bendable stalk.
I’ve never really been a bug person (and I’m deathly afraid of spiders) but getting to watch them from a distance sounds like a great compromise. As a photographer who also dabbles in Macro, I’d love to give this ecosystem a shot (pardon the pun).
Acer’s handheld Nitro Blade 11
Acer has expanded its gaming handheld catalogue with two impressive new Nitro Blaze 8 (8.8-inch) and enormous Nitro Blaze 11 (11-inch) handheld consoles, powered by AMD Ryzen 8040 Series processors. These handhelds are planned for a Q2 2025 release date, and are expected to cost $900 and $1100 for the larger console.
The Acer Nitro Blaze 11 has been the star of the show at CES, with a gorgeous 144 Hz display and performance-heavy hardware that makes it three times the weight of a Nintendo Switch. But don’t worry, it also has detachable controllers and a kickstand on the back to give your wrists a break and enjoy tabletop gaming.
I think I prefer the design of Acer’s Nitro Blaze 7 personally, but the improved performance of the new Nitro Blaze 8 and 11 models (where are 9 and 10?) with Hall effect sticks and a comically large display should be enough to rival the Steam Deck and sway gamers towards Acer.
Headphones with a touchscreen remote
Another never-before-seen concept at CES this year is the JBL SMART Tx touchscreen audio transmitter (a fancy remote control). This can be used with the company’s flagship Tour One M3 over-ear headphones to stream music and audio to your headphones from pretty much any source, and share it with others easily too via Auracast.
I’ve personally never envisioned needing a remote control touchscreen for my headphones, given that Bluetooth usually takes care of the connectivity for me. But this concept is actually very cool and I guess there’s no better place to be inventive than at CES. The US price for this tech will be $399.95.
Special mentions: I couldn’t leave these out
CES is absolutely stacked with tech that it’s impossible to cover everyhting. But I just had to mention these extra products that I would absolutely buy without question if I had unlimited funds.
- Levoit Pet Odor & Hair Air Purifier
First up: the air purifier from Levoit that can automatically detect and mask farts. I have a Goldendoodle, and while I’m very lucky that she doesn’t shed hair, she loves to roll around in fox pee on our walks. I also have a fiance who refuses to admit that he might be lactose intolerant. This new air purifier from Levoit can auto-detect “key substances” such as odours like sweat, pee and farts. Do I need to say more?
- Anker SOLIX parasol
A waterproof beach umbrella that is solar powered and can charge your devices at the same time? Take my money. We don’t get much sun in the UK but if this thing is compact enough to take travelling then I would use it religiously on our beach getaways.
- Halliday Smart Glasses
I’ve been getting seriously into smart glasses lately, but some of the best looking smart specs I’ve seen are the Halliday smart glasses equipped with a tiny screen and AI (of course). I love the slightly rounded look of these glasses, and to anyone else, it definitely doesn’t look like you’re wearing advanced tech on your face.
- Stringless Guitar
I tried learning to play guitar when I was 14, but just couldn’t hack it. I especially found that the strings would really hurt my fingers, and I didn’t like the idea of having to develop callouses to master specific chords. This C1 stringless guitar from LiberLive sounds like a game-changer and it looks epic too.