The vacation season hasn’t even kicked off yet, but some of us are already gearing up for CES 2025. As the clock strikes midnight on New Year’s Day, a significant portion of the Engadget team will embark on a journey to Las Vegas, where we’ll converge for the most anticipated tech event of the year, CES. Our inboxes are increasingly inundated with promotional emails from corporate entities eyeing the event, while our calendars rapidly fill up with scheduled meetings for product demonstrations and one-on-one briefings.
With a thorough understanding of industry trends and recent market fluctuations, it’s surprisingly easy to accurately forecast the key developments expected in January. For decades, the primary focus of the convention has expanded to encompass a diverse range of products, including televisions, automobiles, smart home appliances, and personal healthcare devices, with occasional showcases of cutting-edge laptops and innovative technology. At CES 2025, we’re expecting AI’s influence to become even more ubiquitous across various aspects of the exhibition floor. We risk being stuck with a predictable array of outdated technology, including familiar processor iterations, laptops, wearables, trackers, bathroom fixtures, and massage chairs. Oh, the therapeutic massage chairs.
Here’s a glimpse into what your team anticipates will shape their work in the next year:
NVIDIA and AMD have recently released a slew of new video playing cards that are set to revolutionize the gaming experience.
The year 2025 promises to be a pivotal one for PC enthusiasts, with numerous anticipated developments poised to shake up the gaming landscape. NVIDIA is poised to unveil its highly anticipated RTX 5000 graphics cards at CES, with AMD CEO Lisa Su having already confirmed that the tech giant will be making a major announcement. Among the two corporations, AMD may leverage the enhanced feature. While Radeon graphics cards have consistently delivered solid mid-range performances, they significantly trail NVIDIA’s offerings in terms of ray tracing capabilities, with AMD’s FSR 3 upscaling failing to match the level of sophistication exhibited by NVIDIA’s AI-driven DLSS 3 technology.
“Building on significant enhancements to gaming performance, the RDNA 4 architecture boasts significantly improved ray tracing capabilities and introduces innovative AI features,” AMD CEO Lisa Su stated during a October earnings call.
NVIDIA’s upcoming hardware has sparked speculation about the potential performance boost of its RTX 5090, with some sources suggesting it may boast a significant 70% speed increase over its predecessor, the RTX 4090.
Previously, I had considered (that’s a GPU) – a notable observation indeed. Furthermore, it’s been noticed that certain “high-end” graphics cards may experience performance boosts of up to 30-40 percent. While attractive features may convince affluent RTX 4090 owners to upgrade, others with lower-end GPUs like the RTX 4070 or 4080 might not find it worthwhile to invest in this technology. For users sticking with older NVIDIA GPUs (RTX 3000 and earlier), it’s generally a good idea to consider an upgrade after about a year. —
AI PCs spherical 2
In the final 12 months, I accurately forecasted that AI-powered personal computers (PCs) would steal the show at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES), and for the most part, my prediction came to fruition. As 2024 progressed, a significant leap forward was observed in the performance of Neural Processing Units (NPUs) integrated into microchips by leading semiconductor companies such as Intel, AMD, and Qualcomm. Microsoft reinforced its focus on AI-enabled PCs, bolstering the appeal of artificial intelligence features and high-end specifications such as at least 16GB of RAM, thereby driving significant marketing momentum.
As we gaze into the crystal ball of CES 2025, it’s clear that a tidal wave of identical products is on its way, with artificial intelligence infused into every conceivable category of goods. This year, in particular, PC manufacturers are poised to capitalize on. Instead of merely upgrading their previous laptops to Windows 11, manufacturers like Dell and HP may encourage customers to purchase a brand-new AI-powered PC with the latest operating system pre-installed.
As the fervor surrounding AI-powered PCs reached a fever pitch in 2024, the dawn of 2025 may ultimately prove to be a year of accountability. Microsoft’s long-overdue Recall feature is finally rolling out to additional users, but it’s already showing signs of vulnerability, such as. We’ve additionally been . By touting the promise of AI-powered PCs, manufacturers have built considerable hype, but in 2025, they’ll be expected to substantiate their grandiose claims with tangible results? —
Ears tuned to wellness: Apple-inspired earbuds prioritize sound health.
Not every audio company possesses the capability to develop apps from scratch? Despite Apple’s latest iteration of the AirPods Pro 2, it is imperative that competing brands integrate hearing health features into their premium products to stay competitive. Given Jabra’s parent company, GN, has extensive hearing assistance expertise, Jabra was most likely the most effective equipped to achieve this outcome. Regrettably, the corporation announced a change earlier this year.
Given their respective health platform strengths, Samsung and Google may collaborate on a feature similar to Apple’s offering for AirPods. If these companies decided to issue such bulletins, it’s highly improbable that they would do so during CES, as each organization prefers to host its own dedicated hardware-focused events throughout the year.
Without a doubt, Sennheiser remains the leading audio company consistently introducing innovative earbuds and headphones at CES. In its final 12 months on the market, this device showcased a wide range of features, including a version equipped with advanced heart-rate monitoring capabilities specifically designed for tracking exercise performance. Additionally, it comes equipped with dedicated listening modes similar to true wireless technology. Given the strong foundation in their flagship products, it would be fascinating to see Sennheiser incorporate features from their audiophile-oriented earbuds into their mainstream offerings. While a mid-cycle update to the Momentum True Wireless 4 Pro or Plus model isn’t out of the question, it’s worth noting that the current version has only been on the market for nine months, which might suggest that such an upgrade is less likely at this point in time?
In reality, ample opportunities exist for various corporations to pioneer innovative solutions within this space, with little likelihood of a shortage of fresh earbuds at the upcoming event in Las Vegas next month. We anticipate seeing a proliferation of products, ranging from major accessibility companies to smaller manufacturers, that cater to diverse consumer needs. I truly hope that some of the innovative technologies in development will include enhanced basic skills for common fashion accessories that people will want to utilize regularly. —
Car electrification goes sky excessive
As the electric vehicle market expands in the US, it’s easy to overlook that other types of transportation are also experiencing a shift towards battery-powered propulsion? At CES, flying taxis have been a prominent fixture over the past few years, with innovative aircraft from major manufacturers like dotting the exhibit floor in Las Vegas.
These peculiar devices bear a striking resemblance to colossal drones equipped with cockpit enclosures, rather than futuristic innovations conjured by the Jetsons’ imagination. As major corporations like Uber and Lilium vow to roll out eVTOL services by 2025, it seems the era of air taxis may finally be taking off for real this time. —
Wouldn’t you want to experience a cinematic atmosphere in your very own home? With advanced dialog enhancement options on soundbars, that dream is now within reach.
While significant advancements in soundbar technology are rare from one year to the next? Indeed, Samsung’s most notable update last year was the overhaul of its flagship model, an upgrade that was long overdue. Companies are increasingly focused on a seamless transition to a cable-free ecosystem, encompassing innovations such as wireless Dolby Atmos. Audio enhancement options provide a unique opportunity for companies to stand out from the crowd, with tools like EQ and compression offering impressive results. A crucial area where every company can improve is dialogue enhancement, a feature that amplifies the volume or isolates spoken words from background noise and music to facilitate better comprehension.
Sonos made a significant stride in this respect by introducing two additional settings for its renowned Speech Enhancement feature. Prior to this change, the mechanism operated as a straightforward on/off switch, mirroring the approach commonly employed by corporations in managing their respective versions of this tool. The Sonos Beam’s replaceability is not solely impressive, but also significantly enhanced by its newly reimagined design, which results in an even better listening experience. This appears to be a prime location for various companies to grow?
LG and Samsung occasionally unveil innovative soundbars at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES), alongside various smaller companies that may also introduce their own cutting-edge products. Let’s explore various ways to enhance dialogue and provide several options for its utilization? LG has leveraged AI Sound Professional technology in its TVs since 2021, while Samsung offers a feature called Adaptive Sound on its home theatre systems. I would count on each of them to consistently elevate the quality of their offerings, while also anticipating that they will expand their capabilities as well. —
