CES 2025 has come to a close — Friday was the final day of the show — and team Engadget has departed Las Vegas. Our reporters and editors spent the week scouring endless carpeted convention halls of the CES show floor, braving lines of chain smokers, overcoming nasty colds and sore ankles and fielding thousands of emails a day to find the best and most credible products at the show.
It was quite the challenge, as the landscape was dotted with countless contenders. As expected, the vast majority of things we saw this CES had an AI component, with a noticeable uptick in AR glasses, hearing aid earbuds, solar-powered tech, robot vacuums and even emotional support robots. (Apparently people really like robovacs that can pick up socks.) Our team was encouraged to see more growth in tech built to improve the lives of those with disabilities and mobility issues, too.
For all the new iterations we saw on traditional tech like laptops, TVs and soundbars, we saw a bevy of wonderfully weird off-beat tech at the show, too. And we were pleasantly surprised to see more than a few of these just-announced CES 2025 products actually available for sale or preorder already.
But there was a small group of new products that rose above the rest. Our list of CES 2025 winners covers a variety of categories, ranging from typical areas like home entertainment, transportation and smart home to theme-based topics like sustainability and accessibility. After our team shortlisted nominees and voted on the best for various categories, we then conducted another round of voting to decide on the best product of the show.
That said, here’s the full list of our picks for the Best of CES 2025.
ASUS Zenbook A14
The ASUS Zenbook A14 feels impossibly light, weighing between 2.2 and 2.4 pounds, and it has a gorgeous 14-inch OLED screen and a decent array of ports (USB-C, USB-A and HDMI)! What else ccould you want in a MacBook Air competitor? After years of basically copying Apple’s MacBooks, ASUS proves it can out-innovate Apple without resorting to gimmicks like dual screens or flashy lights. The Zenbook A14 is simply a tiny laptop that feels great in your hands, thanks in large part to ASUS’s unique Ceraluminum case material. ASUS claims it can last up to 32 hours while playing video, well above the 18 hours Apple estimates for the MacBook Air. It may seem odd that the least flashy laptop of CES 2025 is one of our favorites, but sometimes pure practicality is undeniable. — Devindra Hardawar, Senior reporter, reviews
BioLite Backup
We’re always looking for brand new, never-seen-before stuff at CES, but sometimes it’s the clever reinterpretation of existing tech that catches our attention. That’s the case with Backup by Biolite. It’s essentially a cross between a universal power supply (UPS) and a whole-home backup battery, but improves on both.
The thin, 40-pound 1.5 kWh battery lives between a wall outlet and your fridge (or any other plug-in device) and keeps those things running in the event of a power outage. It doesn’t require professional installation, just a user-installed wall mount, and it’s thin enough to hide behind your fridge or tuck under a counter. Though if it were on display, the matte-silver finish wouldn’t spoil any aesthetic.
The Backup Complete includes two units that supply up to 3 kWh, which is enough to power a fridge, microwave, lights, as well as refill phones and a laptop. The 3 kWh capacity and the fact that it’s an installed battery currently qualifies it for a 30 percent federal tax credit, which would bring the cost down to $2,100 for the Complete. The single-unit Backup Core packs 1.5 kWh and goes for $2,000. Both are available for pre-order now and should ship this summer. — Amy Skorheim, Reporter, buying advice
Jackery Solar Roof
Jackery is already an established name in domestic solar generator systems, and its latest product fills a wavy gap in its product lineup. Jackery’s XBC curved solar roof shingles mimic some of the most common house styles in the country, and they come in terracotta or obsidian colorways for optimum HOA appeasement. These are the first curved solar tiles to hit the United States market and they deliver a cell conversion efficiency of more than 25 percent. They can withstand extreme weather conditions, including temperatures between -40 degrees F and 185 degrees F, and they’re designed in line with traditional roofing installation practices, featuring a modular setup that allows for flexible maintenance. Jackery’s new wavy solar tiles connect with the company’s existing solar generation and storage products, making them an accessible and attractive option for whole-home sustainability. — Jessica Conditt, Senior reporter
Lenovo Legion Go S
The plight of the modern handheld-PC gamer is trying to decide which OS to use. There are a ton of Windows 11-based devices that offer unparalleled compatibility and strong graphics support. But all that comes on a platform that isn’t optimized for smaller gadgets with attached controllers. Alternatively, SteamOS offers a much more cohesive experience with a better UI and less performance overhead. The problem is that Valve’s operating system was basically only available on a single device — the Steam Deck. That changes now with the Lenovo Legion Go S, which will be available in two flavors: a Windows version and for the first time on any handheld not made by Valve, a model powered by SteamOS.
Aside from the choice of platforms and different colored shells, we appreciate that the two variants feature almost identical specs including an AMD Ryzen Z2 Go processor, up to 32GB of RAM, 1TB of storage and a decently large 55.5Whr battery. Its 8-inch touchscreen looks great too, as it offers a 120Hz refresh rate with support for VRR, 500 nits of brightness and a 1,920 x 1,200 resolution. And with prices starting at $600 (or $500 for the SteamOS model), it’s rather affordable too. Perhaps the biggest downside is that while the Windows model will be out later this month, we’re going to have to wait until May for the one powered by SteamOS. But with the latter sort of finally making good on the nearly decade-old promise of Valve’s Steam Machines, holding out for a few extra months doesn’t seem so long. — Sam Rutherford, Senior reporter, reviews
LG OLED evo M5
LG’s Best of CES crown is safe for another year. The company is consistently at the top of the best TVs we see each year in Las Vegas, and it frequently comes out the winner. For this year’s OLED evo M5, the company managed to further improve its most premium displays, adding the latest α (Alpha) 11 AI processor Gen2 to improve the look of lower-resolution content and power advanced features.
For gamers, there’s a 165Hz refresh rate, alongside both NVIDIA G-SYNC and AMD FreeSync Premium certifications. This should smooth things out and keep lag to a minimum. The company’s new Brightness Booster Ultimate can achieve levels that are three times brighter than “conventional OLED” models, according to the company. Plus, the feature contributes to a UL Solutions' "Perfect Black" and "Perfect Color" verification on the M5. It’s truly stunning picture quality.
Lastly, LG’s Zero Connect Box that’s been available on the M-series for a while now is finally available on screens below 77 inches. This device allows you to connect all of your consoles and streaming gear without running multiple HDMI cables to the TV. LG now says it doesn’t need line-of-sight clearance either, and that it can be hidden in a wooden cabinet near the M5. — Billy Steele, Senior reporter, reviews
Moonbird Moonbuddy
Gadgets made for relaxation shouldn’t be complicated. Moonbuddy has one purpose — to make guided breathwork accessible and appealing to children — and it nails the execution with no unnecessary frills. The company behind it first made a similar stress relief device for adults, and Moonbuddy simplifies that experience and puts it into a cuter package. Moonbuddy is an egg-shaped device with a soft area that expands and contracts in set rhythms, so kids can follow along and sync up their own breathing. It fits into an animal themed sleeve, so it looks like a toy. There are four different breathing modes, each lasting a few minutes and designed to promote a state of calmness.
The whole thing is tactile and screen-free, which is especially good considering many parents may want to incorporate it into the nighttime routine. And as much as I love the little animal outfits as a person who gravitates toward cute things, I also like that if your kid gets to that stage where they reject everything babyish, they can take the sleeve off and keep using it in its more nondescript form. — Cheyenne MacDonald, Weekend editor
OhSnap MCON
The MCON by OhSnap basically transforms any smartphone into a modern Xperia Play, complete with modern conveniences like Hall effect analog sticks, silent buttons, flip-out grips, and a full bumper and trigger layout. It’s a mobile gamepad that can slide into your pocket without the sticks or handles getting caught on anything, and it works with pretty much every smartphone on the market today. The MCON uses MagSafe to snap onto the back of any recent iPhone and it comes with an adapter for Android devices to join in on the fun. It even works with the Galaxy Z Fold, and its creator, Josh King, is working on a solution for the Z Flip, too.
The mockup that King brought to CES 2025 felt lightweight yet solid and comfortable to hold, and the phone-snapping action was supremely satisfying. After gaining a bit of viral fame with his idea, King partnered with established MagSafe accessory manufacturer OhSnap to push the MCON into full production, and it’s due to hit the market in August for $150. — Jessica Conditt, Senior reporter
Roborock Saros Z70
Robot vacuums got a bunch of new — and sometimes strange — powers at CES 2025. But none made a bigger impression than Roborock’s Saros Z70, which comes with a mechanical arm that can pick up socks, lift cords and grab other objects.
The OmniGrip arm can pick up objects up to 300 grams (a little more than half a pound) in order to clean under them or deposit them in the location of your choice. Functionality of the arm is controlled via Roborock’s app and is extremely customizable so you can program it to pick up loose trash and cat toys, but lift up cords to clean underneath.
When we saw it in action at CES, it deftly picked up socks and placed them in a basket. But Roborock promises it can do much more. The vacuum will automatically recognize 108 different objects — yes, like seemingly every other gadget we saw at CES, it uses AI — but you can also teach it to detect up to 50 additional items so it will know how to handle obstacles it’s most likely to encounter in your home.
Surprisingly, the Saros Z70 wasn’t the only robot vacuum with an arm we saw at CES, but it will be the first that you can actually buy. — Karissa Bell, Senior reporter
Technics EAH-AZ100 earbuds
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