Best of CES 2025: Everything that stole the show, according to our experts

We’ve stomped the showroom floors. We’ve scrutinized the booths. We’ve trekked up and down the Las Vegas Strip for hands-on demos. Hundreds of thousands of collective steps and many cups of coffee later, we’re ready to pick the standouts from the biggest show in tech.

As it does every year, CES 2025 has brought big innovations, outrageous concepts and impressive solutions to everyday problems. This time, the CNET Group — made up of sibling sites CNET, ZDNET, PCMag, Mashable and Lifehacker — teamed up with the CTA as the official media partner of the Best of CES Awards. After consulting our staff experts and editors, we've named the top products and services at CES and awarded them with the official distinction of Best of CES. 

To be eligible, a product or service must be an exhibitor at CES 2025 and meet at least one of the following criteria:

• Includes a compelling new concept or idea

• Solves a major consumer problem

• Is new or is an update to an existing product that sets a new bar in performance or quality

Nominees were submitted by CNET Group's editorial staff, with finalists voted on by a panel of editors in attendance at CES 2025.

Without any further ado, here are our Best of CES 2025 winners:

Best AI: Nvidia Cosmos AI model

Cosmos feels like the AI platform that will be fueling CES for years to come — "the ChatGPT moment for robotics," as Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang put it. Trained on 20 million hours of video, Cosmos turns digital models of roads, factories, homes, and other IRL spaces into simulations using generative AI, automating the training data needed to help robots better understand the physical world. With less of a reliance on real-world testing, this will streamline the process of developing the robots and autonomous cars of the future. Cosmos will probably run the best on Nvidia's own chips, but props to the company for planning to democratize the code and make it available in open source on Github.

Runner-up in the category is Gemini for Google TV.

Best transportation/mobility: Honda 0 Series

Honda's flashy and futuristic new electric vehicles, the Honda 0 Saloon and Honda 0 SUV, will be available in North America by 2026. They're set for production on the company's new battery platform in Ohio — hypothetically qualifying for the $7,500 federal tax credit, if it hangs around — and their thin battery will supposedly be able to juice up in 10 to 15 minutes. They'll run on a new AI chip and Honda's fresh ASIMO OS after launch, which means they'll be Level 3 self-driving vehicles that can temporarily take full control over driving. The prototypes we saw on the ground in Las Vegas were just prototypes, but Honda said its ultimate designs will be very similar. Keep an eye out for pricing specifics.

Runner-up in the category is the BMW Panoramic iDrive with Operating System X.

Best laptop: Asus Zenbook A14

The 14-inch Asus Zenbook A14​ is effectively an Asus Zenbook Air, combining a feathery form factor with a long battery life. At just 2.18 pounds, it's the thinnest and lightest Copilot+ PC ever made. Its chassis is made from a magnesium aluminum alloy the company calls "Ceraluminum," which is highly durable, scratch resistant, and completely recyclable.

It's available in two Qualcomm Snapdragon X series configurations in two modern neutral finishes, which both sport nice-to-haves like an OLED display and tap-and-slide touchpad controls. As for that battery life: The Zenbook A14 is rated at up to 32 hours of video playback per charge, which beats the longest-lasting laptop we've ever tested by about nine hours. A Snapdragon X Elite model will be available on Jan. 13 for $1,099.99, and an $899.99 Snapdragon X variant is coming this March.

Runner-up in the category is the Lenovo ThinkBook Plus Gen 6 Rollable.

Best TV/home theater: LG G5 OLED TV

LG's latest G-series OLED TV is easily the best-looking TV we saw at CES this year. Its picture quality is incredible: LG says it's 40 percent brighter and offers better contrast in bright lighting compared to its predecessor, the G4, which was a stunning TV in its own right. LG improved its AI remote, too, but retained its sleek gallery design for an almost all-picture look.

The company also launched a new M5 wireless TV, which has the same image quality as the G5, but it will be a lot more expensive because of that cord-free connection technology — which most buyers don’t need. Pricing and a release date are still TBA.

Runner-up in the category is the Hisense 116UX.

Best smart home/home tech: Roborock Saros Z70

Finally, a robot that can pick up after us. This vacuum-mop hybrid can sense, snatch, and put away your stray socks using its mechanical arm, marking an industry shift from object avoidance technology to object removal technology. Unlike so many grabby robots we've seen at CES over the years, this one is real, successful and actually coming to market, with a release slated for April 2025. At 22,000 Pa of suction, the Saros Z70 will be more powerful than almost any other modern robovac. It'll also be more expensive: Roborock teased a price point around the $2,000 mark, making it undoubtedly a high-end luxury appliance. But we expect it to pave the way for a new (eventually cheaper) generation of robot vacuums that offer do-everything-for-me cleaning.

Runner-up in the category is the BioLite Complete.

Best sustainability: Flint Paper Battery

A battery made out of... paper? Singaporean startup Flint says it has created a more sustainable, affordable, and scalable alternative to traditional lithium-ion batteries. The magic ingredient is cellulose, which acts as a natural medium for ion transfer between the node and cathode. They're fully flexible and can be shrunk down to the size of a coin battery or embedded in a smartwatch strap. Plus, they decompose in a mere six weeks once they're done being used. Flint recently secured $2 million in seed funding to run a pilot project this year, putting us one step closer to a dream of sparing the Earth from the mining and drilling for finite lithium.

Best gaming: Lenovo Legion Go S

The Lenovo Legion Go S stands out because of its its operating system, and because of that operating system's implications for the entire gaming handheld category. While it’ll be available with Windows 11, Lenovo will also offer a model with Valve’s SteamOS, making it the only non-Valve-built portable to officially run SteamOS. That’s big news for anyone looking for a Steam Deck alternative. The Legion Go S lacks the detachable controllers in last year's standard Legion Go, and it has a smaller, lower-resolution screen. But its two top-side USB 4 ports and Hall Effect joysticks (which should never drift) are welcome — as is its expected lower price point. The Go S will start shipping in May 2025, starting at $599.99.

Best wellness/fitness tech: Ozlo Sleepbuds

Designed by ex-Bose engineers, Ozlo Sleepbuds aren’t just comfortable earbuds for sleeping — they can actually help you get a better night’s sleep. They fit flush with your ear, which means you can sleep on your side without feeling them pressing into you. This also prevents them from falling out of your ear. Sleep-enhancing perks include biometric sensors in the earbuds that can track your sleep, sensors in the case that can identify potential sleep interruptions in your room, and an in-ear alarm that won't wake up a sleeping partner. They have a 10-hour battery life, too — no more waking up to a dead battery notification. You can even play sound directly from the Sleepbuds without connecting to another Bluetooth device, which means you won't even have to look at your phone before going to bed. So convenient. They're available now for $299.

Runner-up in the category is the YoctoMat.

Best mobile: HMD OffGrid

The vast majority of phones are essentially useless without a cell signal. That’s where HMD’s new OffGrid accessory comes in. The $199.99 dongle lets any Android phone or iPhone send text messages and contact emergency services sans signal by connecting to Viasat and Skylo’s network of satellites. A few recent phones like the iPhone 16 and Google Pixel 9 come equipped with satellite connectivity, but most consumers only upgrade their phones when their current device breaks or needs replacing, so this accessory gives older phones the ability to constantly stay connected — which could be life-saving in some cases. To use OffGrid, you’ll have to subscribe to HMD’s monthly service, which starts at $79.99 per year.

Runner-up in the category is the TCL 60 XE Nxtpaper.

Best privacy and security: Ultraloq Bolt Mission UWB Plus NFC

This is the most impressive and secure smart lock we've ever seen. It’s also the first smart lock to come to market with ultra-wideband technology, giving it the capability to sense your location (within inches) and the spatial awareness to know if you're inside or outside your door. It’s truly hands-free unlocking, similar to key fobs on cars. As backups, it also offers NFC for tap-to-unlock entry, a keypad, and a traditional key mechanism. It includes 128-bit AES data encryption, IP65 weather resistance, and BHMA Level 1-certified durability. It supports WiFi, Matter, Siri, Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant, and Samsung SmartThings. Perhaps best of all, though, it has a battery life of up to one year.

Runner-up in the category is the Lockly Prestige Duet Series.

Best weirdest/most unexpected: Kirin Electric Salt Spoon

There was no dearth of surprising technological applications at CES 2025, but the booth that got everyone’s attention was hands-down the Kirin Electric Salt Spoon. This rather large spoon sends an electric current to your tongue to make your food taste saltier. The idea is noble: Get food to taste better without adding unnecessary sodium to your diet. The solution is downright unexpected. We only detected a slight difference in our taste test, but from what we heard from others who tried the demo, results varied. This one is already available for sale... in Japan. It costs 19,800 yen (with tax), or about $125.

Best overall: Nvidia Cosmos

Only another Nvidia product could overshadow the new Nvidia RTX 50-series graphics cards at CES 2025.

The Cosmos platform harnesses AI to remove one of the biggest pain points in the process of developing new robotics, which is the need for tons of real-world data and testing. By doing so, it will change the way technology is able to solve problems and help future generations. (Stay tuned to see how it plays out for Toyota: The world's biggest car manufacturer will be using it to build its next-gen self-driving vehicles.) Simply put, Cosmos is monumental.