Every year at CES, there are products everyone wants to talk about. Sometimes, this is because the tech is a leading example of innovation and design, deserving of our Best of CES Awards. Other times, it’s simply because they are so odd and quirky that you’re left with a lasting impression. Read on to see which gadgets made us raise an eyebrow and smile, and catch up on all our CES 2025 coverage here.
This Dungeons & Dragons Stern Pinball Machine Has Star Trek’s Worf as Your Dungeon Master
Pinball and Dungeons & Dragons are such a perfect combination. Since Bally’s 1987 Dungeons & Dragons pinball machine debuted, a wealth of electronic components have been added to pinball machines. Stern has taken the opportunity to pack an entire D&D adventure into this pinball machine. You select a character from among several pre-built classes and species, then try to level up your character by meeting and beating challenges. We love the concept, but to make things even more ludicrous, Stern brought in Michael Dorn—known most for his role as Worf in Star Trek: The Next Generation—to act as the dungeon master. The base model is $7,000, but if you want all the features of the limited edition, it’ll cost $13,000.
Meet the Charming Little Robot That’ll Cool Your Drinks
The Nékojita FuFu does only two things: It cools your drinks and looks adorable. It uses a “Fu-ing” algorithm system that randomizes various blowing modes. The company claims it can reduce the temperature of a hot drink from 190°F to 160°F and 151°F in just under five minutes. In addition to cups, the FuFu can be mounted on flat plates to cool soup.
TCL AIme Is a Rolling Baby Carriage for Multiple AI Models
Imagine if your at-home personal robot was a cute alien baby in a wheeled carriage that you could also take in the form of an AI hockey puck. TCL’s concept robot was a confusing device as a pitch, and it was just as strange seeing it in action. AIme has three modules, each containing different levels of AI applications, including speech and image recognition. The final module is one you can rip off AIme and take with you on the road, letting you chat with an AI to get updates on your calendar, the weather, or anything you could use your phone to do. If it weren’t so adorable, I would likely tip it over all the time, whether accidentally or on purpose, which is up to a jury of my peers.
Anker’s Solix Solar Cape Is More Fashion Statement Than Usable Tech Product
We’ve already experienced solar power-collecting hats, so it doesn’t take much imagination to see how Anker’s Solix solar panel-covered umbrella could be useful for a day at the beach or in your backyard. Then we come to Anker’s solar cape and its cyberpunk single neon strip running down the hood, and we’re at a loss. The device could be a means to power your phone and look stylish while you’re strutting down a runway or doing Comic Con cosplay, but we doubt you’ll get much sunlight if you try to take this cape clubbing, where the neon light may fit in. Then again, we’ve been advocates for bringing back shoulder capes ever since Assassin’s Creed II was released in 2009.
This Spoon Shocks Your Tongue to Make You Taste Salt
We’ve seen some innovative utensils, but never anything like this. Kirin, known for its ramen and soups, has jumped into the food tech arena with the world’s first electric salt spoon. A plastic spoon with a metal strip in the bowl and along the back of the stem utilizes a gentle electric current. The current stimulates the naturally occurring sodium in your saliva to make whatever you’re eating taste saltier. This could be a potential game changer for people on low-sodium diets. Because, let’s face it, bland food isn’t fun. But with innovations like the electric salt spoon, people can make healthier food choices, crossing the line from food tech to health tech.
Turn Iconic Anime Characters Into Your Private Dancers
Alienware Area-51 Desktop Is Comically Large
Graphics cards are getting bigger every year. Nvidia’s upcoming RTX 50-series cards are larger and demand more power than ever. It makes sense why cases need to increase in size too, but the new Area-51 full-sized tower from Alienware is truly monstrous. That doesn’t mean it doesn’t have a lot going for it. The case includes a sliding rail that should support whatever sized card you want. The case’s “positive pressure” design is novel, and we hope Alienware managed to make the case truly as air-tight as it claims to have fewer fans blowing all the time.
Lenovo ThinkBook Plus Gen 6 Rollable Costs as Much as Two Laptops for a Few Extra Inches of Screen
Lenovo came to CES with several odd concept devices, including a smart monitor with a personalized speaker that can track you around the room and another curved screen that can follow you with the help of a webcam. Those two items may never make it to market, but the one oddball Lenovo product you can buy is the $3,500 Lenovo ThinkBook Plus Gen 6 Rollable. It’s normally a 14-inch laptop, but with the press of a single key, it rolls out to a 16.5-inch laptop that’s taller than it is wide. There are certainly some laptop users who could use a tall screen, such as programmers, but they have to get past that price point for what’s still just a laptop, which you can find for under $1,500 at the same specs with relative ease.
This Little Dongle Brings a Lot of Pleasure
Motorbunny’s Fluffer PlayMate Haptic Relay Plug-in can add a sexy dimension to any game. It is a USB-C dongle plug about the size of a box of dental floss. The Fluffer works with PlayStation 5, Xbox X/S, and even Nintendo Switch. Once connected, the device reads all the haptic and accelerometer information and relays it to any Bluetooth-connected Motorbunny device. That includes the company’s sex machines, which are known for their power.
This Keyboard Transforms With Just a Flick of the Wrist
When you think you’ve seen every keyboard design under the sun, you find something at CES that blows your mind. For us, the AutoKeybo split automatic mechanical keyboard swaps between keyboard and touchpad sections with a slight wrist flick. However, good typing posture is tantamount here, as the AI Machine Vision won’t retract or extend keyboards otherwise. And while it’s clear the AutoKeybo is targeting productivity hounds, it’s also designed for people with upper limb disabilities. But no matter what, the Windows/Mac-compatible device is an innovative take on the keyboard.
Full Body VR Never Looked So Sassy
Shiftall showed off its HaritoraX 1.1B wireless body tracking hardware that lets you control digital avatars with your entire body. So, if you ever wanted to fully embody your waifu in VR chat, this is for you.
The Handy Does Exactly What You Think
Finally, There’s a Robot Vacuum That Will Pick Up Your Dirty Socks
The Roborock Saros Z70 may look like a typical robot vacuum—until it makes its way to something it can’t suck up. Saros Z70 has an “OmniGrip” mechanical arm that extends from its chassis. It can pick up small objects up to 300g and drop them off in a preset area, like a clothes hamper or waste basket. While the Z70 did take its sweet time to pick up socks at our demo, just think of the number of fights with your messy roommate this could have prevented in college.
Reporting by Kyle Barr, Florence Ion, Jorge Jimenez, Rose Pastore, and Sherri L. Smith
