Five CES 2025 products I’d buy as soon as they’d take my money

Although this year KES felt busier than ever, you didn’t have to be physically in Vegas to know how much steam was flooding the show floor. At this point, it’s almost expected that the brightest and most promising products at the show will be those that will either never go on sale or will cease to exist within a few years – as companies, small and large, turn their attention to the next industry buzzword .

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But out of all the presentations and announcements that took place, five products especially caught my attention and made me verbally exclaim, “Take my money!” Here are my top picks for things I saw at CES that I would actually spend my hard-earned money on.

1. Mcon MagSafe phone controller

Height MagSafe (and magnetic) accessories was simply impressive. Even Android phone manufacturers have adopted similar technologies to use an abundance of useful, creative and convenient accessories. While King’s CES offering, the Mcon, doesn’t come with a stand or battery pack, it does give your phone a slide-out control panel that turns it into the ultimate portable gaming device.

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I wouldn’t call myself an avid gamer, but I’ve recently found peace in running emulators on my phones to relive childhood memories and pass the time, especially while flying cross-country at CES. How powerful phones have become – some of them best phones have some form of thermal cooling and up to 16GB of RAM – it almost seems like a waste No play them.

The Mcon controller suits my interests, allowing me to simply attach the phone to the magnetic cradle and flip it open to reveal almost a full set of control keys, including clicky, drift-resistant Hall-effect joysticks. You can connect the accessory to your phone via USB-C or Bluetooth to sync inputs. King currently has Mcon Kickstarter listingwhere pledgers can pre-order the accessory for $99. As for the final price, the company reported. Life hacker that it will range from $99 to $150.

2. Narwal Flow robot vacuum cleaner

If CES wasn’t decorated TVs with a diagonal of more than 100 inches and far-reaching electric vehicles, this could easily become “The Robot Vacuum Cleaner Show.” Of the dozens of robotic vacuum cleaners roaming the demo floors, including Saros Z70 from Roborockwhich has a mechanical arm for grasping objects, what I (and my colleague Maria Diaz) liked the most was Narwal Flow.

While the 2-in-1 robot can perform the same cleaning tasks as other vacuum and mop combinations, it comes with practical technology that Narwhal calls Deep Carpet Boost. When cleaning low-pile or high-pile carpets and rugs, Narwal Flow can lower the brush roll to apply additional pressure while moving in opposite directions to pick up dust, hair strands and dirt that would otherwise be difficult to reach.

Also: I test robot vacuums and this one has the most useful cleaning feature I’ve ever seen.

According to Maria, who saw the robot vacuum in action, “Although it was one of the fluffiest carpets I have ever touched, Narwhal’s robot vacuum penetrated deep into the carpet fibers to remove grains of salt that were ingrained into the fabric.” Narwal Flow is expected to release in June for $1,600 million, which isn’t cheap by any means. But with my current Roomba showing its age and upcoming trade events later this year, I’ll probably make the switch in due course.

3. Electric salt spoon Kirin.

Was it too obvious? The Kirin Electric Salt Spoon activates a mild electrical current that makes the food you eat with it more salty. You can even adjust the intensity of the added saltiness and umami flavor.

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Trick? The handle, which houses all the devices (including the battery) that power the gadget, is on the thicker side. And for everything to work correctly, you must press the sensor on the back of the spoon when your food is directly above the current distribution sensor. For the impatient, this can make or break the dining experience. Ergonomics may also mean that you will have to eat like a child holding a spoon for the first time.

But when the Kirin spoon works, the innovative utensil can greatly benefit those on a low-sodium diet or people watching their calorie intake. I would easily consider purchasing one for myself, a family member, or a friend, as long as they are ready to learn.

4. LG home gardening device.

LG’s new home gardening tool was one of the few announcements at CES that went unnoticed, which made me even more excited when I discovered it on the show floor. You see, I have a bit of a problem with houseplants; Almost every one of my rooms has a potted plant that helps clean the air, reduce stress and anxiety, and improve concentration. These factors are just some of the science-based reasons to have plantsBy the way.

Also: I’ve seen the LG StanbyMe 2 TV and it’s better than its viral successor in almost every way.

LG’s home garden device works like a lampshade with height-adjustable LED lights to grow a variety of plants, including leafy greens, herbs, flowers and fruits. LG says the latest model can hold up to 20 plants and four sets of seeds. Out of sight is a 1.5 gallon water tank that keeps vegetation hydrated.

Based on the live demos I’ve seen, the lamp is no larger than a typical side table, allowing it to fit into most home or office decors. And since it’s smart device, you can connect your device to the LG ThinQ app to set growing schedules, adjust lighting settings, and track plant growth.

5. ShiftCam Planck SSD

ShiftCam has been on my radar for a while now because of its mobile photography accessories. While I came to CES expecting the company to expand its range of different lens adapters for the iPhone series, it instead released a new USB-C SSD that turned out to be an even bigger hit for me.

Planck is a USB adapter that connects directly to your iPhone or Android, providing data transfer speeds of up to 1050 MB/s and support for ProRES video recording at 4K 120 fps. Weighing just 10 grams, it’s minimal, portable, and very convenient for content creators who primarily shoot on their phones. I did this a lot at CES.

ShiftCam will release the Planck on Kickstarter next month, listing 1TB and 2TB capacities for $189 and $299, respectively.