It’s the beginning of a new year and as always in January, there’s excitement going around about what things we can expect to see and experience throughout the year. And for that, we have CES 2025 to enlighten all of us.
For the unfamiliar, CES (or the Consumer Electronics Show) is the tech event that starts the year off with a bang – offering a first look at the newest technologies in TVs, smart home gadgets, laptops, home appliances, cars, and more. And CES 2025 is no different this year, with the latest in technology on show.
But while most eyes will, of course, be on the next generation of tech we will see later in the year, we wanted to highlight ones that aren’t typically what consumers would get. Here’s our list of the most interesting and quirkiest tech from CES 2025
Anker Solix Solar Beach Umbrella
Ever gone to the beach and realised that your phone battery is dead? No need to break out the power bank, just charge it with your beach umbrella – specifically the Anker Solix Solar Beach Umbrella.
Anker, the battery specialists, has brought their expertise outdoors with the new Solix Solar Beach Umbrella, which uses solar power to deliver up to 100W of energy to devices via its XT-60 and USB-C connections. It is specially fitted with perovskite solar cells, which are claimed to provide 30% better performance than crystalline silicon solar cells (found in most solar panels today). Even though it provides power, the umbrella does come with an IP67 rating, so it’d be safe against rain and sand.
And better yet, it is slated to arrive this year. No price has been shared, but it is planned to be available either in the spring or summer of 2025.
Swippitt Hub
Fast charging is getting more frequent, with smartphones advertising charging times of less than 30 minutes. However, what if you need your phone to have some charge almost immediately? That’s where the Swippitt Hub comes in to aid in this predicament.
The Swippitt Hub comes with a toaster-like design, and it behaves like one too. Simply insert your phone into the hole and a new battery is swapped to give your device some life. To clarify, it isn’t swapping your phone’s internal battery, rather, it is interchanging an external battery attached to your phone.
This external battery is fitted into specially designed phone cases and acts much like battery cases you can find widely available. The unique part is that instead of recharging the external battery, users simply swap it out with the Hub. Each external battery has a 3,500mAh capacity, which translates roughly to half or 90% of your phone’s battery (depending on its size).
At the moment, these phone cases are only being offered for the iPhone 14, 15, and 16 series, but the company plans to expand into the Samsung Galaxy S series. But it does come with a hefty price, with the Hub tagged at US$450 while the phone battery case is US$120. If you are interested in getting it, you can expect it to start shipping in June 2025.
Sony and Honda’s Afeela electric car

Sony and Honda’s collaborative electric car—the Afeela 1—isn’t a new presence at CES. Indeed, it has been interesting to see it morph from a concept car by Sony in 2020 to its current iteration as the Afeela in 2023.
The Afeela 1 was in attendance again for CES 2025, with the latest version of the prototype showcased described as being “near-final” by Sony Honda Mobility CEO Yasuhide Mizuno. Among its features are screens across the width of the dashboard, semi-autonomous driving assistance, and possibly even augmented reality integration.
And now, it is a step closer to appearing on the roads. Pre-orders are now open for the car, priced at US$89,900 Afeela 1 Origin and the US$102,900 Afeela 1 Signature. There’s still some wait for it to arrive, with the Signature set to come in 2026 while the Origin will only be delivered in 2027.
Samsung Ballie AI robot
Robot assistants are mostly imagined with a humanoid appearance, with Elon Musk’s recent Optimus autonomous robots bringing that dream into reality. However, companies are also experimenting with robots with more unconventional designs—CES being the one place to showcase them.
Samsung has also dabbled into the robotic assistant space with its Ballie robot. Debuting all the way back in 2020, it reemerged at last year’s CES and it is back for CES 2025. This year, it expanded upon its concept video with a live demonstration for reporters, showcasing its smart capabilities.
Built with a projector, the tiny robot responded by projecting information on the floor when asked about The Sphere attraction. And when it needs room to display more information, it is able to detect nearby walls to beam its image onto. Ballie also has visual recognition capabilities, with the demonstrator holding up two bottles of wine and asking which would pair better for dinner. The robot was able to recognise the type of wine for both and answered the query.
While the robot is an interesting piece of tech, what’s more intriguing is the fact that it is planned to roll out in the first half of 2025. No other details have been announced as of yet though, including what price it will come at, but you might see this robot rolling around in homes very soon.
Acer Nitro Blaze 11
The handheld PC space is heating up and CES 2025 has brought a unique contender to the ring. Acer is the latest player and the company has brought its new Nitro Blaze 11 to showcase its a massive 11–inch handheld.
For comparison, the Steam Deck and ASUS ROG Ally X displays measure at 7-inches, while the screen for the Lenovo Legion Go is 8.8-inches – the Acer Nitro Blaze 11 trumps them all. And the screen for it is also pretty capable. It is a 120 Hz WQXGA touch display, with a max 500 nits of brightness offered. Inside, the the Nitro Blaze 11 is equipped with an AMD Ryzen 8040HS processor alongside 16GBs of RAM.
It comes with Hall Effect joysticks and like the Lenovo Legion Go and Nintendo Switch, you can detach the controllers and prop the screen with the built-in kickstand. At the back, there’s also two additional back buttons that gamers can utilise.
The Nitro Blaze 11 has a smaller brother in the Nitro Blaze 8 (8.8-inch display) and both devices are set to be made available in Q2 2025, with the Nitro Blaze 11 priced starting at US$1,099.99
LG PF600U lamp is also a projector and Bluetooth speaker

When talking about multifunctional devices, it might be hard to top what LG has brought to CES 2025. Introducing the LG PF600U – a HD projector, Bluetooth speaker, and standing floor lamp, all in one.
As a floor lamp, it is capable of shining up to nine colours and has five brightness levels to toggle through. When you want to use it as a projector, you can adjust the placement of the image by swiveling its 110-degree tilting head—which additionally comes with a automatic screen adjustment function to make setup easier. The projected image is rated at 300 ANSI lumens of brightness and you’ll be able to hear what’s playing with the equipped duo speaker system inside.
As no launch dates or pricing has been revealed yet by LG, perhaps the company will be taking a little more time to cook up this device for final release. So, don’t expect to see it appear within 2025.
Those are just a few of the out-there pieces of tech that was showcased at CES 2025. There’s many more to see from the event and we expect that next year will be no different.
But what was your favourite device from this list? Or perhaps there was something else that caught your eye? Let us know on our socials on Facebook, Instagram, or TikTok!
Visuals courtesy of Sony and LG Sngapore.