The start of every year begins with all eyes in the tech world on Las Vegas for the Consumer Electronics Show (CES). CES has become the Super Bowl for tech companies, setting the tone for important trends, products and companies that will define the technology landscape for the coming year. Much of the innovation fueling excitement in this industry is enabled by third-party IP, giving companies like mine a front-row seat to the advances embedded in next-generation consumer electronics.
Beneath the big-name consumer brands that will dominate the headlines at CES is a complex and sprawling ecosystem of technology enablers that participate (mostly unknown to the consumer) in driving innovation forward. These are the companies that add much of the sizzle and wow to CES through their foundational technology that underpins electronic products, bringing new levels of enjoyment, safety, security and efficiency to end users.
One of the most enjoyable aspects of working for a company such as this is the ringside seat we have for what’s coming in technology products, sometimes two or three years ahead of when they will debut at CES. Here is my “from the inside out” view of key trends reflected at the 2025 CES event and what this means for the future of the industry.
AI Everywhere
AI dominates the conversation in tech these days, and this year, we see AI moving further outward to the edge, closer to the end user. Rollouts of AI PCs and smartphones touting embedded AI capabilities are one example and just the first step of this trend.
AI, in lighter-weight formats and more optimized for more specific use cases, will find its way into our homes, offices, cars and wearables and with more personalized services. As our smart devices are getting smarter, they enable more contextually aware features and intuitive interfaces.
We call this the “smart edge,” and it requires fundamentally different silicon and software technology to make AI practical compared to how it works in the cloud model. Better power efficiency, smaller sizes and consumer-level pricing are all key factors in adapting AI to proliferate its value across more types of products and use cases.
Wireless Connectivity Expanding And Uniting
The smart edge requires some type of connectivity to realize its full potential, either through 5G networks or via Wi-Fi, Bluetooth or other shorter-range protocols. We will soon see products that feature much more robust and reliable ways to connect to the internet and each other. Existing standards are getting better with each incremental version (e.g., Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth LE, 801.15.4), and we expect to see an even greater degree of interoperability across different standards.
Efforts like Thread and Matter, which aim to break down the barrier between proprietary implementations, will allow security systems from Brand A to talk to climate control systems from Brand B and the refrigerator from Brand C. Underlying silicon technology that can combine multiple standards on a single “combo” chip will play a key role in enabling this trend and meet important cost, size and power requirements.
The Transformation Of The Mobility Experience
Two macro trends for vehicle technology get most of the attention these days—electrification and autonomy. While each has had some false starts, we expect to see continued advancements in both areas, thanks largely to embedded computing technology. These include battery management systems and low-power devices that extend EV range; connectivity solutions to keep drivers and passengers more aware and safer (V2X platforms); and safety features that provide more accurate and intuitive ways to see potential problems before they occur.
Beyond Connectivity: Wireless Sensing Enhances Safety And Convenience
While wireless technologies are mostly known for connecting, new approaches to using other wireless spectrums to sense motion are becoming more widely available. One development to watch is ultra-wideband (UWB), a wireless communication technology that uses very short-duration radio pulses across a broad frequency spectrum.
Unlike narrowband or Wi-Fi technologies that use specific frequency bands, UWB transmits data across a wide range of frequencies, enabling precise location tracking, high data rates and minimal interference with other signals. It’s gaining popularity for uses in areas like asset tracking, directional communication (e.g., pointing your phone at a speaker to connect them) and secure access control (e.g., keyless entry).
One lifesaving use is for child presence detection, which is now a mandatory automotive requirement in Europe and is growing in the United States. UWB can be used to sense and detect breath rates. The centimeter-level accuracy of UWB can precisely locate the source to not only sense a child in the back seat when leaving the car but also to sense a child in the front seat, indicating that the passenger airbag should be disabled.
Conclusion
These are just a few examples of game-changing technologies being incorporated into products for everyday life—the kind of products that CES has become famous for.
Just like the technologies showcased at CES, we see the convergence of multiple innovations—advanced connectivity, smarter sensing and powerful AI—coming together to create intuitive and transformative solutions at the smart edge, redefining how we interact with technology.
Published on Forbes: Council Post: An Insider’s Look At CES’s Emerging Tech Trends For 2025
Iri Trashanski
