By Ben Abrams x The Big Magazine
The leading tech companies are convening at CES 2025 in Las Vegas this week to unveil their latest products and captivate the world with solutions to some of our most significant challenges -- and we had the opportunity to select the winners.
CES 2025 has brought big innovations, outrageous concepts and impressive solutions to issues including sustainability, privacy, security and wellness. The latest innovations in smart home devices are always a huge draw, The Big Magazine has compiled a list of the best new smart home products.
1. Lockly Styla & Vision Prestige
Lockly is one of the most renowned names in the smart lock market. The brand is mostly known for its innovation in smart home products. Lockly announced the Lockly Styla and Vision Prestige at CES 2025. Lockly’s Vision Prestige is a facial recognition smart deadbolt lock that combines video doorbell capabilities. You can unlock the new Vision Prestige smart deadbolt lock using your face, fingerprint, or by entering a code on the touchscreen keypad. The company says that the Vision Prestige smart lock will be released in the fourth quarter of 2025, with a price tag of $499.99.
2. SwitchBot K20+ Pro
CES offers a wide selection of robot vacuums, but the SwitchBot K20+ Pro stands out from a smart home perspective. Why is that? This compact robovac can connect with numerous accessories, such as a fan, an air purifier, a security camera, and an iPad holder. This versatility allows it to serve as a multifunctional smart home device. Pricing for the vacuum or the various modules has not been announced, but the company hopes to release some or all of the kit in May or June 2025.
It was inevitable that artificial intelligence would feature on this list, and Samsung's introduction of Vision AI at CES 2025 had the company declaring it would develop "adaptive, intelligent companions to simplify and enrich daily living."
Although its main application appears to be integration into the company's TV sets, it is also being utilized in more traditional smart home technology. Samsung is incorporating Vision AI into the Samsung Bespoke Smart Fridge from last year. This innovation enables the refrigerator to scan its contents and assess what items are running low. Conveniently, Samsung has also announced a new partnership with Instacart, which allows the fridge to suggest ordering more groceries if supplies are low. All this information is shown on the 9-inch screen located on the front of the fridge.
Vision AI enables the fridge to identify "up to 37" different types of food, such as fresh fruits and vegetables. Therefore, you'll soon have no reason to skip your daily recommended intake of veggies.
4. Bird Buddy Petal camera
Curious about the types of insects settling in your yard? You should take a look at the new Petal camera from Wonder — the company famous for the My Bird Buddy smart bird feeder.
The Petal features a 4K, 12MP camera mounted on a flexible "stem" that utilizes an AI, referred to by the company as Nature Intelligence, to identify insects that land nearby. When the camera detects something noteworthy, you'll receive a notification on your phone. Additionally, you can engage with a chatbot to gain more information, such as determining if there are carpenter bees in your yard.
An interesting feature is the ability to equip the camera with a solar "leaf" to maintain its battery charge, while interchangeable lenses offer various perspectives of these small botanical guests.
Wonder states that the Petal will be released in the spring, although the pricing has not been disclosed yet.
5. AI Motion Pillow
One of the primary purposes of your home is for sleeping. At CES 2025, a wide array of sleep-related technology was showcased, but the AI Motion Pillow stands out for those dealing with snoring in the bedroom. This device utilizes high-quality memory foam and artificial intelligence to adjust your head position to prevent or reduce snoring.
Many anti-snoring solutions are available, but this one stands out due to its non-invasive design. The technology is housed in a small white box known as the AI Motion System, which tracks sleep duration and snoring to develop a pattern. It then learns when snoring begins and inflates airbags within the pillow to subtly adjust head position, preventing snoring.
6. Ecobee Smart Thermostat Essential
When you explore the top smart thermostats available for purchase, the Ecobee Smart Thermostat Premium stands out at the top of our list. Nonetheless, its $250 price point has been a drawback — a concern that was recently tackled at CES 2025 with the launch of the Ecobee Smart Thermostat Essential.
Priced at $129, it costs almost half as much as the Premium model, with only minor compromises, such as being constructed from plastic instead of nickel. Nonetheless, it maintains one of the company's top features: compatibility with Ecobee's remote sensors, allowing you to track temperature and occupancy across multiple rooms to more effectively control your home's heating and cooling.
This challenges Nest and is set to be available for purchase in March at all major retailers. It will also include a 3-year warranty and holds Energy Star certification.
Video of #ecobee President and CEO Greg Fyke at CES 2025
7. Ring Smart Smoke Alarm
Ring is well-known for smart home technology, initially gaining recognition for its video doorbells. Now, however, it is expanding into the realm of smoke alarms. Revealed at CES through a collaboration with Kidde, the company's inaugural smoke alarm will alert users if a fire occurs in their home.
If smoke is detected, the device will emit a siren and notify the Ring app. For enhanced safety, customers can enroll in a 24/7 Smoke & CO Monitoring service, where an agent will reach out to your emergency contacts listed in the Ring app, along with local police and fire departments.
The Ring Smart Smoke Alarm is set to be released in April, exclusively at The Home Depot, with a retail price of $54.97. If you're interested in the monitoring service, it will be accessible starting April 2 for an extra $5 monthly.
LG G5 OLED TV
The LG G5 was revealed at CES with a sleek gallery design for a nearly "all picture" view. OLED technology powers the highest-quality screens on the market, making it a front-runner for best TV picture quality in 2025.
LG says it's 40% brighter and has better contrast in bright lighting compared to its predecessor the G4, which was one of the best TVs of 2024.
The company's also launched the M5 wireless TV with the same image quality but will be a more expensive model because of it's wireless connection technology.
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