It feels odd to say CES is the biggest tech show of 2025 given that it starts so early in the year, but it's mostly true: As far as technology events go, CES is the largest, and the most interesting one you can attend (outside of Apple's iPhone launches).
CES, or Consumer Electronics Show, is an annual technology convention in Las Vegas, Nevada. It typically starts very early in the year, and goes on for four days, taking over much of the gargantuan spaces in famous Vegas venues such as the Venetian, Wynn, and yes, the newly-opened Sphere arena.
The event itself is a mix of high-profile keynotes (this year, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, as well as Waymo co-CEO Tekedra N. Mawakana, are speaking, among others), press events and product launches, and a massive exhibition space where visitors can take a look at the latest gadgets, prototypes, and technology showcases.
The event itself officially starts at January 7 and ends on January 10. For us tech journalists, and you, our dear readers, it actually starts two days before, as many of the big press announcements happen on so-called media days, January 5, and January 6.
The full CES schedule is available on the CES website.
Where do we start? They're pretty much all here, with the notable exception of Apple, which prefers to do its own events.
That means Samsung, LG, Nvidia, AMD, Qualcomm, Sony, Hisense, Lenovo, TCL, Meta. There will be lots of talk about artificial intelligence. New chips and graphics cards will be shown. Obscenely large OLED TV will be unleashed upon the world. An absolute onslaught of smart wearables, including smart glasses and VR headset, can be expected.
And even though CES is not purely an automotive event, we also expect to see numerous new cars and car technologies at this year's event. In particular, BMW, Honda, Volvo, Zeeker, Sony (yes, Sony has teamed up with Honda and they're gonna show something cool at the event) will have a presence, among others.
A full list of exhibitors is available on the website. Yes, we know it's a long list.
Unlike some other tech events like the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona and IFA in Berlin, CES is not open to the general public. Attendees must be 18 years of age or older, and affiliated with the consumer technology industry.
If you're keen on going, you need to register as one of three types of attendee: Industry attendee, media, and exhibitor personnel. Most people who aren't going for work will fall into the first category, and there are several ways to prove that you're associated with a company that's in the consumer tech industry. This includes business cards, verification of employment by letter link to media articles etc. The full list of requirements is publicly available.
Once you've successfully registered, you can purchase a ticket. Prices were $149 up until Dec. 4, but from Dec. 5 to Jan. 10 they cost $350 per ticket. That's for the regular Exhibits Plus Pass which grants you access to the exhibit floor, keynotes, and some conference programming. If you want a Deluxe Conference Pass, which includes all conference and partner programming, you'll have to dish out $1,400 (until and through Dec. 4), or $1,700 (from Dec. 5 to Jan. 10)
