Our unofficial, silly, and meaningless awards at CES 2025 are just for fun

CES (formerly Consumer Electronics Show) is the The largest technical conference of the year. It helps pave the way for All great tools We’ll see over the next 12 months. However, among all the quadcopters, robots and gadgets with fancy flexible displays, there are plenty of little things that make CES a one-of-a-kind event. To highlight some of the silly, dumb, and occasionally useful stuff we encountered at the show this year, we humbly present the unofficial Dumb Fun Awards of CES 2025.

Best excavator – Komatsu PC01E-2

Komatsu PC01E-2 looks like a children’s playground toy, but it actually works and is very cute. You almost want to walk over and tap that little bucket until it turns pink. But it’s not all fun and games because this little excavator is designed to help excavate things – even in tight spaces. In fact, it’s small enough to fit into most lifts, so if you encounter a situation where you need to do some digging, for example, on a roof, Komatsu has got you covered.

Most likely to be steamware – FX Super One

We generally try to be optimistic about new technology. But since Faraday Future announced it The first concept car back in 2016The company produced less than 20 cars in total. For the tremendous feat of producing fewer than twenty vehicles, the founder and CEO of Faraday Future He went and gave themselves a raise. Now at CES 2025, the company is trying to make a comeback with its new line of FX EVs, but it hasn’t bothered to paint them. Automakers’ use of special camouflage is usually meant to help hide a car’s design before announcing it, not to make it look like an unfinished product at its press event. However, calling it 50 percent done is probably too generous. So, while there’s always a chance the company shakes things up, don’t be surprised if you never see an FX Super One on the road.

If you need someone who will sacrifice his sartorial elegance for the sake of a story, he’s your man. However, even with the PV-equipped flexible head decoration, there is still no doubt that he is the most elegant Dan.

Everyone is always worried about when our robot overlords will come and defeat us. Except that humans are the ones we should worry about most. This is because during a demonstration of the Unitree robot, the Homo sapiens operator fumbled with the console, resulting in the robot taking on our Carissa Bell. Human or robot, that’s not good.

most amazing – Meromi

Originally this list was intended to highlight interesting things we saw at CES that didn’t get as much praise (or hate) elsewhere, but then Meromi went and He won an award. But I don’t care. This robot is designed to do one thing, hold your arm and gently stare at things as you walk around. It’s basically an inflatable ball with eyes and an undeniable clinginess. I will protect and cherish her with my life.

Look, taking care of your skin is important. It is the largest organ in your body after all! But if traditional moisturizers, creams, and exfoliants aren’t enough for you, I’m not convinced that Shark’s Red Light Mask is the answer. If I’m home and my husband comes out of the shower looking like Dr. Doom, I won’t go to bed. I’m going to walk out the door and call Reed Richards for help.

Coldest booth: AARP

AARP describes itself as “the nation’s largest nonpartisan, nonprofit organization dedicated to empowering Americans ages 50 and older to choose how they live as they age.” So instead of encouraging people to hop from booth to booth while checking out all the new gadgets during CES, AARP decided to install an entire pickleball court right on the show floor. Naturally, attendees, young and old, stepped up to the net and hit balls back and forth, everyone seeming to be enjoying a relaxing time in the midst of the biggest tech conference of the year. Good on you.

The company with the highest number of FOMO cases – Jackrabbit

Las Vegas is an insult to Mother Nature. It’s an impassable city in the middle of the desert and filled with all kinds of temptations and enough neon lighting to melt your mind. So, when a company doesn’t want to travel to CES, we know it. But that doesn’t mean you can try to force your way into the spotlight by emailing pitches about being “perfect for CES, but smart enough to skip it.” Either we stop sitting on the sidelines and suffer with the rest of us, or we shut up. So hey Jackrabbit, you’re saying it’s okay to not be at CES. That’s great, we feel the same way.

Do you know what looks safe? An electric motorcycle turns into a quadcopter, but only if you put in the propellers and arming yourself. The base model also only has about 25 minutes of flight time and while the company claims there are a number of built-in safety features, there is also a built-in parachute. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying we can’t have air taxis etc in the future. But this thing does not inspire confidence. However, if you have a little more courage and sense, please try it and let us know how it goes.

Not every computer part has to be about pumping out higher frame rates and MSI proved that this year by creating a CPU cooler with a built-in rotating disc. What is the point you ask? Well, watch this happy little dragon sitting on his throne. Just look at it. But in reality, it can be anything you want there that makes you happy. The only sad part is that this water unit is just an idea and MSI has no actual plans to offer it for sale. What a problem.

We couldn’t decide which was more outrageous, so we ended up tied in the category. For Dell, its new unified branding is pretty good. After all, no one really cares about lines like Latitude, Inspiron, and Optiplex. But deleting the name XPS, the only Dell sub-brand that means anything at all, is a step too far. Meanwhile, in an attempt to appeal to younger buyers who may not have a penchant for classic black laptops, Lenovo has made the ThinkPad without carbon fiber or the trackpoint. This is outright desecration. Granted, if you’re under 50, you might not care, but any geek who grew up using rotary phones is probably pissed.

Horny Booth: Useful

CES is home to all kinds of sex tech, but even among all the different vibrators and toys, the Handy booth somehow managed to be more exciting than anywhere else. That’s because in addition to showcasing a selection of weird gadgets, the company had guests lining up to spin a wheel for a chance at a prize of their own. And if people anxiously waiting for the chance to take home a pleasure device so they can get their rocks off isn’t interesting, I don’t know what is. Just maybe keep it in your pants until you get home.