The Eight Coolest Inventions From the 2025 Consumer Electronics Show

The world’s largest tech show was back in Las Vegas this week, with all the newest, shiniest, most artificial-intelligence-equipped gadgets and gear straight from Silicon Valley and beyond. At the 2025 Consumer Electronics Show (CES), endless tables of gaming equipment, TVs with stretchable screens or suction cup backs, and robots for every possible purpose (we like the little cat-shaped one that hangs on your coffee cup to cool your java) filled the Las Vegas Convention Center. Innovations aimed at improving health, safety and the environment were aplenty, too.

As a highlight reel of the week’s festivities, we’ve picked eight of the wildest, most inventive and most potentially helpful gadgets of the bunch, from a tongue-tricking spoon to a wearable memory aid.

A tongue-tricking spoon

Can this spoon help Japanese people eat less salt? | REUTERS

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CES-goers were eagerly electrocuting their tongues at a booth promoting the Kirin Electric Salt Spoon, which uses tiny electrodes on a spoon to make food taste saltier. The invention, developed by the Japanese beer conglomerate Kirin Holdings using research from Meiji University, aims to help solve the “social issue of excessive salt intake,” according to a press release. Diners simply choose one of four intensity settings, and the battery-powered spoon’s electrode sends a weak, non-painful current that concentrates sodium molecules, making the tongue perceive foods as saltier and having more umami flavor. This may sound wild, but research has long shown that electricity can trick the tongue this way. (Just read Smithsonian’s 2019 story about electrode-embedded chopsticks and virtual lollipops.) Unfortunately, you’ll have to go to Japan to get the $125 Electric Salt Spoon, though Kirin hopes to market it abroad soon.

Needle-free injections

Needle phobia is extremely common—some two-thirds of children and one-fourth of adults fear shots. In one study, 27 percent of hospital employees reported avoiding the flu vaccine because of their phobia. In response to this problem, the Dutch company FlowBeams has unveiled the rather James Bond-sounding BoldJet, an injection system that uses a laser to heat liquid, propelling high-velocity “liquid microjets” through the skin. Though “laser” and “high-velocity” may not sound especially reassuring, the thinness of the microjets makes the process less painful than a traditional injection. Additionally, the system reduces biowaste and removes the possibility of accidental needlesticks. BoldJet was a 2025 Innovation Award honoree at CES. “The novel approach of BoldJet by FlowBeams fixes a critical component of the health sector,” said FlowBeams CEO Lea Milovich in a press release. “Our ambitions for BoldJet will fundamentally change how we think about patient care and health care worker safety while positively contributing to saving our planet.”

A bug-watching camera

We’re increasingly attuned to the value of pollinating insects these days—no bees, and the food supply goes kaput. Many green-thumbed citizens have taken to planting “pollinator gardens” full of flowers chosen to attract bees, butterflies and other pollen-spreaders. The new Petal is a perfect complement to such gardens; it’s a flower-bright orange camera on a plant-like stalk that uses A.I. to identify and track insects and observe other living species, like sprouting seeds. If you don’t have a garden already, you can also order the company’s Wonder Blocks, a modular planter-and-bug-hotel system. The Petal will be available this spring.

At-home fertility tests

The heath app company Vivoo aims to help aspiring parents have more control over their fertility with a new series of at-home tests tracking ovulation, follicle-stimulating hormone (an indicator of egg reserve), vaginal pH and pregnancy using urine test strips. While similar tests are already widely available, Vivoo’s tests align with their app for additional insights on fertility patterns. Though some experts question the reliability of at-home fertility tests, which don’t monitor the full range of variables a doctor would, it seems likely these products will only become more popular as the national shortage of OB-GYNs continues to grow. Tests are available now for preorder for $15.99.

A smart lipstick makes makeup accessible

The Brazilian cosmetics company Boticário was showing off its prototype A.I.-powered lipstick, which makes application accessible to people with visual impairments or upper body mobility limitations. A sensor identifies the user’s lip outline, the user chooses a color, and a robot arm applies the lipstick. The company has already developed easy-grip makeup brushes for people with coordination or hand strength problems. As consumers age and disability awareness increases, the New York Times has described accessible cosmetics as “the final frontier in makeup inclusivity.”

Making coffee from thin air

Kara Pod - Turning Air into Water into Coffee

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Imagine having fresh coffee every morning without having to fill the coffee maker with water. This is the magical-seeming trick the Kara Pod plays, turning atmospheric humidity into 13 cups of water every day. The machine is fitted with a ultraviolet filter to clean the water and uses plant-based coffee pods to brew its java. The Kara Pod builds on the company Kara Water’s pre-existing line, which includes air-to-water machines for home use. Company founder Cody Soodeen says he wanted to create an innovative source of clean drinking water after growing up in a home with a contaminated well; his design for the technology was inspired by the Namibian desert beetle, which captures atmospheric water on its shell. The Kara Pod will be available later this year for $299.

An outsourced memory device

Most of us find it difficult sometimes to remember details of conversations, or we occasionally find ourselves forgetting directions a few minutes after they’ve been given. For people with ADHD or conditions like Alzheimer’s, listening and memory issues are even more challenging. The Bee Pioneer aims to provide a sort of outsourced brain, with a smartwatch-like bracelet that records and transcribes conversations. (Founders say it doesn’t store the audio of those conversations, just the transcriptions.) The user can then use the transcript to jog their memories later, and they can rely on the paired app’s A.I. to provide digital reminders (e.g., “your wife told you to take out the trash at 8 a.m.”). While many previous A.I. wearables have flopped, backers hope the Bee’s pared-down ambitions and lower price point will give it a niche. The Bee is currently on sale for $49. The basic recordings and reminders are free, but app users can access additional features for $12/month.

Earbuds to control your environment

NAQI 737 FLIGHT

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There’s been promising work on brain implants that allow users to manipulate physical objects with their thoughts, but these, of course, require brain surgery. The NAQI Neural Earbuds offer a similar promise without the hospital visit, using small face and eye movements to control computers, wheelchairs and other technology. Because of gyroscopic technology, a user can, for example, turn a lamp on and off by clenching their teeth, or adjust the TV volume by tilting their head. The earbuds won a 2025 CES Innovation Award. “Our mission is to empower everyone with NAQI’s capabilities and pave the way for a more inclusive and innovative future,” said CEO and founder Mark Godsy in a statement last year. The earbuds will likely go on sale later this year.

Emily Matchar | | READ MORE

Emily Matchar is a writer from North Carolina. She's contributed to many publications, including the New York Times, the Washington Post, the Atlantic and many others. She's the author of the novel In the Shadow of the Greenbrier.