Every January, the great and the good of the consumer technology world descend on Las Vegas for CES, the biggest tech show in the world. As well as an industry meet-up, it’s a launch pad for lots of the products we’ll see come to market throughout the year – and this year there’s plenty to get excited about.
TVs always take centre stage, and in 2025 that looks no different, with LG, Samsung and Panasonic all expected to showcase their flagship ranges for the year. But that’s not all – we’re expecting new home cinema systems, a few oddities, while the HDMI standard could be in for a refresh.
The action starts on Sunday, 5th January. Here’s what we’re looking forward to.
CES 2025 preview: What to expect
LG at CES 2025
We can’t foresee the future, but we would have bet big money on LG using CES to launch follow-up models in its C- and G-series of TVs. And that was before we saw the leak from early December.
As well as news that both the C5 and G5 (as we assume they’ll be called) have been certified for sale by Korea’s Institute of Mechanical, Electrical and Electronic Testing’s database, the leak included photos of both models, with the designs apparently unchanged from the C4 (pictured) and G4. No bad thing, as you’ll know if you’ve read the reviews of those TVs.
The G5 has also shown up in a separate database, with a 165Hz refresh rate mooted. Which would make PC gamers very happy indeed, as it would mean even faster response times. Console gamers will feel a little more ‘meh’ about it, as the PS5 and Xbox Series X top out at 4K/120Hz.
Sadly it looks like the C5 won’t feature MLA tech, as the unit pictured doesn’t have the same anti-reflective coating as the G5. But that can’t stop us dreaming – check out our full C5 preview, along with five features we’d like to see.
LG has also revealed its next generation of QNED TVs ahead of CES. They include its first 100-inch QNED model, wireless connectivity, and a lot of influence from its wildly successful OLED TVs, including a set spun off from the wireless M4 . Expect more details at CES 2025.
Will we see one (or more) of LG’s TVs hit 4000 nits of brightness this year? We certainly hope so…
Press conference: 6th January, 00:00 GMT
Live stream: LG Newsroom
Samsung at CES 2025
Like its fellow South Korean juggernaut LG, Samsung goes big on TVs at CES every year. And we have a pretty good idea of what it has in store, courtesy of one leak that emerged recently.
Said leak concerns the successor to the five-star Samsung S95D QD-OLED TV (pictured). According to a source, this will be called the Samsung S95F, rather than the S95E as we had (quite logically) assumed. This wouldn’t be the first time a company has skipped a model identifier – Hisense went from the U8K to the U8N, and Samsung itself followed the Galaxy Note 5 phablet with the Galaxy Note 7 back in 2016.
But the name isn’t the most unusual aspect of this leak. The size is. Because Samsung is said to be launching the S95F in an 83-inch model – which would be a first for a QD-OLED TV (the previous biggest was 77 inches).
The TV is also said to be susceptible to the same OLED lottery as some previous Samsung models (though not the S95D). This saw some customers receiving a brightness boosting QD-OLED panel, while others were shipped standard OLED displays, despite both consumers buying the same TV. However, since all of this is still just leaks and rumours, with nothing officially confirmed, we wouldn’t get too angry. Yet.
Samsung will also showcase its Premiere 8K projector at CES. This is the first to receive 8K Association certification. It supports HDR and has 4500 ISO Lumens brightness. Full specs and pricing will be revealed at CES.
Samsung has named its CES press conference ‘AI for All: Everyday, Everywhere’ so expect artificial intelligence to play a big part in its plans.
Press conference: 6th January, 06:00 GMT
Live stream: Samsung Newsroom
Sony at CES 2025
The Sony Bravia 10 is hotly anticipated to premiere next year, though probably not at CES 2025. Sony tends to launch its TVs around March, so expect it to follow the same timeframe next year.
As yet, there have been no leaks nor rumours concerning the Bravia 10. Will Sony stick with Mini LED for its flagship model? Or will it opt for OLED, as it has with its more affordable models? Will we see follow-ups to the excellent Bravia 8 OLED model and A90K (Sony’s first 42-inch OLED TV)? Tune in and see…
Press conference: 6th January, 09:00 GMT
Live stream: Sony Square
Panasonic at CES 2025
Again, we’re expecting new TVs from Panasonic at CES. 2024 saw the flagship Z95A (the brand’s second-gen MLA OLED) be one of Panasonic’s first premium offerings to reach the US, so it will be keen to follow it up with another belter of a TV.
The Z95A launched at CES 2024, so we’re expecting the next model to be announced at the conference in January. The Z95A scored five out of five thanks to its bright but authentic picture, and decent sound quality (for a TV, that is).
Panasonic could also announce some models further down the price range. It already impressed with the W90A in 2024, so let’s see if any follow-ups can go one better than it and nab that fifth star.
Press conference: 7th January, 00:30 GMT
Live stream: Panasonic
Others at CES 2025
Elsewhere, we’re expecting the follow-up to HDMI 2.1 to be announced at CES 2025. HDMI 2.2 promises “next-gen HDMI Technology and higher bandwidth” that will reportedly enable a “wide range of higher resolutions and refresh rates and will be supported with a new HDMI cable.”
With a bandwidth higher than HDMI 2.1‘s 48Gbps rumoured, it’s thought we could see 8K/120Hz or 4K at even higher frame rates than the current 144Hz. All of which could spur on production of 8K content.
Onkyo has set out its ‘bold new vision for the future’ and commitment to ‘raising the bar for technology and home entertainment’ in the form of two new ranges at CES 2025. Full details are still under wraps, but it has confirmed we’ll see both home speakers and separates. Onkyo filed for bankruptcy in 2022 before coming under new ownership, so here’s hoping CES 2025 heralds brighter days ahead for the brand.
We’re also promised new devices from Cleer Audio (maker of headphones and Bluetooth speakers), and new turntables from Victrola, though all the details are still strictly hush hush.
We’ll keep this page updated with more leaks and rumours as they emerge, and with all the official news once it’s announced. Stay tuned…
CES 2025: when is CES?
CES 2025 doesn’t officially start until Tuesday 7th January, but the two days before that are press days, exclusively for the media. So we’ll see official announcements coming out of the show from Sunday 5th January until Saturday 11th January 2025.
See the full schedule of events
CES 2024 highlights: what impressed last time?
Last year saw plenty of home cinema and audio announcements – some won Awards while some are only just coming to market.
LG’s transparent and rollable Signature OLED T TV is in the latter category. It’s a gogglebox you can see through, and roll away when it’s not in use. It’s only just gone on sale – it’s yours for a cool $60,000 (about £47,000 / AU$96,000).
Panasonic’s Z95A also impressed, though not as much as when we reviewed it a few months later. It marked Panny’s return to the US market – and what a comeback it was.
TCL went big with the 115-inch QM89 Mini LED TV, which packs no fewer than 20,000 separate dimming zones and a peak brightness of 5000 nits.
Sennheiser’s Momentum True Wireless 4 premiered at CES 2024, and they proved to be another five-star pair of true wireless earbuds from the German company.
Victrola expanded its range of streaming-enabled turntables with the Stream Sapphire – as well as Works with Sonos functionality, it includes UPnP and Roon support too, enabling playback to literally thousands of compatible devices. It even supports up to 24-bit/48kHz lossless FLAC audio streams.
Audio Pro continued its winning run of all-in-one speaker systems with the C20, which won a 2024 What Hi-Fi? Award.
We also got a first glimpse at the Sonus Faber Suprema, which the brand described as its “most ambitious project to date” (which is underscored by the £695,000 / $750,000 price tag). Even for a prestige brand like Sonus Faber, this is a really premium set-up of two speakers, two subwoofers, and an electronic crossover.
FiiO launched three brand-new products at CES 2024 (including the CP-13 cassette player), but it was the flagship R9 desktop streamer and headphone amp/DAC that most caught our eye. With a larger 6-inch Full HD touchscreen than the previous year’s R7, upgraded components and more than double the power – now 7300mW, up from 3000mW – it was a real step up on an already well-specced device.
We also saw the JBL Xtreme 4 Bluetooth speaker – another example of a brand continuing to dominate its field. It uses AI to boost sound quality – something we expect to hear plenty more about at CES 2025…
MORE:
14 exciting hi-fi and home cinema products we can’t wait to review in 2025
