CES 2025 Press Day’s main story was the convergence of AI with the physical world. NVIDIA brought physical-AI models, Blackwell graphics cards and automotive computing; Sony focused on spatial entertainment and professional virtual production; Toyota presented Woven City and its future mobility stack; Samsung showed AI-enabled screens, homes and vehicle connections; and AMD, Intel and LG extended the same idea into PCs, edge systems and smart-life products.
The important caveat is that CES mixed shipping consumer hardware with platforms, prototypes, professional systems, partnerships and long-term plans. AFEELA 1 also needs a current-status correction: although it was announced and opened for California reservations at CES 2025, its development and launch were discontinued on March 25, 2026.
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What CES 2025 Press Day was really about
CES 2025 Media Days took place on January 5 and 6 at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas, before the public exhibition opened from January 7 through January 10. The press schedule included AMD, Bosch, Hisense, John Deere, LG Electronics, Samsung, Siemens, SK hynix, Sony, TCL, Toyota and Qualcomm; NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang’s keynote closed the January 6 media cycle.
The show’s central story was not a single television, graphics card or concept car. It was the spread of artificial intelligence into physical systems: vehicles that interpret their surroundings, robots that can be trained in simulation, displays that react to viewers, PCs that run AI locally, and entertainment systems that blend digital and physical spaces.
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CTA’s preliminary post-show figures reported more than 141,000 attendees, more than 4,500 exhibitors, approximately 1,400 startups and more than 6,000 media members. Those numbers were labeled pre-audit. CTA also identified digital health, energy transition, mobility, quantum computing, sustainability and startups as major themes beyond the headline AI announcements.
NVIDIA: AI moves from the screen into the physical world
NVIDIA had the most important presentation for the automotive side of CES. Jensen Huang framed the company’s next phase around physical AI: systems that perceive the real world, reason about what they see, plan a response and act through a vehicle, robot or other machine.
Cosmos is NVIDIA’s physical-AI development platform
NVIDIA announced Cosmos, a collection of world foundation models, tokenizers, guardrails and video-processing tools for developers building physical-AI systems. The company described Cosmos as useful for autonomous vehicles, robots and other machines that need to understand changing environments.
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The platform is intended to help developers search and interpret video, generate physics-based synthetic data through NVIDIA Omniverse, develop and evaluate models, and simulate possible future outcomes. NVIDIA said the first wave of Cosmos models would be made available as open models for developers.
That distinction matters. Cosmos was not a self-driving system that consumers could install in a car. It was development infrastructure designed to help companies train, test and evaluate systems before putting them into the physical world. For automakers, simulation can reduce the need to collect and label every possible real-world scenario, but it does not remove the need for road testing, safety validation or regulatory approval.
GeForce RTX 50 Series brings Blackwell and DLSS 4 to PCs
NVIDIA also announced its Blackwell-based GeForce RTX 50 Series for desktop and laptop computers. The new GPUs introduced fifth-generation Tensor Cores, fourth-generation RT Cores, neural shaders and DLSS 4 with Multi Frame Generation.
The announced flagship was the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090, with a starting price of $1,999 and announced availability on January 30, 2025. NVIDIA announced the RTX 5080 at $999 with the same January 30 date. The RTX 5070 Ti and RTX 5070 were scheduled for February, while RTX 50-series laptop GPUs were scheduled to begin arriving from March and April depending on the model.
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NVIDIA claimed that the RTX 5090 could deliver up to twice the performance of the RTX 4090 in relevant workloads. That is a manufacturer claim, not an independent benchmark: no independent testing was conducted for this coverage. Buyers should therefore compare independent reviews, power requirements, cooling, system configuration and the specific applications they use rather than treating the headline ratio as a universal result.
DLSS 4 and the new neural-rendering features also show NVIDIA’s broader strategy. The company is using AI not only to train models but to render games, enhance images and support local applications on the PC. That makes the RTX 50 Series relevant to gaming and creative work, but it does not make every RTX system an autonomous-driving computer. The automotive and consumer GPU announcements belong to different product ecosystems.
Project DIGITS was a compact personal AI supercomputer
NVIDIA introduced Project DIGITS as a small personal AI computer based on the Grace Blackwell platform. NVIDIA said it used the GB10 Grace Blackwell Superchip, delivered a petaflop of AI performance, included 128GB of unified memory and up to 4TB of NVMe storage, and could run models with up to 200 billion parameters.
The announced starting price was $3,000, with availability planned for May 2025. NVIDIA later renamed Project DIGITS DGX Spark in a March 2025 product update. It was aimed at developers and researchers who wanted substantial AI compute locally, not at ordinary consumers looking for a gaming desktop or a plug-in upgrade for a vehicle.
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NVIDIA also announced local AI foundation models, NIM microservices and AI Blueprints for RTX PCs. The stated use cases included digital humans, content creation, productivity, software development, podcast production, image generation and video workflows.
NVIDIA connected these tools to the RTX 50 Series’ FP4 support and local-inference capabilities. The practical appeal is reduced dependence on a remote cloud service for some tasks, although the usefulness of local AI will depend on the model, software support, memory capacity, privacy requirements and the user’s workload.
Toyota chooses NVIDIA DRIVE AGX and DriveOS
In a separate automotive announcement, NVIDIA said Toyota would use the NVIDIA DRIVE AGX in-vehicle computer and DriveOS for next-generation vehicle development. CTA’s post-show recap described the partnership as supporting next-generation autonomous vehicles with safety-certified NVIDIA DriveOS.
This was a technology-platform announcement rather than a promise that a particular Toyota model shown at CES would immediately gain autonomous driving. The significance is that automakers increasingly need a common computing and software layer for perception, driver assistance, cockpit features and future automated-driving functions.
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Sony: entertainment becomes spatial, physical and interactive
Sony’s CES 2025 presentation was built around its long-term Creative Entertainment Vision. Sony described the vision as a ten-year direction focused on empowering creators, increasing the value of intellectual property and building experiences where physical and virtual realities overlap.
The presentation brought together representatives from Sony Electronics, the NFL, Sony Honda Mobility, Pixomondo, Aniplex, Crunchyroll, Sony Pictures Entertainment, PlayStation Productions, Screen Gems and Naughty Dog. The lineup reflected Sony’s attempt to connect electronics, games, film, anime, music, sports and location-based experiences rather than treat them as separate businesses.
XYN is a professional spatial-content platform
Sony announced XYN as an integrated software-and-hardware solution for spatial-content creation. Sony said XYN combines imaging, sensing and display technologies with proprietary algorithms to capture and reproduce objects, human motion and real-world backgrounds for 3D computer-graphics workflows.
XYN should not be confused with a consumer headset or a retail-ready mass-market camera. It is a professional creation platform for studios and other production workflows, where accurate capture of people, objects and environments can support virtual production, animation, visual effects and other 3D work.
PXO AKIRA brings a moving vehicle into virtual production
Sony also showcased PXO AKIRA, a vehicle-filming system that combines a robotic camera crane, a custom motion platform, LED-volume technology and a digital-twin tool.
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The system is designed for filming vehicles in controlled virtual-production environments. Sony said it could improve safety, reduce costs and give filmmakers more creative freedom. Instead of repeatedly moving a vehicle through difficult or dangerous real locations, a production can coordinate the physical motion platform, robotic camera and digital environment as one system.
Immersive entertainment demonstrations
Sony demonstrated a location-based entertainment proof of concept based on The Last of Us. The experience used high-definition video, 3D sound, haptics and olfactory technology to extend a screen-based property into a physical venue.
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1Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitches2Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problems3Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minuteThe booth also featured LEGO Horizon Adventures content and a Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba Infinity Castle experience. These demonstrations were evidence of Sony’s entertainment strategy, not announcements of widely available home products.
AFEELA 1: a CES announcement that was later canceled
Sony Honda Mobility presented AFEELA 1 and said it had begun accepting online reservations in California. At CES 2025, the companies described AFEELA 1 as a premium electric vehicle combining Sony and Honda technologies, with planned customer-service hubs and entertainment integrations including Amazon Music, Audible, Spotify, Dolby Atmos and PlayStation-related experiences.
Current-status correction: on March 25, 2026, Sony, Honda and Sony Honda Mobility announced that development and launch of AFEELA 1 and the second AFEELA model would be discontinued while the companies reviewed Sony Honda Mobility’s future direction. The CES 2025 reservation announcement was genuine, but AFEELA 1 should not now be described as an active upcoming vehicle available to order.
Toyota: Woven City is a mobility laboratory, not a retail smart city
Toyota’s CES presentation focused on Woven City, its prototype community and mobility test course at the former Higashi-Fuji plant site in Susono, Shizuoka, Japan.
Toyota announced that Phase 1 construction had been completed and said the initial launch was planned for fall 2025 or shortly thereafter. The company described Woven City as a living laboratory for the movement of people, goods, information and energy.
What Toyota planned to test
- Autonomous logistics and autonomous transportation using the e-Palette.
- In-home robotics, drones and personal mobility devices.
- Artificial intelligence and digital avatars.
- Flying-mobility partnerships.
- New ways to coordinate vehicles, buildings, energy systems and residents.
Toyota’s technology stack included Arene, described as a new operating system for cars; a digital-twin platform for replicating real-world environments; and Vision AI for analyzing video and understanding the movement of people and objects.
The first residents were expected to be primarily Toyota and Woven by Toyota employees and their families. Toyota projected that Phase 1 could accommodate roughly 360 residents, with the eventual population expected to reach approximately 2,000 across later phases.
Woven City was therefore an infrastructure and research project, not a commercially launched smart city that consumers could buy into at CES. Toyota framed it as an open collaboration platform for startups, academics, researchers and industry partners. The company also announced plans for a summer pitch competition offering fully funded “scholarships” to Woven City for startups or individuals who needed financial support to develop ideas.
Samsung: AI screens, connected homes and smarter vehicles
Samsung used the theme AI for All: Everyday, Everywhere. Its CES 2025 First Look materials introduced Samsung Vision AI, which treats screens as adaptive, personalized companions rather than passive displays.
Samsung Vision AI features
Samsung highlighted Click to Search, which provides contextual information about content on the screen; Live Translate, which converts foreign-language content into subtitles; and Generative Wallpaper. Samsung said Vision AI would extend across Neo QLED, OLED, QLED and The Frame product families.
The company unveiled the Neo QLED 8K QN990F and presented updates to The Frame, including The Frame Pro. Samsung also showed the Premiere 5 interactive triple-laser projector and a MICRO LED Beauty Mirror concept.
Samsung separately announced Eclipsa Audio, a 3D-audio technology developed with Google, for 2025 televisions and soundbars. The announcement was about an audio format and compatible products, not proof that every 2025 Samsung television would provide the same audio experience.
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Samsung extended AI for All beyond home screens through SmartThings, SmartThings Pro, Samsung Health, accessibility features and automotive integrations. SmartThings Pro was described as a business-oriented platform for multi-residential buildings, retail locations, hotels and schools.
Samsung also described a partnership with Hyundai Motor Group to integrate SmartThings with Hyundai EVs. The proposed use cases included locating a parked vehicle, recommending charging based on schedules and electricity rates, and activating battery-backup behavior during a neighborhood outage.
Those functions illustrate the difference between a connected vehicle and a vehicle that merely has a smartphone app. The car becomes part of a wider home-energy and scheduling system. Actual availability, supported models and regional functions would depend on the participating Hyundai and Samsung products.
HARMAN’s in-car copilot and accessibility work
HARMAN, a Samsung subsidiary, presented an in-vehicle avatar intended to work with HARMAN Ready Care and Ready Vision as an intelligent in-car copilot.
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Samsung did not make its main Galaxy S25 announcement at CES
Samsung’s CES press-cycle coverage pointed to a Galaxy Unpacked event scheduled for January 22, 2025. The company’s main CES emphasis was therefore displays, smart-home technology, AI services, accessibility and connected experiences—not the principal reveal of a new Galaxy flagship phone.
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AMD, Intel and LG extend the AI story to PCs and mobility
AMD Ryzen AI processors
AMD announced the Ryzen AI Max, Ryzen AI 300 and Ryzen 200 processor families, along with professional variants using AMD PRO Technologies.
AMD positioned Ryzen AI Max for premium thin-and-light notebooks. The company cited up to 16 Zen 5 CPU cores, up to 40 RDNA 3.5 graphics compute units and an XDNA 2 NPU rated at up to 50 TOPS. These are AMD’s announced specifications and capability claims, not independent benchmark results.
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Intel Core Ultra Series 2 expansion
Intel expanded its Core Ultra Series 2 portfolio with Core Ultra 200V processors for business PCs; Core Ultra 200HX and H-series chips for enthusiasts and creators; Core Ultra 200U processors for mainstream mobile systems; additional Core Ultra 200S desktop processors; and new edge-computing processors.
Intel also discussed updates involving Intel 18A and announced an automotive Adaptive Control Unit for EV powertrains and zonal-controller applications. That last category is particularly relevant to vehicles because zonal architectures move toward centralized computing and fewer, more efficient wiring and control domains.
LG’s Affectionate Intelligence
LG’s January 6 World Premiere used the theme Life’s Good 24/7 with Affectionate Intelligence. LG presented AI-powered experiences across homes, vehicles and commercial settings, describing a shift toward becoming a smart-life-solutions provider.
LG’s mobility presentation extended the concept into vehicle cabins. The company focused on how passengers could use travel time and how software-defined vehicle systems could deliver more productive and personalized experiences. As with Samsung’s and Toyota’s announcements, the emphasis was on a connected platform and future capabilities rather than one consumer-ready car launched at CES.
What was a product, what was a platform and what was a demonstration?
One of the easiest ways to misunderstand CES is to treat every stage presentation as a shipping product. CES 2025 mixed retail hardware, developer platforms, professional tools, prototypes, partnerships and future plans.
| Announcement | Best description | What readers should not assume |
|---|---|---|
| GeForce RTX 5090 and RTX 5080 | Named consumer graphics cards with announced prices and release dates | NVIDIA’s performance claims are not independent test results |
| Project DIGITS, later DGX Spark | Compact developer-oriented AI computer | It was not a normal gaming GPU or an automotive product |
| Cosmos | Physical-AI development and simulation platform | It was not a consumer self-driving upgrade |
| XYN | Professional spatial-content creation system | It was not a mass-market consumer device |
| PXO AKIRA | Professional virtual-production vehicle-filming system | It was not a car or a retail camera accessory |
| Woven City | Prototype community and mobility test course | It was not a commercially launched smart city |
| AFEELA 1 | Electric vehicle announced and opened for California reservations in 2025 | Its development and launch were discontinued on March 25, 2026 |
| Samsung Vision AI and SmartThings Pro | AI display features and a connected-device platform | Feature availability can vary by product and market |
Why CES 2025 mattered to car buyers and the auto industry
For automotive readers, the most important change was the movement of AI from a software feature into the vehicle’s underlying computing architecture.
NVIDIA’s Toyota partnership addressed the compute platform and operating system. Toyota’s Woven City addressed the environment in which mobility services could be tested. Toyota’s Arene, digital twins and Vision AI addressed software, simulation and perception. Samsung and Hyundai focused on connecting EVs with homes, schedules and energy systems. Intel addressed EV powertrains and zonal controllers. Sony Honda Mobility focused on the cabin, entertainment and the customer relationship.
These are different pieces of the same transition. Future vehicles are being designed as software-defined systems with large amounts of onboard compute, continuous sensor input, updateable functions and links to buildings and cloud services.
That does not mean that every AI-branded vehicle is autonomous, that every concept will reach production or that an AI assistant can replace a driver. It does mean that the competitive boundary is widening. Automakers are competing not only on horsepower, range and materials but also on computing hardware, operating systems, simulation tools, cabin software, energy management and the ability to keep those systems useful after the vehicle is sold.
The bottom line on CES 2025 Press Day
NVIDIA supplied the clearest technical thesis: physical AI will require powerful models, simulation, local compute and systems that can act safely in the real world. Sony showed how spatial capture and virtual production could change entertainment. Toyota presented Woven City as a controlled test environment for future mobility. Samsung and LG carried AI into screens, homes and vehicle cabins, while AMD and Intel supplied more capable local and edge-computing hardware.
The most responsible way to read CES 2025 is to separate what had a model number and price from what was a platform, prototype, partnership or demonstration. That distinction is especially important for AFEELA 1, which was announced at CES 2025 but later discontinued, and for ambitious physical-AI projects whose commercial timing was not established at the show.
Frequently Asked Questions
When were CES 2025 Press Days held?
When were CES 2025 Press Days held?
CES 2025 Media Days were scheduled for January 5 and 6, 2025, at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas. The public exhibition ran from January 7 through January 10.
Was AFEELA 1 canceled?
Was AFEELA 1 canceled?
Yes. Sony, Honda and Sony Honda Mobility announced on March 25, 2026, that development and launch of AFEELA 1 and the second AFEELA model would be discontinued while the companies reviewed Sony Honda Mobility’s future direction. That superseded the reservation announcement made at CES 2025.
Was Project DIGITS a graphics card?
Was Project DIGITS a graphics card?
No. Project DIGITS was announced as a compact personal AI computer based on NVIDIA’s Grace Blackwell platform. NVIDIA later renamed it DGX Spark. It was aimed at AI development and local model work, not as a conventional gaming GPU.
Did Samsung announce the Galaxy S25 at CES 2025?
Did Samsung announce the Galaxy S25 at CES 2025?
Samsung’s main Galaxy S25 reveal was not the focus of CES 2025. Its CES coverage pointed to a Galaxy Unpacked event scheduled for January 22, 2025, while the CES presentation concentrated on Vision AI, displays, SmartThings, accessibility and connected experiences.
Was Toyota’s Woven City open as a consumer smart city?
Was Toyota’s Woven City open as a consumer smart city?
No. Toyota presented Woven City as a prototype community and mobility test course. The first residents were expected to be primarily Toyota and Woven by Toyota employees and their families, with Phase 1 projected to accommodate roughly 360 residents.
The Bottom Line
Bottom line: CES 2025’s defining announcement was the convergence of AI with physical systems—vehicles, robots, displays, homes and production tools. NVIDIA made the strongest physical-AI case, Toyota and Sony showed how that idea could shape mobility and entertainment, and Samsung, AMD, Intel and LG extended it into connected everyday hardware. The key caveat is that many CES announcements were platforms or demonstrations rather than products consumers could buy, and AFEELA 1 was later discontinued.
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