Innovative Smart Home Products Shown at CES 2025–Part 2

There are too many new smart home products being shown at CES (Consumer Electronics Show) this year to fit into a single article.  So, here are a few additional products that I couldn’t fit into my first article (you can find the first article here:

Innovative Smart Home Products Shown at CES 2025

But first, in review:

CES is a major annual trade show organized by the Consumer Technology Association (CTA).  It is held each year in Las Vegas, Nevada.  This year there are over 4300 exhibitors and over 130,000 people are expected to attend.

CES showcases the latest innovations and technologies in consumer electronics.  The show features a wide range of products and innovations from industries such as:

• Consumer electronics (smartphones, laptops, smartwatches)
• Smart home technology (home automation, appliances)
• Automotive technology (self-driving cars, in-car tech)
• Virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR)
• Artificial intelligence (AI) and robotics
• Health and fitness tech
• Entertainment and media technology

The event serves as a platform for companies to unveil new products, technologies, and services.  It sets the stage for trends in the tech industry for the coming year. CES is not open to the general public, but industry professionals, media, and analysts from around the world attend to see the newest breakthroughs in technology.

Here are some additional smart home products being shown at this year’s show:

Aqara

Aqara is a leading smart home device manufacturer.  Aqara was founded in 2009, sells products in over 170 countries, and has over 11 million active users of its products.  Aqara is releasing several new products at this year’s CES:

• Panel Hub S1 Plus: The S1 Plus includes a 6.9” touch panel allowing homeowners to control their entire smart home through a single interface. Through the S1 Plus, a homeowner can wirelessly manage cameras, door locks, thermostats, lights, curtains, and more. It replaces a single light switch in a home and can also be wired to control up to two lights.  Finally, it can trigger scenes/routines, act as a Zigbee hub, and act as a Matter bridge for Aqara Zigbee devices.  The Panel Hub S1 Plus is expected to be released in North America later this year.
• Touchscreen Dial V1: The Dial V1 combines a rotary dial with a 1.32” round touchscreen to manage/automate up to two wired light fixtures and provide control of additional smart devices and scenes.  The dial includes haptic feedback so users can intuitively control other Aqara smart devices.  For example, a user can adjust the brightness and change the color temperature of lights, adjust the open/close position of curtains, and adjust the temperature set point of a thermostat.  The Dial V1 includes sensors for temperature, humidity, and presence.  The presence sensor can be used to activate the device’s screen when someone approaches automatically.
• Touchscreen Switch S100 US: This device combines multiple buttons and a 1.3” touchscreen to control up to 2 wired light fixtures and wirelessly control additional smart devices and scenes.  For example, the touchscreen can be used to adjust the set point of a thermostat.  The S100 supports the Matter smart home standard and can act as a Thread Border router in a home.  The S100 includes a presence sensor for proximity screen activation and a light sensor that can be used to automatically adjust the brightness of the touchscreen.
• Light Switch H2 and Dimmer Switch H2: These smart switches offer Thread and Zigbee connectivity for interoperability across Matter platforms.  They are designed for simple installation in any home whether a neutral wire is available or not.  Buttons can be used for wireless control of devices and scenes through Aqara Home or other third-party platforms. The Light Switch H2 US has three variants – the 2 Buttons, 1 Channel version, the 2 Buttons, 2 Channels version, and the 4 Buttons, 3 Channels version.  Its availability is expected in Q1 2025.  The Dimmer Switch H2 US is expected to be available later this year.  
• Presence Multi-Sensor FP300: The FP300 combines Passive Infrared (PIR) sensing and millimeter wave (mmWave) sensing in a battery-powered presence sensor.  The FP300 is matter-compatible and includes additional sensors for light, temperature, and humidity.  
• Climate Sensor W100: The W100 is a Matter-compatible indoor climate sensor with a built-in display and three buttons for smart device control. In addition to the room’s temperature and humidity, the display can be used to show additional data such as local weather information or readings from a second Aqara climate sensor located in a different part of a home.
• Doorbell Camera Hub G410: The G410 smart doorbell offers 2K video quality, a 176° field of view, secure end-to-end encryption of both live and recorded video feeds and support for Real-Time Streaming Protocol (RTSP) for streaming to third-party apps. The G410 can function as a smart home hub integrating both Aqara smart home accessories and third-party Matter devices.  It is Compatible with major smart home ecosystems including Apple Home, Alexa, Google Home, and SmartThings. Additional features include battery or wired installation, on-device facial recognition, presence detection via a built-in mmWave sensor, and a wide range of cloud and local storage options.
• Hub M100:  The M100 is Aqara’s entry-level Matter controller. It comes in a compact form factor and can be powered by simply plugging it into any USB-A port. It includes Wi-Fi, Thread, and Zigbee radios making it compatible with all of Aqara’s smart home devices as well as third-party Matter-compatible devices. It can also serve as a Thread Border Router and a Matter bridge for Aqara Zigbee devices.

Flic

Shortcut Labs is a Swedish company that was founded in 2013 as an incubator at KTH Innovation (KTH is one of Europe’s leading technical and engineering universities).  It was here that the original Flic smart button, the world’s first, was developed and launched on Indiegogo in 2014.  That campaign raised almost $1m with a total of over 13,000 backers.  To date, over 800,000 Flic Buttons have been delivered to customers.

Flic Duo

The new Flic Duo is much more than a 2-button, battery-powered, smart remote control.  It combines features of the Flic Button and the Flic Twist.  It includes two buttons, motion and gesture sensing, and audio and visual feedback.  The Flic Duo can be configured with six unique actions: Push, Double Push, Hold, Hold & Push, Hold & Twist, and Hold & Swipe.  Actions can be configured for smart home control, music and entertainment control, triggering routines, and more. The Flic Duo is compatible with Matter, Apple HomeKit, Amazon Alexa, SmartThings, Sonos, Philips Hue, LIFX, Spotify, Homey, Nanoleaf, IFTTT, zapier, Google Chromecast, IKEA Home Smart, and Slack.  

Additional safety features of the Flic Duo at CES include: 

• Fall detection
• Personal Alarm – A button can be configured to trigger an SOS alert with real-time location sharing.

Mounting options include: 

• A metal clip for mounting on a bag belt, or around your neck with a lanyard.  
• A magnetic wall mount.  
• A waterproof case.

E-SKIMO

The final product in this two-part series of articles on smart home technology products being shown at CES takes a step outside the home and is a personal favorite of mine. People may not realize that when I’m not writing about smart home technology, I can be found mountain biking in the summer and skiing in the winter.  

E-Outdoor is a Swiss company that is dedicated to revolutionizing ski mountaineering through innovation and technology. E-Outdoor’s flagship brand, E-SKIMO, is bringing technology to the backcountry skiing experience. The product brings electric-assist technology to backcountry uphill climbing with a 10-Nm gearless hub motor, a 240-Wh lithium battery, and a snowmobile-style tread for each ski. The system provides:

• A 30% reduction in effort.
• An increase of up to 80% in ascent speed.
• Up to three hours of runtime per day on a single charge.  

People have attempted to develop systems that provide climbing assistance to skiers for many years. The first patent on such a system was issued in 1964.  However, until now, none of these systems have been produced due to the technical challenges involved.

Features of E-SKIMO include:

• Intelligent Assistance: Climbing assistance is triggered by sensors and motion-sensing inertial measurement units.  The amount of assistance is based on ski position and the weight/angle of the skier’s heel.
• Lightweight Design: A set of E-SKIMO assistance devices weigh just six pounds.  This allows the user’s skis to remain maneuverable while climbing.  Because the motor, battery, and climbing belt are removed for descents, there is no impact on downhill skiing performance.
• Quick Transition: The motor, battery, and climbing tread are easily removed for a quick transition between climbing and descending.  Once the system is removed and stored in a backpack, two slide-in caps cover the holes in the ski’s bases where the climbing tread was routed.  So, there isn’t any impact on performance during descents.
• Safety: Sensors in the skier’s poles detect if the skier releases a pole, for example in a fall.  This immediately disengages the assist mechanism.  

A video showing E-SKIMO in action can be found here.

E-Outdoor is working on partnerships with major ski brands to bring E-SKIMO to market.