Sony 4K Action Cam Surfers and daredevils aren't the only ones who love tiny POV cameras. Drone pilots love them, too. They're light, weatherproof, and durable, and the latest models can capture 4K video. Sony's newest 4K Action Cam goes one step further to appease the drone crowd: its unique image stabilization engine is tuned to mitigate high-frequency motor vibration and "Drone shake." $500 Josh Valcarcel/WIRED
Mercedes-Benz F 015 The German automaker's CES contribution was a radical concept for a self-driving car. Outside, it looks a little bit like a space-age bar of soap. The interior is more intriguing. The front seats swivel 180 degrees, transforming the car's center into a lounge-like communal space. It's a bold rethinking of the driving (and riding) experience. Josh Valcarcel/WIRED
Bang & Olufsen BeoSound Moment The Moment is a centralized music system that sends tracks and playlists from your collection and streaming services to your speakers. Our favorite bit: on the back of the touchscreen info display is a touch-senstive oak panel, complete with a wooden wheel. Leave it facing outward and you've got a music control that, refreshingly, looks nothing like a typical smart home device. Alex Wasburn/WIRED
Bionic Bird Of all the drones we saw at CES, this was our favorite: The Bionic Bird. Brought to market by the grandson of the man who created the colorful plastic Tim Bird wind-up toy, the Bionic Bird has a Bluetooth radio inside and can be controlled with a smartphone. To charge it, you connect it via magnets to a white plastic egg. And unlike many tech-minded toys, it works best outdoors. $139 Josh Valcarcel/WIRED
Samsung Flex Duo Dual Door Oven On tonight's menu is a roasted duck, with a pear tart for dessert. That'll be tricky. Cook one before the other? Talk a neighbor into letting you borrow her oven? The best solution is Samsung's newest Flex Duo oven—it has a hinged door and a horizontal slide-in divider. Cook two things at once at different temps, and open only the top door without disturbing the temperature of the bottom chamber. Josh Valcarcel/WIRED
LG 77-inch 4K Flexible OLED If LG's massive television were to go on sale today, it would be insanely expensive—$20K-plus. But the concept shows a clear picture of TV's future. First, it's an OLED. Quantum Dot tech looks great, but OLED looks better. Also, it's 4K, soon to be the standard for streaming content. Lastly, it does both curved and flat: the screen transforms, bending at the press of a button. Alex Washburn/WIRED
Netatmo Of the home security devices we saw this week, Netatmo's Welcome camera was the most innovative, and also the most handsome. It has facial recognition capability, so it sends you a smartphone notification when Betty arrives home from school, or when David pops in to walk the dog. You can access an HD livestream and maintain a local history on SD cards. All this in a sleek anodized aluminum case that doesn't scream 1984. Josh Valcarcel/WIRED
Acer Chromebook 15 Once solely the domain of early tech adopters, Chromebooks have hit the big time. Really big. Acer's 15.6-inch Chromebook 15 has an HD display and Intel's Broadwell-series processor, all in a more productivity- and entertainment-friendly size. It's one of the most luxe Chromebooks to date. Pricing starts at $250 for the 720p screen, but consider upgrading to the 1080p IPS display. Josh Valcarcel/WIRED
Parrot RNB 6 This auto infotainment unit from Parrot has maps, voice controls, maintenance alerts, and it can stream and record video from any front and rear cameras you attach. Best of all, it supports both Android Auto and Apple's CarPlay out of the box—anyone in your family can connect to it regardless of what kind of phone they own, and your car's in-dash system won't determine whether your next mobile is an iPhone or a Moto X. Josh Valcarcel/WIRED
Withings Activité Pop Most wearables? Too techie, not comfortable, and unpretty. Not Withings' handsome and colorful Activité Pop. It's been drawing raves, and for good reason. This full-featured activity tracker wins on looks, fit, quality, and functions. Choose between a black, tan, or teal face and myriad band options to personalize your look. And at $150, it won't crush your bank account. Josh Valcarcel/WIRED
Naim Audio Mu-so The Mu-so is simply one of the best wireless speakers we've ever listened to. Inside are six speakers and 450 watts of amplification. It comes with every connectivity option you could want. And OMG the knob. You will not be able to stop touching it. Knob feel = A+. It's just a spectacularly built, spectacular-sounding wireless speaker—so nice to see in a consumer audio market saturated with mediocrity. $1,354. Josh Valcarcel/WIRED
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA—The first week in January is when the consumer electronics industry hits its yearly high-water mark. Thousands of companies come here to CES to show off the products they’ll be offering for sale in 2015. It’s a sea of processors, sensors, memory chips and batteries. And somewhere in there among it all is the next big thing.
There are plenty of surprising, new ideas at CES. Older ideas get refined, too—things that were only prototypes a year ago show up again this year as full-fledged, retail-ready offerings. And of course, you’ve got your reboots: old favorites dressed up with new features or refashioned with new materials.
When we select a “Best Of” for a show like this, we take all of these into consideration. Some of the things on our list are fresh spins on tried and tested designs, some are clever and brave new concepts. Some items may never show up as things you can buy, but simply point the way toward the future of a particular thought or design. And of course, a few items on our list were chosen just because they’re awesome and we really, really want to own them.
Flip through the slideshow to see the WIRED editors’ picks for the Best of CES 2015.
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