The 10 most intriguing Chinese gadgets at CES 2025

If you want a preview of all the coolest tech coming out over the next two years, look no further than CES. The world’s largest electronics show just wrapped up in Las Vegas, and this 2025 edition featured more than 1,300 Chinese companies — over a quarter of all exhibitors. To help you stay ahead of the trend, we’ve highlighted 10 of the most interesting Chinese products from the show floor.

Roborock Saros Z70: a robot vacuum that can pick up socks and sandals

Robot vacuums are only useful when you have a relatively clear floor space, but what if they can also help pick up objects? Roborock’s answer is its brand new Saros Z70, a bizarre mop-vacuum combo with a foldable, 5-axis mechanical arm.

With the magic of AI, the robot can identify obstacles, gently pick them up (so long as the load is under 300g), and put them aside or drop them off at designated spots. At the moment, supported objects include socks, sandals, crumpled tissues (eww!) and towels. More items will be added to the database over time.

The Saros Z70 also has a beastly suction power of 22,000 Pa — roughly doubling that of most flagship models from 2024. The accompanying base station takes care of the robot’s dust bin and water tank, but more importantly, it also washes and dries the mop, allowing for hands-free maintenance.

Expect this product to roll out some time in the first half of 2025. Rumor has it that it’ll cost somewhere north of $2,000.

SwitchBot K20+ Pro: a multitasking household robot

Service robots have yet to go mainstream after all these years, but the clever folks at SwitchBot are giving this category a crack with a fresh idea. The K20+ Pro comes in two parts: a small robot vacuum at the bottom, and a wheeled “FusionPlatform” that gets pushed around when summoned.

The FusionPlatform offers an array of ports, mounts and contact pins for pairing with your desired appliance. Compatible devices so far include a fan, an air purifier, a tablet stand, a webcam, a mini fridge and, potentially, a humanoid robot. Even a simple basket works, if you only need room-to-room delivery (up to 8 kg load). SwitchBot also welcomes DIY enthusiasts to make their own 3D-printed parts for this versatile design.

There’s no word on pricing nor availability just yet, but when the K20+ Pro does go on sale later this year, it’ll likely be much more affordable than any other existing service robot.

Lenovo ThinkBook Plus Gen 6 ‘rollable’ laptop

What’s a “rollable” laptop, you ask? Well, imagine your laptop screen magically extending upward, which is made possible with a flexible OLED panel that rolls out of the hinge. After years of development, Lenovo is finally pushing out the ThinkBook Plus Gen 6 as the world’s first laptop to implement such a design, which allows you to switch between its native 14-inch mode and extended 16.7-inch mode — the latter offers twice as much screen real estate. This means you can finally ditch your external monitor, so long as you don’t mind getting too much attention with your funny-looking laptop.

There are two ways of triggering the screen extension: there’s a dedicated button on the keyboard, or you can extend your arm out and perform a swipe gesture upward or downward (now you’re really showing off). Just remember to retract the screen before you close the lid. Lenovo claims this futuristic display can withstand at least 20,000 rolls, and it can also last for up to 30,000 folds — this happens every time you close the lid, since the rolling mechanism is tucked into the chassis.

The Lenovo ThinkBook Plus Gen 6 will be available from June 2025, though it’s asking for an eye-watering $3,499. That’s a big leap of faith for a design that’s yet to be tested in the market, not to mention the fact that attempts at rollable smartphones haven’t even gotten past the prototype stage in recent years.

XPENG AEROHT’s ‘Land Aircraft Carrier’

With China pushing its “low-altitude economy” development, Chinese flying car makers have been showing up at the likes of CES and Beyond Expo in the past two years. XPENG AEROHT is one such operation, and it returned to this year’s CES to show off its Land Aircraft Carrier. In a nutshell, this is a six-wheeled electric minivan that carries a small, six-rotor, two-seat eVTOL (electric vertical takeoff and landing) aircraft in its trunk. The eVTOL successfully conducted its first-ever public manned flight at the Auto Guangzhou show in November 2024.

The aircraft takes around 5 minutes to undock from its “mothership,” with its six rotors automatically unfolding in the process. A full charge is expected to support a flight time of around 15 minutes, and with the mothership’s full fuel tank (for its range extender) plus full battery, you can recharge the aircraft up to 6 times (it takes 18 minutes to go from 30% to 80%, thanks to its 800V electrical system). When done, it also takes 5 minutes to automatically load the aircraft back into the trunk.

The car itself has a combined range of over 1000km as per CLTC measurements (which should translate to about 820km by the more international WLTP standard), so it should be good enough for road trips to deep rural areas.

Despite the heavy cost of around RMB 2 million ($273,000), XPENG AEROHT claims it has received 3,000 “intent orders” for this two-in-one vehicle, with deliveries commencing in 2026. You’ll also need a pilot license to operate this aircraft, of course.

Anker Solix Solar Umbrella

It’s January, so it’s about damn time we start planning our summer (unless you’re in the Southern Hemisphere, of course), and battery giant Anker is already one step ahead of us. The Solix Solar Umbrella looks very much like any beach or patio umbrella, except it’s lined with next-gen perovskite solar cells on top, which are so efficient that you get up to 100W through the umbrella’s XT-60 connector and USB-C cable. Just imagine having a sunny day out on the beach with this handy gadget powering your electric cooler or juicing up your various gadgets.

Other specs for the Solix Solar Umbrella include a height of 215cm and a diameter of 190cm. Anker has yet to share a price, but it’s thankfully targeting a summer 2025 launch.

Unitree B2-W robot dog

Robot dogs never fail to impress as they get more agile over the years. In the case of Unitree, its team of engineers had the balls to add wheels to their already nimble B2 quadruped bot, dubbing it B2-W. Together with its consumer-grade Go2 quadruped and eerie G1 humanoid counterparts, the B2-W was an instant hit on the CES show floor, but you’ll have to check out the official demo videos to truly understand its full capabilities. Watch as it performs acrobatics on four or even two legs, scales down cliffs, and cruises over ramps with a human rider on top.

The B2-W has a maximum speed of 20 km/h, with a maximum endurance of 50 km when carrying a 40 kg load. The whole machine weighs around 75 kg (battery included). Unitree hasn’t disclosed the price for both the B2 and B2-W, but word on the street is that the former is sold for around RMB 400,000 (about $55,000) in China.

GlocalMe GPet tracker

While Apple’s AirTag has become a popular choice for tracking one’s pets, it only works when it’s surrounded by several other AirTags and recent Apple devices. In other words, if your dog runs into the woods, its AirTag won’t be of much help. This is where GlocalMe’s GPet comes in.

This nifty little device leverages the company’s expertise on cloud SIM technology (in which no physical SIM card is needed; unlike eSIM, it’s not tied to one virtual card), so it has cellular radio for both triangulation and data connection. Additionally, the device has the usual GPS radio for precise tracking, but if it struggles to reach satellite signals, it can still use Wi-Fi and Bluetooth to get a rough idea of its location.

The GPet also comes with self-explanatory “AI Wellness” and “Pet Interaction” features, but in theory, you can use it to track your kids and belongings as well. Stay tuned for pricing and availability later this year. GPet’s service will likely require a subscription.

Shokz OpenFit 2 earphones

There’s a good chance that part of your new year’s resolution is exercise more. If that’s the case, you may want to consider the new Shokz OpenFit 2 true wireless earphones. Shokz is well known for its open-ear designs for the sake of safety and hygiene, making its earpieces ideal for workouts.

It wasn’t until mid-2023 that the company finally launched its first true wireless earbuds, the OpenFit. These were also the first to move away from the company’s signature bone-conduction technology, in favor of the better-sounding standard drivers.

Fast forward to today, the new OpenFit 2 fixed all the pain points of the original model, offering improvements on ergonomics, sound quality, and battery life. You can pick up a pair for $180 in the US.

Bebird EarSight Flow ear cleaner

With the rise of wireless earbuds in recent years, our ears are more prone to earwax buildup these days. Enter the Bebird EarSight Flow which, at first glance, may look like a pair of ordinary over-ear headphones. In fact, it’s an ear cleaner that provides a video livestream of your ear canal during the cleaning process. You know you’ll want to watch that.

One side of the EarSight Flow stores and intelligently warms up water, which is then supplied to a spout inside the other can to gently shoot the warm water into your ear canal. With the app, you can adjust the optical lens on a ball axis to get the perfect view of the action — you can see debris being flushed out in real time. Towards the end, the spout switches to drying mode. Then you flip the headset and repeat the process for your other ear.

The Bebird EarSight Flow costs $199, which is probably worth the investment down the road.

XREAL One Pro AR glasses

XREAL just set a new benchmark for AR glasses, thanks to an optical breakthrough that slimmed down its eyewear further. The One Pro is the industry’s first to move from the triangular “birdbath” lenses to flat prism lenses for its micro OLED displays, thus drastically reducing the thickness and making the gadget more inconspicuous. The One Pro also got a FOV (field of view) boost of up to 57 degrees, meaning a 63.6% larger display area compared to its predecessor. You have a 171-inch virtual screen all to yourself, which is handy for both work and play.

With the new optics and new “Sound by Bose” collaboration, the XREAL One Pro makes a great entertainment tool when plugged into your iPhone, Android phone, computer or gaming console — including the Nintendo Switch or PlayStation 5. The powerful X1 spatial computing co-processor ensures “an incredibly low motion-to-photon (M2P) latency of only ~3ms at 120Hz,” meaning it responds pretty much instantaneously when you shake your head. The pricey Apple Vision Pro only manages a much slower 12ms M2P.

You can pre-order the XREAL One Pro now for $599, with first shipments expected in March 2025.

Banner image via Lenovo.

What is RedNote, the app “TikTok refugees” are fleeing to?

Last Friday, the United States Supreme Court held oral arguments to decide TikTok’s future in the country. Following last year’s accusations of security violations, media outlets have described this as TikTok’s most precarious moment yet. In response, U.S.-based TikTok users panicked and turned to RedNote over the weekend, a surprising cultural shift.

So, what is RedNote?

Despite its Chinese name Xiaohongshu translating to “Little Red Book,” the platform insists it has no ties to Mao Zedong’s famous quotation book of the same name — an iconic element of 20th-century China. Officially known in English as RedNote, the app’s pinyin name has recently gained recognition among non-Chinese-speaking users.

RedNote is a social lifestyle platform that hosts content focused on fashion, trends, and everyday life in the form of posts and videos. Some TikTok bloggers have dubbed it “China’s TikTok,” even though TikTok itself is the international version of Douyin, a similar short-video streaming app owned by Chinese tech giant ByteDance. (This ownership structure is at the center of TikTok’s privacy concerns.) RedNote’s downloads have now surpassed those of Lemon8, a ByteDance-owned app meant to be RedNote’s global counterpart.

RedNote aka Xiaohongshu most downloaded app in app store
Xiaohongshu ranked now no.1 in the free app downloads in the US region. Photo via Apple App Store.

Given the possible ban, TikTok users have been moving to RedNote, and have found it to be a smooth transition. This is partly because RedNote is one of the few Chinese apps that allow foreign phone numbers during registration, and partly due to its familiar layout, reminiscent of TikTok and other short-video platforms. On social media, U.S. users, jokingly referring to themselves as “TikTok refugees,” have shared countless posts asking for tips on navigating RedNote.

American users on RedNote aka Xiaohongshu
The hashtag #tiktokrefugee keeps rising in the TikTok trend. Photo via TikTok.

Meanwhile, Chinese users were taken aback by the sudden influx of English-language content. For many, it marked the first time they’d experienced such direct engagement with a global audience. Content creators from both sides quickly began sharing tutorials on registration and posting. The trend has even spread to the UK and Germany, where users followed their favorite American creators onto the platform and created accounts of their own.

While foreign users are still learning to pronounce the app’s Chinese name with the correct tones, long-time users have already given the app a playful new nickname. Since Xiaohongshu, when spoken, sounds similar to “little red potato” in Chinese, the influx of English content has inspired the nickname “Xiaoyangyu” (小洋芋), meaning “little foreign red potato.” What began as a reaction to geopolitical tensions surrounding social media has evolved into something more casual. Users now share photos of their pets, travels, and, of course, their own faces, creating an atmosphere of friendliness and connection.

RedNote user
American netizens posting English contents on RedNote. Photo via RedNote.

RedNote has transformed into a unique platform for cultural exchange, reminiscent of the early internet’s open forums. How long this trend will last, or where it will lead, is a question on the minds of netizens around the world.

Banner image via RedNote.

Tony LC Sign: The Accent King Lighting Up Social Media

If you’ve been on social media over the last six months or so, you’re likely familiar with Tony Zhu — or as he’s more famously known, as “Tony from LC Sign”. As the face of LC Sign, a company specializing in illuminated signage solutions in Guangzhou, Tony has leveraged social media to simultaneously showcase his products and entertain a global audience. How so? Tony captivates audiences with his engaging product demonstrations and remarkable ability to mimic diverse English accents and dialects.

Tony’s rise as a social media star is anchored by his passion for entertainment, culture, and linguistics. His early academic challenges, particularly in mathematics, led him to pursue a specialized education focused on English. This decision proved pivotal, as it not only enhanced his language skills but also ignited a passion for cross-cultural communication. After gaining experience in video filming and editing, Tony joined LC Sign in 2022, bringing with him a unique blend of technical expertise, creative advertising, and a steady pulse on everything trendy on social media.

Tony in costume for one of his most recognizable accents. Image via LC Sign’s Instagram page.

Speaking to RADII, Zhu says he draws inspiration from comedians like Russell Peters and Jim Jeffries, both known for their use of accents. Some notable portrayals include a Texan cowboy twang, a Birmingham accent reminiscent of Peaky Blinders, a Jamaican inflection, and even President-elect Trump’s famous vocal mannerisms.

These entertaining impersonations, combined with informative showcases of LC Sign’s products and solutions, resonated with a wide audience, leading to a significant increase in Instagram and TikTok followers. Perhaps more importantly, Tony’s videos have helped increase LC Sign’s revenue. 

Image via LC Sign’s Instagram page

In April 2024, Tony and his team attended a light and sign trade show in Orlando, Florida, marking his first visit to the US. The event was a success, with industry peers praising Tony for “making signage cool.”  This exposure not only expanded LC Sign’s global reach, but also solidified Tony’s reputation as a charismatic and innovative marketer.

Looking ahead, we can expect more of Tony’s unique brand of skits blending humor, cultural commentary, and viral videos — all while learning a thing or two about light boxes. 

Banner image via LC Sign’s Instagram page

The Mai Lin Effect: How One Reality Show Contestant Sparked a Conversation about Divorce and Mental Health in China

Reality TV rarely produces genuine moments of sociological interest, but when it does, the results can be fascinating. Enter Mai Lin from season 4 of Chinese divorce reality show See You Again, whose behavior has inadvertently turned her appearance on the show into a masterclass in contemporary social discourse.

Image source: Sixth Tone

What makes this case particularly intriguing isn’t just the viral moments — though there are plenty, from the now-infamous “Smoked Chicken Incident” to the philosophical question “Do I deserve a cup of coffee?” — but rather how Mai Lin has sparked nationwide discussions about relationship dynamics, narcissistic behavior patterns, and emotional manipulation in modern marriages.

See You Again’s premise is simple yet compelling: three couples in the “cooling-off” period before divorce take an 18-day journey together. (Married couples wishing to get divorced in China must wait 30 days before formalizing their split.) But Mai Lin’s interactions with her husband, singer Li Hangliang, have transcended mere entertainment to become cultural touchstones. Her behavior has been so impactful that it spawned its own field of study, dubbed “Mai Studies” (麦学 mài xué) by Chinese netizens.

The real sociological value of Mai Lin’s appearance on the show lies in how her actions have catalyzed discussions about deeper issues. The infamous “Smoked Chicken Incident” perfectly exemplifies this. 

As the designated tour guide for one day of a group excursion, Mai Lin was initially extremely frugal with the group’s shared budget, micromanaging others’ spending and chiding them for “unnecessary” purchases. However, when another contestant took over as tour guide the next day, Mai Lin’s behavior took a dramatic turn. Despite the group having already spent most of their daily allowance on dinner reservations (over 600 RMB), she suddenly insisted on buying two expensive smoked chickens (70 RMB each). When questioned about this contradiction, she justified her actions by claiming they could eat the chickens as a late-night snack, then for lunch and even dinner the next day — all while laughing about depleting the group’s funds. 

What made this incident particularly striking was her response when confronted: she deflected criticism by bringing up how another contestant’s husband bought cigarettes during her turn as guide, displaying a pattern of selective memory and manipulative argumentation that viewers found disturbingly familiar, reminding some online commenters of abusive individuals in their own lives. The incident became a metaphor for broader discussions about financial responsibility, double standards, and manipulative behavior in relationships.

Similarly, her seemingly innocent question in another episode, “Am I good enough for a cup of coffee?” (“我配拥有一杯咖啡吗?”) while her husband Li Hangliang heads out to get groceries, revealed layers of passive aggression and emotional manipulation that resonated with viewers, who recognized these subtle tactics of self-victimization and guilt-tripping from their own experiences.

What’s particularly noteworthy is how this has evolved beyond mere celebrity gossip. Chinese social media users have meticulously analyzed Mai Lin’s communication patterns, creating a virtual case study in relationship psychology. The term “Mai Studies” isn’t just clever wordplay — it represents a grassroots effort to understand and identify potentially problematic relationship behaviors.

See You Again has inadvertently become a mirror reflecting contemporary Chinese society’s evolving views on marriage, divorce, and mental health.

In an ironic twist, a show designed to document the end of marriages has unexpectedly become a relationship survival guide — albeit through negative examples. Viewers across Chinese social media have quipped that watching Mai Lin’s behavior has become an unconventional form of couples therapy, helping them identify toxic communication patterns in their own relationships and, surprisingly, strengthening their marriages. 

Each episode has generated multiple trending topics, with viewers dissecting everything from Mai Lin’s argument style to her interactions with other cast members, particularly the telling reactions from fellow contestants Huang Shengyi (a rival) and Ge Xi (a defender of Mai Lin’s).

Whether this leads to lasting social change remains to be seen, but one thing is certain: Mai Lin’s appearance on See You Again has done more than generate buzzwords. It has opened up crucial conversations about relationship patterns that might otherwise have remained unaddressed in Chinese society.

RUIbuilt’s Delicate and Provocative Fashion Courts Controversy

Rui Zhou, a fashion designer from central Hunan province, founded her brand RUIbuilt in 2019. Rui experimented with thousands of fabrics to perfect the elasticity required for her signature cobweb-like, cutout bodycon designs.

Stretching and cut-out design is a consistent aesthetic of RUIbuilt. Photo via Instagram. 

Rui broke out internationally in 2021, when she became the first Chinese designer to win the prestigious LVMH Karl Lagerfeld Award for Young Designers. She was the first and only Chinese designer on the shortlist that year.

Despite the acclaim she has garnered abroad, her designs face significant backlash in China. In an interview with Yit, Rui reflected on the sharp criticism that followed her award.

Many questioned the necessity of nudity in her work, some commenters sarcastically suggesting that the designs were so minimal they were like walking around naked. These comments stifled her creativity for a time and reminded her long-held insecurities about body image.

RUI’s designs have become a favorite among Asian celebrities on stages and in magazines. Photo via Numero China. 

Rui’s upbringing was shaped by traditional values and her close bond with her mother and sister, as her father worked in another city. This emotional intimacy and sensitivity heavily influenced her aesthetic. Through her designs, Rui seeks to explore themes of vulnerability and the complexity of intimate relationships. Her use of elastic fabrics and interwoven threads symbolizes the entanglements of intimacy, with her signature thread connections often seen between her models.

This unique perspective has resonated deeply within the fashion industry. From the LVMH Prize to Paris Fashion Week, Rui’s rising prominence has drawn attention from global celebrities like Olivia Rodrigo, HyunA, and Blackpink’s Jennie, all of whom have showcased her designs.

In 2023, RUIbuilt made history as the first Chinese brand to collaborate with Victoria’s Secret. By then, Rui had transcended the criticisms of her early career, confidently embracing sexiness as a defining element of her designs.
At the Spring/Summer 2025 Paris Fashion Week, RUIbuilt collaborated with China’s largest sex toy brand, Osuga, to present not only boundary-pushing clothing but also to integrate sex toys into the showcase. For Rui, placing sexiness at the forefront of her work is a profound celebration of the female body, an act of respect, and an invitation to rethink societal taboos.

Model in RUIbuilt holding Osuga products on Paris Fashion Week’s stage. Photo via Osuga. 

Banner image via RUIbuilt

Chinese Artist Memorializes Late Grandmother With Nintendo Game

Grief is an overwhelming emotional process, and everyone copes with it differently. For Chinese artist Zhou Yichen, that coping process involved creating a deeply personal and heartfelt video game to memorialize his late grandmother. Titled Grandma, the game is designed for the Game Boy, Nintendo’s retro handheld console first launched in Japan in 1989. Grandma blends nostalgia with closure in a creative and heart-tugging tribute.  

In the game,  players navigate a pixelated world inspired by Zhou’s childhood memories with his grandmother. The artist intentionally chose the Game Boy, a console from his youth, to enhance the sentimental tone. At different points of the game, players are immersed in poignant tasks Zhou shared with his grandmother, such as making dumplings or caring for plants.

Since its debut, the game has resonated with audiences worldwide, offering a space for players to reflect on loss and cherish memories in their own lives. Zhou said he made the game solely to commemorate his grandmother. “This game is not for entertainment or recreation, but to remember my grandma and record the time I spent with her, so I designed it completely based on real life.”

Beyond this project, Zhou’s portfolio is filled with other boundary-pushing works that explore memory, identity, and the human condition.

In his project Upstairs, Zhou examined the motivations for self-improvement and the journey that one takes to reach the apex of success, which is often riddled with perseverance and, at times, boredom.

Another standout project is Nothing Happen Today, a project conceived during the Covid-19 lockdowns and resulting social isolation. Zhou sought to capture the essence of daily life during this time when routines became monotonous and uneventful. 

Browsing through his works, one can tell Zhou’s artistic vision is rooted in blending traditional themes with modern media, creating a dialogue between nostalgia and innovation. They consistently engage audiences on an emotional and human level, encouraging introspection and connection in the comings and goings of everyday life. 

The reception to Grandma highlights the growing intersection between art and gaming, proving that video games can be powerful tools for storytelling and emotional expression. By transforming his grief into art, Zhou not only honors his grandmother’s memory, but also invites players to consider the beauty and fragility of human relationships.  

Banner image via Zhou Yichen’s Instagram page.