By Steve Moran

After my first CES, about eight or nine years ago, I swore I would never go back. It was confusing and chaotic. Rideshare was just becoming a thing, and the waits for a taxi or Uber would be 45 minutes on a good day.

I didn’t run into a single person I knew.

I hated it!

After four or five years and having attended a bunch of conferences, I decided to try it again. I ran into a couple of people I knew. There was growing interest in age-tech, though finding it meant being a bit of a detective. And getting around was much easier.

CES 2025

It is now completely different. A few bullet points:

• Age-tech is a thing.
• Senior living is seen as a serious player in the age-tech space.
• AARP had a huge pavilion with its own stage, with a number of senior living leaders onstage.
• I ran into 30 or 40 people I knew.
• I ended up in half a dozen meetings.
• This all makes sense, because we boomers are getting older, need more technology, and for the most part are comfortable with and even like technology. We also have the money.
• There is a huge focus on:
  • Brain health
  • Smart rings
  • Hearing
  • Sensor technology
• There is less “I built this for my grandma, and I am convinced everyone’s grandma will love it” thinking and a more thoughtful, research-based approach to new product development.
• Pricing strategies seem to be more reasonable, though I saw several things that were interesting but where the pricing left me shaking my head.

I am not quite sure I am ready to move CES to my “every year” conference schedule, but it is heading in that direction. Maybe I will see you there next year.