CES 2025: What to Expect from NPC and MacStories

Today, I began packing my bag full of the gear I’m bringing to CES. I’m excited because it’s shaping up to be a very NPC CES.

Brendon, Federico, and I started NPC: Next Portable Console because we each sensed that handheld gaming had reached a tipping point. Thanks to the Nintendo Switch and Steam Deck, companies around the world have spent the past year experimenting with new ways to make gaming more portable.

I’ve covered CES from afar for years at this point and always enjoy it. Sure, a lot of CES amounts to incremental changes to TVs and new attempts to embed screens into kitchen appliances. But if that’s all you see, you’re not paying close enough attention. The fun of CES is discovering what’s new and trying to separate the vaporware from truly innovative ideas. Plus, Weird CES never disappoints, bringing truly bizarre gadgets to life that everyone should know about. Who can forget Qoobo the headless cat robot?

This isn’t technically my first CES. Until the mid-‘90s, the show was held in Chicago and New York, and it was open to the public. I went a few years before it moved to Las Vegas and had a blast. That was a long time ago, but with the rise of handheld gaming, the time felt right to return.

Over the summer and into the fall as the rumors of new Windows and SteamOS devices gained momentum, it became clear that handheld manufacturers were targeting CES for splashy announcements. That’s the main reason Brendon and I are heading to Las Vegas. We’ll be roaming the show floor to see what’s coming next and get a sense of where handhelds are heading in 2025 and beyond.

However, as excited as we are about portable consoles, that’s not all we’ll be covering. There’s a lot more to CES, so we’ll also be on the lookout for the latest in smart home hardware, AR glasses, headphones, speakers, anything with an e-ink screen, and more.

What we plan to bring to you here and on the MacStories YouTube channel is something uniquely NPC and MacStories: insights into what to expect from the next wave of portable videogame hardware and the other gadgets worth keeping an eye on in the new year, plus a sprinkling of the weirdly wonderful “what were they thinking?” hardware.

To follow along, you can find our coverage on MacStories.net under the tag ‘CES 2025’ and this dedicated RSS feed. You’ll also find two playlists on our YouTube channel: ‘NPC @ CES’ for handheld gaming news and ‘MacStories @ CES’ for everything else. Plus, be sure to visit Brendon’s blog Wavelengths for even more coverage from him.

What’s in My CES Bag?

Packing for CES has been a little different than WWDC. The biggest differences are the huge crowds at CES and the limits the conference puts on the bags you can carry into venues.

My trusty Tom Bihn Synapse 25 backpack isn’t big, but it’s too large for CES, so the first thing I did was look for a bag that was small enough to meet the CES security rules but big enough to hold my 14” MacBook Pro and 11” iPad Pro, plus accessories. I decided on a medium-sized Tomtoc Navigator T24 sling bag, which is the perfect size. It holds 7 liters of stuff and has built-in padding to protect the corners of the MacBook Pro and iPad as well as pockets on the inside and outside to help organize cables and other things.

Tomtoc's medium Navigator T24 sling bag. Source: Tomtoc.

Tomtoc’s medium Navigator T24 sling bag. Source: Tomtoc.

I don’t plan to carry my MacBook Pro with me during the day. The iPad Pro will be plenty for any writing and video production I do on the go, but it will be good to have the power and flexibility of the MacBook Pro when I return to my hotel room. For traveling to and from Las Vegas, I appreciate that the Tomtoc bag can fit everything I’m bringing.

A surprising amount of stuff fits in the T24. Source: Tomtoc.

A surprising amount of stuff fits in the T24. Source: Tomtoc.

With little room to spare, my setup is minimal. I’ll write on the iPad Pro and MacBook Pro, carrying the iPad with me tethered to my iPhone for Internet access. That’s a tried-and-true setup I already use whenever I’m away from home.

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The Latest from NPC: Next Portable Console

NPC has been a lot of fun to produce this year. If you haven’t tried the show yet, this week’s episode is a good place to start because it brings together so much of what we’ve covered since launching the show in June.

NPC: Next Portable Console

To close out 2024, Federico, Brendon and I present the first-ever HOTYs: the 2024 Handhelds of the Year awards, celebrating the best handheld gaming devices, custom firmware, and, of course, the Handheld of the Year.

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The Latest from AppStories and Comfort Zone

Enjoy the latest episodes from MacStories’ family of podcasts:

AppStories

This week, Federico and I round up the tech and productivity projects we have planned for our annual holiday break.

On AppStories+, I explain the refinements he’s made to my reading setup.

Comfort Zone

Chris has his own Mount Rushmore of iPad apps, Matt is trying to get to terms with Discord, and the gang figures out if they’re moving the group chat to WhatsApp.

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Lux Reveals Plans for Halide Mark III→

Yesterday, the team at Lux announced that they are working on the next major release of their pro camera app, Halide, which will be dubbed Halide Mark III. The next iteration of Halide, which Lux hopes to release in 2025 will focus on three areas:

  • Color Grades: Like Kino, their App Store iPhone App of the Year for shooting video, Lux plans to add custom color grading to Halide.
  • HDR: Lux is developing its own implementation of High Dynamic Range that will give Halide’s photos “a thoughtful and nuanced HDR look.”
  • Redesign: Although Lux has not revealed any details, Halide will be redesigned, which should include a focus on color grading.

In addition to upcoming features, Lux announced a new community Discord for Halide and Kino, to collect feedback from customers and to allow them to share their interest in photography. The Discord and social media will also be where users can participate in the Halide and Kino 52-Week Challenge:

Every week you’ll get a photography challenge on our Discord. We’ll also include resources to help with the challenge — like app-specific tips. The challenge will be shared there and on our social media. Once you’ve got your shot, you can share your shots and see what the rest of the community came up with.

I love both Halide and Kino, and I’m intrigued by Lux’s new approach to development. Running a community can be challenging, but I expect the feedback Lux gets from users will be invaluable, as they work on the next big update to one of the App Store’s best camera apps.

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Astropad Bookcase Walkthrough→

In 2024, I came to grips with the fact that I’ll never be an E Ink-first reader. Most of my reading is web-based, and I like having all of my reading-adjacent apps available too much to use a Kindle, Boox Palma, or other reading-first device regularly.

That’s why I was immediately intrigued by the Astropad Bookcase, an iPhone accessory that makes reading on an iPhone more comfortable by approximating the ergonomics of a Kindle. The combination is heavier than a Kindle, but it’s a far superior way to read on an iPhone than any other I’ve tried. In just the two short weeks I’ve had the Bookcase, I’ve found myself using it throughout the day, from when I’m catching up on RSS over breakfast, to relaxing in the evening on the couch or in bed with stories I’ve saved in Readwise Reader.

Last weekend, I did an in-depth review and video walkthrough of the Bookcase for Club MacStories Weekly, which covers the hardware as well as the sorts of automations its embedded NFC chip makes possible. Here’s the video component of that story:

For early access to future hardware walkthroughs, the accompanying written reviews, and many other perks, you can join Club MacStories.

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WinterFest 2024: The Winter Festival Of Artisanal Software [Sponsor]

WinterFest 2024: The Festival of Artisanal Software is back with a fantastic new collection of carefully crafted software for writing, research, and thinkings.

Innovative software often comes from small teams, fired with imagination and a vision of a better way to work. There are no bundles, games, or prices that are too good to be true: just fresh software with fantastic support at great, sustainable prices.

Software artisans from around the globe have come together for this time-limited event to bring you innovative systems to assist you with everyday knowledge work. This incredible catalog of productivity software includes:

  • Avalanche:Photo catalog migration
  • BBEdit: power tool for text
  • Bookends: The reference manager you’ve been looking for 
  • DEVONagent Pro: Your smart research assistant 
  • DEVONthink: Your powerful information and knowledge manager 
  • Easy Data Transform: Merge, clean, and reformat data without coding 
  • Hookmark: Using links beats searching
  • HoudahSpot: Powerful file search 
  • HyperPlan: Flexible visual planner 
  • ImageFramer Pro: Add creative borders and frames to photos 
  • Nisus Writer Pro: The powerful Mac word processor
  • Panorama X: Collect, organize, and understand your data
  • Peakto: Media management for creatives
  • Photos Workbench: organize and compare your photos
  • Scapple: Quickly capture and connect ideas 
  • Scrivener: Your complete writing studio 
  • Take Control Books: Expert advice from leading tech authors
  • Tinderbox: Visualize and organize your notes, plans, and ideas 
  • Tinderbox 101: Learn to unleash your knowledge and insight
  • Trickster: Your recently used files at your fingertips
  • Yojimbo: Your effortless, reliable information organizer

These amazing deals don’t come around often, so act today to start 2024 off with the best software available from this terrific group of developers.

Visit the WinterFest website to learn more and for links to these amazing deals, or use the coupon code Winterfest2024 at checkout.

Our thanks to Winterfest for sponsoring MacStories this week.

The M-Con PSP Go-Style iPhone Game Controller Moves One Step Closer to Reality→

About six months ago, Josh King posted on the SBCGaming subreddit about a 3D printed iPhone game controller he’d created called the M-Con. The post was accompanied by a YouTube video walkthrough that lent credibility to the Sony PSP Go-like design, that connected to an iPhone using MagSafe-compatible magnets. Then a couple of months ago, the M-Con showed up again on the Retro Game Corps YouTube channel where Russ Crandall put the device through its paces and was impressed with the results

Now, King is back with an even more refined design and an established corporate backer to build and sell the M-Con. As Sean Hollister explains on The Verge, the backer is OhSnap, the maker of PopSocket alternatives. As Hollister explains, the M-Con:

[is] no taller or wider than an iPhone, so it should slide into a pocket. It’s got a MagSafe pattern of magnets to attach it to your magnetic ring device. You don’t have to remove it to use your phone like a phone, because the whole gamepad retracts underneath, a little like the slide-out keyboard phones (or PlayStation Phones) of old — and now, it’s mounted on a spring-loaded arm that pops out at the push of a button and also slightly angles your device towards your face.

Notably, the M-Con has gained Hall-effect thumbsticks and a pair of fold-out grips, too.

I’ve been keeping a close eye on this project for months. I’m surprised I’ve never seen another iPhone game controller like it, which is why I’ve been a little skeptical of its viability from the start. But with OhSnap onboard, the M-Con is looking more real than ever. According to Sean Hollister, the M-Con will be at CES in January. You can bet it will be one of the first booths I visit.

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The Latest from Comfort Zone, Magic Rays of Light, and MacStories Unwind

Enjoy the latest episodes from MacStories’ family of podcasts:

Comfort Zone

Niléane has a new webcam, Chris is downing in keyboards, and everyone installs some web-ass web apps.

Magic Rays of Light

Sigmund and Devon share their favorite shows, films, apps, and more of the year. Then, they celebrate the show’s 150th episode by answering questions sent in by listeners and reveal their Christmas gifts for one another.

MacStories Unwind

This week, Federico and John share their favorite videogames of 2024.

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