Every January, the tech world descends on Las Vegas for the Consumer Electronics Show (CES), showcasing the latest gadgets promising to revolutionize our lives. But not all innovation is good innovation, as The Repair Association’s “Worst in Show” awards reveal. Now in its fourth year, this anti-awards ceremony calls out the least repairable, least private, and least sustainable products on display.
This year’s CES is overflowing with AI and “smart” features, often in places no one asked for. The Worst in Show winners prove that just because you can add tech doesn’t mean you should.
Least repairable (Judge: Kyle Wiens, CEO, iFixit)
Winner: Ultrahuman Rare Luxury Smart Ring
This $2,200 luxury smart ring looks sleek but hides a major flaw: its battery only lasts 500 charges. Worse, replacing the battery is impossible without destroying the device entirely. Luxury items may be fleeting, but two years of use for $2,200 is a new low.
Least private (Judge: Cindy Cohn, Executive Director, EFF)
Winner: Bosch Revol Smart Crib
Preying on parents’ fears, the Revol Smart Crib collects excessive data about babies via a camera, microphone, and even a radar sensor. Parents expect safety and comfort—not surveillance and privacy risks—in their children’s cribs.
Least sustainable (Judge: Stacey Higginbotham, Policy Fellow, Consumer Reports)
Winner: SoundHound AI’s In-Car Commerce Ecosystem powered by its Automotive AI
AI is everywhere at CES 2025, but SoundHound AI’s in-car system pushes it to unnecessary extremes. This feature-heavy platform increases energy consumption, encourages wasteful takeout consumption, and distracts drivers—all while adding little actual value.
Least secure (Judge: Paul Roberts, Founder, Securepairs)
Winner: TP-Link Archer BE900 router
TP-Link is a top router brand in the U.S., but its products are vulnerable to hacking. By Chinese law, TP-Link must report security flaws to the government before alerting the public, creating a significant national security risk. Yet TP-Link showcased its Archer BE900 router at CES without addressing these vulnerabilities.
Who Asked for This? (Judge: Nathan Proctor, Senior Director, PIRG)
Winner: Samsung Bespoke AI Washing Machine
Samsung’s latest AI-powered washing machine comes with features no one needs, like the ability to make phone calls. These add-ons only make the appliance more expensive, fragile, and harder to repair.
Overall (Judge: Gay Gordon-Byrne, Executive Director, The Repair Association)
Winner: LGs AI Home Inside 2.0 Refrigerator with ThinkQ
LG’s AI-powered refrigerator adds flashy features like a screen and internet connection—but these come at a cost. Shorter software support, higher energy consumption, and expensive repairs reduce the fridge’s practical lifespan, leaving consumers with an expensive, wasteful gadget.
The Worst in Show awards highlight a critical question for tech companies: are your products really making lives better—or just adding waste, cost, and surveillance?
15 Comments
Bravo!! Great list and great presentations. As an 'elderly' curmudgeon, that really hit the spot with me. Great job, everyone.
Bob Groh - Reply
I love the worst in show!
Jadon Lyon - Reply
"Who Asked for This?" is probably my favorite ... that description works for so many things now days.
Could also ask ... "Who wants this?"
I can only image the "runners-up"
JimDv2 - Reply
I wouldn't trust a LG frig as far as I can throw it!
Neil - Reply
Bravo! worst in show.
Raheemuddin Syed - Reply
In my opinion LG is the worse products on the market. Very fragile and little support if it does break. I’ve had 7 different products one which was a phone/. Dropped the phone (my bad partially) however it was only 2 feet! Yep 2 feet measured and the screen shattered. First day I had and was offered absolutely no recourse other then buy another, which I did but a. Different brand. Hope they read this too.
Not sure if they do phones anymore. This was 5 years ago. But same service applies to all the products.
Userfound - Reply
A washing machine with a phone in it?! Bwa ha ha. What the hell...
Simon Hart - Reply
Chinese products maybe the most like to add AI in their goods
3SIGMA - Reply
Want a washing machine? Try the Speed Queen. No internet, no lid lock, no electronic control board, uses all the water you want, big tub, fast, gets your clothes clean, and more expensive for it - but appears to be a solid machine. No regrets here - especially after having to brick my new machine because it refused to spin and refused to release the lock. And, of course, refused to clean the clothes.
Seriously, save water? It comes from the ground (a well). It returns to the ground (a septic system). Not one drop is lost. Ever. And every scientifically trained person knows that the solution to pollution (when that pollution is dirt and soap) is dilution. It would be different if my clothes got dirty with pharmaceutical waste. But dirt? Food? Grease? Body odor? The solution to pollution is dilution. Use more water, not less, if you want to help the planet.
Albert Einstein - Reply
The only thing that can top this list are the consumers who actually buy one of these things. Great topic and thanks for keeping us informed of the nonsense that is being developed.
oldturkey03 - Reply
I'd like to suggest the Braun 8/9 Series electric shavers as contenders. It's hard to employ the Gillette sell-them-a-cheap-razor-but-expensive-blades strategy with electric razors. But Braun has made the effort. They sell you a cleaning station. For which you have to buy cassettes filled with cleaning solution from them. The solution is H2O, alcohol, lubricant and maybe some detergent. But instead of listing the ingredients so that you can fill the cartridge yourself, or selling bottles of the solution you could use to fill it, they sell the whole (plastic) cartridge. They also don't tell you how often to use the cleaning station, so it's likely that many people use it every time they shave. When it all you need to do is rinse the shaver with water (the cutters are stainless steel), oil it and occasionally, if ever, put it through the cleaning station cleaning cycle. So, an unnecessary cleaning station when the work could easily be done by hand and a landfill-hog cassette. HP must be envious.
BiggerHammer - Reply
Well my LG clothes washer has been doing well so far, but an attempt to get someone out for a simple compressor changeout on our LG refrigerator turned into such a clown show we threw in the towel and went Whirlpool. This extra feature stuff for appliances like this just seems bonkers; about the only IOT thing I'd want in a fridge is an alert of an open door or temperature maintenance failure.
Avery Colter - Reply
First time I read a worst show but great article.
Glide - Reply
One of the main reasons I bought a used low tech washer and dryer that I know I can buy parts for other than money is that I can fix it myself.
Glide - Reply
We are being offered an Aquilisa shower replacement for approximately £1,000 which says Hello when you get into it !! Who asked for that. Admittedly the temperature control has always been good but I am having difficulty in replacing the clamp which holds the shower head without taking the whole device including electronics to pieces. Could so easily have been made differently with one screw removal.
David Michael Willoughby - Reply