The ‘Wow’ moment that blew me away at CES 2025: Big Tech should pay attention

I’ve been to more tech events and launches than I can count in my decade-plus as a tech journalist, but Delta’s keynote at CES 2025 is the only one that blew me away, both literally and figuratively. That’s because the airline combined technology and storytelling to spark an emotional response that felt surprisingly personal and deeply moving — and in doing so, made a clear connection to one of the biggest opportunities in the coming year.

Delta used the technology in the world’s largest spherical venue, the Las Vegas Sphere, which is a giant orb covered inside out in screens, for its centennial event. In honor of 100 years of history, the airline also attracted Viola Davis, Tom Brady and Lenny Kravitz to the stage to make it a proper celebration. But what was particularly impressive was how Delta used every bit of immersive power the Sphere possessed to bring the wow factor to a CES that has sorely lacked the standout moments to inspire genuine excitement about how technology can transform our lives. .

In fact, by fully harnessing the power of the Sphere’s technology, it felt like Delta was showing the world how serious it is about technology in a way that many companies, including well-known tech brands, could learn from. The Sphere’s wraparound LED screen served as a canvas for epic stories about the airline’s past, present and future.

So we are often promised by technology companies that their innovations will make us feel more connected and bring us more meaningful experiences. Rarely are they able to deliver on these promises in a way that feels satisfying to us, the people who end up using that technology. From social media, to VR, to conversational AI, there’s a gap between what we’re told we’ll feel and what we feel about it.

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The Sphere, on the other hand, is full of technology that lives up to its promise. It creates a sense of shared wonder that in this case helped me feel emotionally invested in the brand. Even as someone who has never flown Delta before (not that big of an airline where I live in the UK), I was able to fully understand the airline’s priorities, its people and its announcements, which included a AI gatekeeper and partnerships with Uber and YouTube.

Before Delta CEO Ed Bastian took the stage, the audience was treated to a slow-motion sunrise that stretched across the Sphere’s truly massive 160,000-square-foot screen before a massive Delta jet headed straight towards us. My seat rumbled and there was a blast of wind that made me feel like I was literally being kicked off an airport runway.

It was one of several moments during the keynote that Delta used the haptic technology built into each of Sphere’s 10,000 seats, combined with the venue’s visual and audio capabilities, to create a full-body, multi-sensory experience. At one point, as the screen turned into a giant cockpit and we seemed to be leaving the ground, I felt my eyes cross and my stomach churn — a feeling similar to the kind of motion sickness I’ve felt in VR before and then roller coasters.

The 3D effect of a spinning globe gave the impression that it filled the sphere, while a closing fireworks display filled the sky with whistles, crackles and noises that echoed up through the seats. More intimate moments saw cameras zoom in on long-time Delta employees scattered throughout the audience as Bastian honored their contributions over many years of flying.

Even before the keynote, which took Delta almost a full year to design and prepare, this event was the hot ticket of CES – and as it turns out, rightfully so. Perhaps regular Delta fliers might have preferred it if the airline had invested that money into expanding legroom, but this often-cynical reporter was impressed by the spectacle, which left me feeling more hopeful about the technology than I have. otherwise in this rather weak technological show.

There was a stark contrast between the muffled, repetitive announcements and heartfelt introductions from actual Delta flight attendants, which combined with the multi-sensory nature of the event left me feeling enveloped in the world of a bold and iconic brand that has fear steals the show.