This year’s CEDIA Expo technically wasn’t my first show (that was 2022), in a lot of ways, it felt like it. As such, I feel the need to sit down and write out my thoughts and experiences regarding CEDIA Expo 2025 now that it’s all been said and done. A lot can change in a few years, and, in truth, 2022 was a bit of an odd position for me and the show, anyway.
It was the show’s second outing since the pandemic, and the industry itself was teetering on some unsteady footing between getting back into its groove and the looming supply-chain issues following post-lockdown highs. I wasn’t even working for CE Pro at the time; instead writing for a microscopic design/build magazine talking about wellness and sustainability. Needless to say, the scope of my coverage for the show was so narrow that it put the “point” in “point-of-view.”
As of today, however, I’ve been writing for CE Pro for a little over three years, and I’ve been drinking water from the firehose the entire time. All that to say: it may technically be my first CEDIA Expo experience since I started working for the industry, but I would by no means consider myself unfamiliar with all that is going on at the show today. Coming back for CEDIA Expo 2025, I had a lot of new perspectives coming with me. The tradeshow had changed a decent bit as well.
The wellness craze of the post-pandemic has been overtaken by the AI craze. Lighting has planted itself in the industry as this powerhouse akin to the AV installations of yore. Meanwhile, power management systems are on the rise as the next potential big breakout. There’s also the fact that commercial work has gotten so big that it’s no longer just CEDIA Expo, but instead CEDIA Expo/CIX.
Like anything to do with tech, the trends and products featured at CEDIA Expo rarely linger for long, our thoughts often drifting towards the next innovation. Who here remembers Orro’s rising star? Or perhaps Swidget? Products once the center of attention now talked about only in the scope of “Whatever happened to them?”
I still lament the missed potential of Orro, though Swidget, at least, still seems to be going strong, even if it’s no longer presenting at the show.
The one thing that sticks, however, is the excitement around it all—the energy—and in my brief hiatus, that certainly hasn’t changed.
Thoughts on CEDIA Expo 2025: Welcome to the New New
Whereas 2022 felt as though the industry was still regaining its footing post pandemic, 2025 gave the sensation that the industry was taking a very confident step forward in many different respects.
Stepping out onto the show floor bore a sense of overwhelming awe as booming sound systems competed for everyone’s collective attention. Navigating between booths felt like I was trying to shoulder my way through crowded city streets at times, which makes sense considering many of the exhibits operated like their own custom domiciles.
Therein lies a subtle, yet noteworthy evolution of the industry. Brands and products remain front and center in most cases, but in conveying their value, nearly all brands have taken a noteworthy turn towards conveying lifestyle and experience.
Nowhere is that conveyed more than in the case of WAC/AiSPIRE, at least for me. Most of that is because it was one of the first lighting brands I got exposed to before I began to cover the custom integration industry in earnest.
Announced at the show, Quartus will be combining all the lighting experiences of AiSPIRE into a single, unified product line.
At CEDIA Expo 2022, I experienced a booth that presented product and spoke on its connections to lifestyle. At CEDIA Expo 2025, I experienced a booth that presented lifestyle and spoke on its connections to products.
It’s emblematic of a changed philosophy in the industry, not just with WAC/AiSPIRE, but with nearly every exhibitor present at the show. Before, I would have called it a “changing” philosophy, but I think we’re past that point.
I have seen it sweep across buying groups. I have seen it shape sales strategies, education and design. For me, the idea of integrated design, where dealers are holistically building systems personalized for a client’s lifestyle is no longer changing the industry. It has changed the industry.
But while manufacturers, educators and all other figures on the supply and support side have adopted the language, it remains up to the dealers to learn it, embody it and use it to better support their clients. My thoughts are that CEDIA Expo 2025 stands as proof to that at the very least.
Design’s Outsized Influence at the Show
It should come as no wonder, then, that design held an outsized influence while at the show. However, its influence came through in more ways than one.
Yes, everything looked gorgeous. I would argue that’s no longer an exception at this point, though; it’s the expectation.
Clients and—perhaps just as critically—designers want those clean lines and friendly aesthetics in just about every little piece of technology in the home, and if you can’t make it look clean, you better be able to hide it in most cases (after all, there are still plenty of people out there that love to show off their sound systems in all their glory).
If I could give one shout-out in the realm of innovation in product design, however, it would absolutely be to Leon. Ever the design-forward company, it’s hard to tell if the company’s routine exhibitions at ICFF are starting to rub off on its design philosophy. Where else might we get acoustic treatments that look like woven wall art?
At the risk of seeming like I chase after shinies like a magpie, Leon’s use of design as a differentiating factor could point towards how custom integration can further customize itself as seamless integration into one’s lifestyle becomes the defining measure of success for a system.
In speaking with them at the show, however, I totally get it. We call ourselves the “custom integration” industry, and quite honestly, nothing gets more “custom” and personal than a piece of art. Why do we engage with art at the end of the day? Because it’s personal, emotional and it allows us to form a clear connection with something inanimate.
Leon is taking that idea to its extreme with its offerings, and I would love to see just how others attempt to follow suit with their own design ideas.
Collaboration and Opportunity
When I say design had an outsized influence at the show, I meant it more in business approach.
To understand what I’m talking about, you need look no further than the keynoter. I wrote a general article discussing my thoughts about Chip Wade’s keynote overall, but the main thing I want to focus on is his (and other designers’) approach to project relationships, not just with integrators, but with anyone working on a project.
Collaboration was the word used time and time again, and it’s not a new concept. Where my thoughts began to diverge from that framework at CEDIA Expo 2025, however, was how Wade presented it.
Despite having a drastically different background and current workload compared to most integrators at the show, Wade’s overwhelming embrace of collaboration as a business and personal growth tool speaks heavily to the current challenges many growing businesses face in the current industry.
Even before the show, CE Pro picked up on a trend that saw integrators leaning more heavily on design services for their projects. At the time, I wouldn’t have necessarily considered this collaboration in the same way I would an integrator and designer working with one another.
There’s an issue with expectations plaguing many integrators now. With how expansive technology categories have become, the question of “What do I need to be an expert in?” comes up time and time again. But listening to Wade talk, and to other designers talk, changed that. And now I think the answer is a lot simpler than many might realize.
What do integrators need to be experts in? Well, the same things they’ve been experts in this entire time.
While collaboration has historically been viewed as a means of getting brought onto projects earlier, Wade and every other designer I spoke to at the show viewed it as an opportunity to leverage new verticals as pathways for them to keep doing what they do best, only now, they’re getting in front of a lot more people.
If you happen to find a new passion to become an expert in along the way, that’s just a bonus for you.
The Winds of Change Keep Blowing
It’s flattering to see all these people from outside this once insular community coming in to help it grow and expand. Compared to the titans of design and architecture, custom integration remains relatively young, and in many cases, I see the collective lessons learned across centuries by these older industries beginning to be passed on to integrators today.
Obviously, the business models differ greatly, but the focuses, for the first time in a long while, seem to be finally aligning. Manufacturers new and old are taking notice of a channel that is becoming more equipped to deliver once-niche products to an expanding customer base.
The diversity of products belies a steadily growing ecosystem ranging from the ultra-high-end to the more consumer-friendly middle-market entrants, because in many cases, it’s not about the price tag as much anymore.
Instead, it’s about the end-user experience and the installation experience, which has given these more affordable consumer-grade products an edge in agility and simplicity in many cases. Deako’s lightning-fast provisioning of switches and Aqara’s interoperability are just some features helping these newcomers cement solid value in an industry where product value (at least on the business side of thing) was once measured largely by MSRP and margin.
In summation, my thoughts on CEDIA Expo 2025 are: I loved it. It’s my firm opinion that the show highlighted what a great time to be a part of this industry, and it’s great to be back.
