Being a tech journalist, I’m lucky to evaluation and take a look at tons of of devices earlier than anybody else. All year long, I take advantage of tons of of gadgets throughout each class, and it’s each enjoyable and difficult to sift by essentially the most fascinating merchandise in addition to the run-of-the-mill ones. There’s something to study from each piece of tech you evaluation, and it’s okay to be vital of what you don’t like, particularly right this moment, when critics are judged and mentioned for not liking one thing, and sometimes haunted by on-line trolls and fan golf equipment, notably in India.
Anyway, the listing (beneath) could be very private and has nothing to do with how nicely a product was acquired by customers or whether or not it didn’t reside as much as the hype commercially.
Right here’s my favorite tech merchandise of 2025, together with AI instruments in no particular order.
The iPhone Air presents a tremendous in-hand expertise. (Picture credit score: Reuters)
Apple iPhone Air
When the iPhone Air was introduced, I used to be within the different camp – fully dissing the product and being overly vital, questioning Apple’s must make a cellphone like this within the first place. I used to be incorrect, and I realised that after utilizing it for a number of months. The iPhone Air could be very poetic; it has its personal rhythm, and it’s arduous to make comparisons. Positive, there are higher iPhones available in the market (and inside Apple, this was no secret), however the great thing about the Air lies in how recent it feels as an idea, providing a brand new mind-set with out deviating from what’s already good. The iPhone Air is that for me, and I really feel solely a grasp craftsman might pull it off. The Air focuses on magnificence, provides persona and depth, and but stays fairly useful. I take advantage of it on a regular basis. For lovers of intricate tech, the iPhone Air seems like a prototype that’s nonetheless unfinished – and that, to me, is an enormous a part of its attraction.
The Nothing Headphones (1) stand out amongst a sea of noise-cancelling headphones because of their tech-retro-infused design. (Picture credit score: Anuj Bhatia/Indian Categorical)
Nothing Headphone (1)
The Nothing Headphone (1) highlights a daring try at over-ear headphones that stay utilitarian and, fairly truthfully, really feel like some other product one may purchase from a division retailer. Nothing’s first headphones, nonetheless, have a boutique-only enchantment extra like an entry-level luxurious watch, with meticulous detailing, that includes the model’s signature clear design and intuitive bodily controls such because the paddle rocker. These headphones sound fairly good, although they aren’t the perfect available in the market. They appear cool and trendy, reminding me of the period when a Sony Walkman was a factor. They really feel good and cozy on the top and, total, ship good sound high quality.
The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7 is 8.9 mm thick when folded and 4.2 mm when open. (Picture credit score: Anuj Bhatia/The Indian Categorical)
Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7
I’ve had a really bizarre relationship with foldables. I need to use them as my go-to cellphone, however I get bored after just some days. I by no means really understood what was incorrect with foldables, and albeit, I couldn’t totally belief them or settle for their flaws. Nevertheless, the Galaxy Z Fold 7 was the primary gadget that made me really feel one thing about foldables that I had by no means skilled earlier than. The Z Fold 7 seems and seems like a traditional cellphone I’m so used to. Its dimensions and in-hand really feel don’t make you are feeling such as you’re utilizing a foldable. Plus, it doubles as a pill, so I don’t have to hold one other gadget with me. It’s additionally shockingly skinny for a foldable cellphone, although I want it had been a bit simpler to open.
That’s to not say the Z Fold 7 is ideal; it has its share of flaws. I want it had longer battery life, and the digicam system might have been higher. However once more, no cellphone is ideal. That stated, I really feel there’s plenty of potential in foldable telephones, and the class itself hasn’t reached a saturation level but. I anticipate extra refined variations because the know-how will get higher. For me, the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7 is completely different from people who got here earlier than, and it’s a shock smartphone on my listing – one I by no means thought it could be.
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The Ray-Ban Gen 2 good glasses have modified how I journey. (Picture credit score: Anuj Bhatia/Indian Categorical)
Meta Ray-Ban (Gen 2) AI good glasses
At first, I used to be hesitant to put on the Ray-Ban Gen 2 in public, however I took the plunge and now put on them on daily basis. Regardless of their shortcomings, Meta’s entry-level good glasses are plenty of enjoyable for what they’ll do proper now. They take photos, report movies, play music, and take calls. You need to use AI voice instructions to function them, translate international languages reside, or get questions answered proper in entrance of your face (to be clear, they don’t have an in-lens heads-up show). I like the concept of utilizing synthetic intelligence on glasses reasonably than on my cellphone.
It might sound a bit controversial at first, however belief me – AI in your face really makes plenty of sense. Nevertheless, Meta AI is the weakest level of the in any other case wonderful Ray-Ban Gen 2 glasses. I want Meta AI had a persona of its personal and will study from my behaviour. There are nonetheless plenty of ifs and buts with Meta AI. That stated, I didn’t anticipate to proceed sporting these glasses. They’ve grow to be my most-used digicam for on a regular basis moments and have even changed Bluetooth earbuds for taking calls. It’s essentially the most discreet gadget I’ve ever used. Travellers and vloggers will find it irresistible however not privateness crusaders, for positive.
The Google Pixel 10 Professional XL is the perfect Android smartphone of 2025. (Picture credit score: Anuj Bhatia/Indian Categorical)
Google Pixel 10 Professional XL
This yr, it wasn’t a flagship iPhone however the Pixel 10 Professional XL,. an Android smartphone that impressed me essentially the most. It’s the one cellphone I used for the longest interval (though, on the time of writing, I’ve switched to the Pixel 10 Professional Fold). Frankly, I received the identical feeling I as soon as did when utilizing an iPhone, and that shift in behaviour says loads about how far Google has are available in making its personal {hardware}. I appreciated its massive 6.8-inch show, the larger 5,200mAh battery, and a formidable digicam system that’s arduous to beat. Maybe what really stands out in regards to the Pixel 10 Professional XL is how straightforward it’s to make use of, particularly its clearly outlined AI options. My most-used AI function is Magic Cue, which is genuinely helpful. For instance, it could actually fetch reservation particulars out of your search historical past and place a card within the Telephone app with associated flight data. That’s superior as there’s no must dig by emails or different apps to search out what you’re searching for. The software program is what has grow to be the largest enabler of Pixel smartphones, one thing the iPhone is clearly missing proper now.
The Change 2 is each critically and commercially profitable, and it exhibits Nintendo’s religion within the hybrid type issue (Picture credit score: Anuj Bhatia/Indian Categorical)
Nintendo Change 2
The Change 2 didn’t shock me in any respect. Actually, I had a good concept of what it could be lengthy earlier than it was introduced. What did shock me, nonetheless, is how Nintendo managed to make an iterative replace really feel so good that the Change 2 typically seems like a wholly new console (you’re free to disagree). The actual story of the Change 2 isn’t the plain upgrades like extra energy or an even bigger display screen, however the small issues – the refined refinements. Particulars just like the sleeker look, enjoyable new methods akin to mouse controls and built-in video chat, and nice video games, each new and previous. The core concept behind the unique Nintendo Change was versatility: play it at house on the TV or play it handheld on a aircraft. That philosophy has carried ahead to the Change 2 as nicely. The massive takeaway with the Nintendo Change 2 is that it feels much less like a radical reinvention of what gaming could be and extra like a smartphone improve, and that’s okay. Typically you don’t should reinvent the wheel.
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Nothing is changing the flashing lights of its Glyph Interface for a tiny dot-matrix show on the rear of the Telephone 3 and is looking it the Glyph Matrix.(Picture credit score: Anuj Bhatia/Indian Categorical)
Nothing Telephone (3)
The extra I give it some thought, the extra curious I’m in regards to the Nothing Telephone (3). The second you are taking the Telephone 3 out of the field, it feels distinctly Nothing – and distinctly Marc Newson, the well-known industrial designer, at the very least in how I have a tendency to take a look at it. It’s a designer cellphone by and thru, and whereas it could not have lived as much as the promise – at the very least as some critics framed it, I beloved each little bit of the Telephone 3. It’s a barely bizarre smartphone with its personal quirks, particularly the brand new Glyph Matrix show. It may not be essentially the most highly effective gadget available on the market, nor does it have the perfect smartphone digicam round, however I take pleasure in utilizing it. There’s a refined nostalgic attraction on the core of the Nothing Telephone (3), but it nonetheless feels strikingly trendy. The Telephone (3) is for a sure viewers – and let’s admit it.
Google Gemini and Perplexity
This yr, I spent plenty of time testing Gemini, and it has improved considerably. Nevertheless, the place Gemini really made a dent was in AI picture technology, particularly with Nano Banana Professional. Actually, for lots of the pictures I generated, I couldn’t instantly inform whether or not they had been actual or created utilizing AI. The photographs felt extra refined, and Nano Banana Professional really excels at realism.
One other private favorite AI instrument of mine was Perplexity, notably as an AI search engine. Perplexity is nice at sourcing data from trusted sources and delivering it effectively; in some ways, it feels finest fitted to verified search. What additionally makes Perplexity work for me is its slick interface and voice chat capabilities, although I need to say that OpenAI’s ChatGPT comes out on high relating to deep search.
The Pixel Watch 4 did shock me, and I wasn’t prepared for it. (Picture credit score: The Indian Categorical/ Anuj Bhatia)
Honorable mentions
Google Pixel Watch 4
The Pixel Watch 4 was a kind of gadgets I by accident found and fell in love with – and it stays one among my favorite smartwatches for 2025. It has an attractive design, a formidable show, Google Gemini proper in your wrist, good battery life with blazing-fast charging, a slick interface, and the Fitbit ecosystem as a serious draw.
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The Asus ZenBook A14 weighs lower than a kilogram and has smartphone-like battery life. (Picture credit score: Anuj Bhatia/Indian Categorical)
Asus ZenBook A14
As a seasoned traveller, I search for two issues in a laptop computer: a thin-and-light type issue and lengthy battery life. The Asus ZenBook A14 delivered on each. It weighs simply 980 grams, making it straightforward to hold round or lug in a backpack, because of a brand new Ceraluminum materials. The pocket book is powered by a Snapdragon X processor – whereas not the quickest, it’s ok for on a regular basis duties. The place the ZenBook A14 stunned me essentially the most, nonetheless, was its battery life, which exceeded 20 hours on a single cost.
The Motorola Edge 60 Stylus has a built-in stylus, good for be aware taking. (Picture credit score: Anuj Bhatia/The Indian Categorical)
Motorola Edge 60 Stylus
The Edge 60 Stylus is an extremely well-designed Android smartphone. The principle star of the present is the stylus and the way seamlessly it really works. Positive, this isn’t the primary stylus-powered smartphone, but it surely’s uncommon to see one at this worth level. It presents a easy, easy expertise, lengthy battery life, and an enormous show on a finances – and sure, with a stylus. It’s arduous to go incorrect with the Motorola Edge 60 Stylus.