2025 has formed as much as be a 12 months of breakthroughs and experimentation for the tech business; smartphones and wearables do not simply look completely different, however have began to change into extra user-friendly, because of AI. Trifold gadgets have arrived, ultra-thin designs are on the rise, and sensible glasses are gaining recognition.
On the similar time, throw in rising costs pushed notably by world tensions, and this 12 months additionally marked a turning level in client tech, giving us a sense that we’re certainly dwelling sooner or later.
The foldable glow up: Trifold goes mainstream
Whereas tri-fold gadgets aren’t a brand new idea, they did not actually catch on, not less than not on this a part of the world. Huawei’s Mate XT was the primary to show that this idea was certainly potential; its restricted availability made it extra of a distant dream fairly than a usable machine.
However Samsung could have modified it in a single day. The corporate lastly launched the Galaxy Z Trifold on December 1, which is claimed to deliver the ability of “probably the most superior foldable applied sciences” proper into the palm of your palms.
Basically, making the shape issue extra legitimate and extensively accessible to the broader smartphone market. When Samsung launches a brand new machine, your entire ecosystem follows, from Google optimizing Android for it to carriers that is likely to be keen to subsidize it for customers. This additionally means builders will begin creating apps suitable with multi-window help on a bigger scale. However it would not simply finish there.
Samsung’s intention wasn’t about including one other display, however to experiment with whether or not a trifold might really be a usable product. Whereas it might not substitute conventional slab telephones anytime quickly, it might double as a pill and a productiveness device. This sort of shift in thought from “Why would you need this?” to “Who is that this really made for?” is a big deal. This transfer by Samsung might push rivals to make their very own tri-fold and doubtlessly drive individuals to think about proudly owning this machine.
AI takes heart stage as firms shift focus
For the previous few years, AI has been a buzzword for each main tech firm. Nevertheless, in 2025, we have lastly began to see it pulling its weight with fashions like Gemini 3 Professional, ChatGPT 5.2, Meta’s Llama 4, and so forth.
As an alternative of being within the background on many gadgets to date, generative AI has change into a core function of smartphones, to the purpose that it has been baked into each side of the machine. It will probably actually “see” what you see, assist you to navigate higher, and even allow you to “attempt on” garments whereas purchasing on-line. From search and images to productiveness instruments, AI may even assist you to create higher workflows to handle your day. A lot in order that we even have an AI Dwelling robotic in our midst.
This 12 months wasn’t about flashy demos — it was about exhibiting us how AI might work its manner into our lives. Corporations like Google, Samsung, and OnePlus additionally redefined the person expertise with extra intuitive AI. Now it would not simply reply to your instructions, nevertheless it learns out of your every day routine and offers you customized solutions in actual time.
AI has quickly transitioned from non-compulsory software program to a foundational function on smartphones. This has altered how we work together with our gadgets, marking a monumental shift in client tech.
The rise of the ultra-slim smartphones
This 12 months, we additionally witnessed a number of tech firms obsessive about making super-thin gadgets just like the Galaxy S25 Edge and the iPhone Air, measuring 5.8 mm and 5.6mm, respectively. Becoming all the required parts into such extremely slim casings is an engineering marvel in itself.
Regardless of the hype each firms tried to create with telephones, the S25 Edge and the iPhone Air noticed underwhelming gross sales, a lot in order that Samsung has reportedly determined to ditch the Edge lineup for good.
But we really feel that the slim-phone period is absolutely simply getting began. These gadgets could function essential stepping stones towards future foldables and even slimmer rollable telephones. It nearly feels just like the producers are utilizing these designs to experiment with new supplies, improved battery know-how, and extra, in a quest to slim down {hardware} with out compromising on efficiency.
Tariffs, Tariffs and, extra Tariffs
Nicely, all wasn’t merry within the city of Tech. Earlier this 12 months, beneath the Trump administration, the U.S. imposed hefty tariffs that impacted the tech provide chain.
At first, a ten% tariff was levied on all Chinese language imports, which was later elevated to twenty%. On the similar time, the U.S. additionally imposed 25% tariffs on items from Canada and Mexico. At one level, tariffs went as excessive as 145%, which actually shook up Apple buyers, and the dialogue rapidly broadened to incorporate all smartphone producers. That imposed a 25% tariff on smartphones, together with Apple, Samsung, and different OEMs that manufacture telephones exterior the nation. The outcome?
This despatched all of the tech firms right into a frenzy, main Samsung to reportedly ramp up manufacturing of this 12 months’s Galaxy S25 collection in a preemptive transfer and OnePlus to instantly enhance the worth of its Watch 3. These tariffs even focused semiconductor chips and key electronics, reminiscent of reminiscence chips and circuits, that are principally imported from exterior the nation, particularly from China. After just a few days, the White Home determined to exempt sure electronics from these tariffs briefly.
That stated, it created sufficient confusion for customers and tech firms alike. This implies telephones don’t get costly simply due to their {hardware}, but additionally the worldwide polices that dictate pricing. For now, Samsung and Google have each caught to the identical value tags with their flagships; nonetheless, this might change along with your subsequent cellphone.
XR lastly will get its second
XR had its greatest moments this 12 months as a number of firms raced to place the way forward for tech in your face. Android pushed deeper into XR and VR with the launch of Samsung’s much-awaited Galaxy XR headset in October, to problem Apple’s Imaginative and prescient Professional.
Galaxy XR got here constructed on Android XR, and with Google’s Gemini AI baked proper in. This implies it’s not only a headset operating Android apps but additionally an AI-powered machine that understands your environment and responds via voice, imaginative and prescient, and gestures.
Meta additionally launched new AI-powered sensible glasses this 12 months, and the Meta Ray-Ban Show glasses push the boundaries of wearable tech. As these glasses allow you to do just about something whereas preserving your cellphone tucked away, from checking messages to principally navigating via life, you get to do all of it with only one look on the in-lens show.
Google additionally did not shrink back from exhibiting off its personal improvements within the XR area. It gave us a fast shock demo of its glasses at I/O and supplied a primary take a look at Undertaking Aura from XREAL, which is reportedly geared up with a 70-degree area of view and optical see-through know-how, set to launch in 2026.
