The 5 most innovative tech products that surprised us this year (including a first for robot vacs)

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Welcome to ZDNET’s “Breakthrough” Awards for 2025, our newest custom that celebrates essentially the most revolutionary and forward-thinking applied sciences to cross our editors’ desks this yr.

Over the previous 12 months, we have spent numerous hours difficult the utility of foldable phones that dominated the cell dialog, lived complete work weeks by means of the lens of recent smart glasses and VR headsets, and benchmarked extra robots than ever, from ones that may ideate and pull context by means of the lenses of our telephones, to ones that may sweep, vacuum, mop, and achieve each chore in between.

Additionally: The 40 best products we tested in 2025: Editors’ picks for phones, TVs, AI, and more

Amidst this relentless wave of maturing — but, continuously innovating — product classes, figuring out a real ‘Breakthrough’ has by no means been tougher. These awards do not simply go to the quickest chipset or essentially the most premium design; they go to the merchandise that basically modified the dialog, set a brand new bar for innovation, and confirmed us a glimpse of the know-how that can outline the remainder of the last decade.

In no explicit order, listed here are the recipients of the ZDNET Breakthrough Award for 2025.

1. Huawei Mate XT Final: The primary tri-foldable of many

Whereas Samsung’s upcoming Galaxy Z TriFold continues to dominate the headlines on the finish of the yr, it was a competing tri-foldable cellphone that left the most important footprint in 2025. The Huawei Mate XT Ultimate launched globally again in February and noticed instant fanfare. We witnessed the hype in individual at Cell World Congress in Barcelona, as a whole lot of journalists, analysts, and tech fans flooded the Huawei sales space to get a really feel of the Chinese language tech big’s shape-shifting handset.

Additionally: I tested Huawei’s $3,600 tri-foldable phone – now I’m wondering why Samsung hasn’t made this yet

Not like conventional foldable telephones that may solely bend on the middle, the Huawei Mate XT Final options two inward-folding hinges, changing a single 6.4-inch display into a bigger, tablet-like 10.2-inch show. The result’s a real multimedia consumption gadget that may match into pants pockets, backpack sleeves, and extra. 

Whereas the shortage of Google companies was a notable caveat of the Huawei foldable, we discovered its normal performance and in any other case uncompromising characteristic set admirable.

ZDNET’s Prakhar Khanna put it finest: “The Huawei Mate XT Final units a brand new benchmark for tri-fold telephones, displaying they’re now not simply experimental — however a daring step towards the way forward for cell computing.”

2. Roborock Saros Z70: Actually a serving to hand

Robot vacuums proceed to play an important function in hundreds of households, however is there room to broaden past vacuuming and mopping? Roborock put its cash on “actually transferring obstructions” in 2025 with the Saros Z70 mannequin, and it left an enduring impression on ZDNET’s good dwelling skilled, Maria Diaz.

Additionally: This viral Roborock with a robot arm is 25% off on Amazon – so it’s finally buy time for me

The Saros Z70 featured an OmniGrip mechanical arm able to detecting and choosing up light-weight objects, resembling socks, tissues, and sandals, as long as they weighed beneath 300 grams. From our exams, the motorized characteristic was profitable more often than not, although the automation required time and apply. 

Due to a built-in digicam, customers may also remote-control the Saros Z70 from their telephones, driving the vacuum whereas working the mechanical arm like a claw machine.

“The Saros Z70 is the following degree in robotic vacuum know-how, and it is pioneering the concept of a practical, multipurpose family robotic you can really depend on,” stated Diaz, and that is why it is earned a spot on ZDNET’s listing of Breakthroughs this yr.

3. Samsung Micro RGB TV: A color-perfect future

A number of TV producers launched their first micro-scale RGB LED TVs in 2025, marking a major development in LCD backlighting and colour accuracy. The elemental know-how is exceptionally small RGB LEDs — with Samsung’s iteration measuring at lower than 100 micrometers every — that enable the TV to cowl the complete spectrum of the BT.2020 colour customary. 

Additionally: The next big TV panel leap was just unveiled by Samsung – and it makes LED look outdated

We noticed Samsung’s 115-inch Micro RGB TV in individual, and the excessive degree of colour precision, distinction, and brightness made even OLED units pale compared. Notably, the Samsung Micro RGB doesn’t make the most of the model’s personal self-emissive MicroLED show; as an alternative, the newest TV employs particular person backlights (LCD) to show colour. Though complicated, our takeaway from seeing the TV in individual was that the implementation is effectively price it.

Finally, the Samsung Micro RGB TV is an attractive paradox. It’s each a wonderful closing chapter for the age of the backlit LCD and a superb, complicated prelude to the period of true mini LED. Count on to see extra competitors within the area within the years forward.

4. Meta Ray-Ban Show: The following frontier of good glasses

Using on the recognition of Ray-Ban-branded smart glasses, Meta went for a homer this yr when it launched the Ray-Ban Show at Join. Whereas the good glasses retained important options like hands-free photograph and video capturing, additionally they launched a waveguide, full-color show that projected contextual info — realizing the true multimodal capabilities of AI wearables.

Additionally: I tried the Meta Ray-Ban Display glasses, and they got me excited for the post-smartphone era

By way of a companion accent, an EMG neural wristband, customers may navigate the floating interfaces with varied hand gestures. Our crew was in a position to be taught and familiarize itself with the controls inside minutes of testing. From then on, the Ray-Ban Show grew to become a automobile for ambient info, starting from dwell captions throughout conversations to Meta AI responses and incoming notifications.

The Meta Ray-Ban Show’s bundle worth stays a degree of power, promoting for $799. Inside the first weeks of launch, the newest good glasses noticed reservation demos pushed again by months. The query now’s how rivals like Google, Samsung, and presumably even Apple will reply in 2026.

5. Antigravity A1: A drone that by no means misses a shot

Antigravity, a sub-brand of standard digicam maker Insta360, launched this summer time, and its first product set the bar excessive. ZDNET’s Cesar Cadenas examined the A1 drone in Los Angeles and located its 360-degree video recording to be a game-changer for content material creation. Successfully, you possibly can by no means miss a shot with the A1’s 8K sensor, and its 249-gram weight falls just below the US authorities’s 250-gram restrict for leisure drone-flying.

Additionally: I replaced my travel video gear with this 360-degree drone within minutes of testing it

The Antigravity A1 works in tandem with a Grip Controller and Imaginative and prescient Goggles, the latter of which offers the person with a first-person view of the drone’s sensors as they drift by means of the sky. Due to the goggles’ micro-OLED shows and commendably low-latency video streaming, Cadenas was left impressed with the complete flight expertise.

“Sure, it is costly [at $1,599], however I would nonetheless suggest the A1 to anybody keen on drones. Its ease of use makes it nice for newcomers, and creators can be impressed by the video high quality,” stated Cadenas.