From the best over-ear headphones, to games consoles, speakers, Google, Apple, and Samsung phones
It’s been a bumper year for tech with plenty of new gadgets launching as well as some key upgrades to established favourites. I’m a technology expert, and this year I’ve tested and reviewed loads of devices – but some stand out.
We’ve had an update to the best over-ear headphones, an update to the best handheld games console, some great advances in phones and a whole lot more. Whether it’s great design, value for money or just pure performance, there are lots of things that make a gadget stand out.
These are my favourite gadgets of 2025, with the reasons I think they’re worth the investment.
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Marshall Kilburn III
There are loads of Bluetooth speakers out there, and while I turn to the UE Wonderboom as my compact speaker of choice, sometimes I want a little more. That’s where the Marshall Kilburn III comes in.
This Bluetooth speaker has the power and performance to fill a room with party music, but it’s the design that I like, looking like a classic Marshall amp. The physical switches and knobs add a retro feel that’s really cool. It’s battery powered, offering 50 hours of portable playtime, and thanks to that huge battery, it can also be used to charge a smartphone.
It’s a little expensive at £299.99 on Argos, but this is a serious Bluetooth speaker that’s versatile, powerful and offers great quality sound. Best of all, everyone invited to your party will love it.
Google Pixel 10 Pro
When I have to pick a new phone, I turn to Google’s Pixel phones. There are some very good reasons for this: there’s 7 years of software support, so they last a long time, they offer a smooth interface that’s free of clutter and the bloat found on other phones, and there’s one of the best cameras available on a phone.
The Google Pixel 10 Pro exemplifies this, offering a great experience across the device. It’s not quite as powerful as the new OnePlus 15, but I think the experience is the real winner here. Pixel devices are the first to get new updates; they benefit from Google’s Gemini AI, and there’s a sense of cohesion that not all phones offer.
The Pixel 10 Pro is available for £899 on Amazon, although it’s also being offered with a free Pixel Watch 3 at the same price if buying the 128GB model.
Alternatively, it’s available at Mobiles.co.uk for £27.99 a month (£29 upfront) with 100GB data on a 24-month plan – again, there’s the offer of a free Pixel Watch 3 with it.
Sony WH-1000XM6
I love my noise-cancelling headphones, and Sony finally updated the fabled 1000X in 2025. The WH-1000XM6 instantly became my go-to headphones for travel thanks to the outstanding sound quality and excellent noise cancellation. Seriously, it’s like a blanket of silence being draped over you.
The big change for this model is that it returns to a folding design, so it is a little more compact than the previous iteration, although the case is still quite bulky. Amazon is offering a £63 discount, so they are £335.10 – and there’s no avoiding that these are pricey.
However, I wouldn’t judge shoppers who choose the older WH-1000XM5, which are £199 on Amazon. They look identical, the sound quality and noise cancelling are very close, and the overall experience is pretty much the same. They just don’t fold up as small, so they are a little less convenient.
Nintendo Switch 2
It feels like we’ve been waiting ages for Nintendo to come out with a new games console, and finally, 2025 delivered with the Nintendo Switch 2. The Switch 2 continues with everything the Switch was good at: it has some of the best party games like Mario Kart World, has some of the best exclusives, like Pokémon, and offers versatility.
The Switch 2 can be a handheld gaming machine – great for travel – or it can be docked to play on the TV, and is ideal for multiplayer games thanks to the clever controllers. But the Switch 2 is better in every area: it’s more powerful, the display is better, and the hardware is better.
Nintendo’s hardware lasts a long time, and with great backwards compatibility, the Switch 2 can play games from the old Switch catalogue too. But being so new, the £385 asking price at Currys is a little steep.
Apple iPad 11th Gen
There’s no shortage of tablets to choose from, but there’s one family of devices that dominates: the iPad. While there’s a new and hugely powerful iPad Pro (M5), I’d choose the standard iPad powered by the A16 chip for one simple reason – it’s the most affordable of the lot.
While this iPad misses out on the OLED screen of the Pro, it more than makes up for it with value for money. The user interface is the same, it offers the best selection of optimised tablet apps and is still compatible with accessory keyboards for those wanting to use it for emails or shopping.
Available for £309 on Amazon, the iPad 11th Gen is an easy choice for those looking for a larger screen for gaming, shopping, reading or browsing.
TCL T6C
I’ve seen a lot of TVs in 2025, and while I’d be happy to recommend the Sony Bravia 8 II at £1799 or the Samsung S95F at £1499 as some of the best OLED TVs I’ve ever seen, the biggest surprise TV for me came from TCL.
TCL throws a lot of technology into its TVs and while its premium models are great, it also has some amazing televisions at the affordable end of the scale. The TCL T6C runs Fire TV so it’s super connected, it has Freely so there’s no need for an aerial to watch broadcast channels like BBC or ITV, and it offers good picture quality too.
This is a champion of small TVs, offering the latest streaming and connected features, but the 50-inch model is only £275 on Amazon, which is great value.
Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7
When it comes to feats of engineering, I’ve found that the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7 has captured my attention. My big problem with the “book” type of folding phone has been the bulk, and the way that Samsung has slimmed this down to 8.9mm when folded (about the same as a regular phone) or 4.2mm when unfolded, is remarkable.
It’s just a phone that looks great, while packing in two wonderful displays and loads of power. It’s a luxury, for sure, but Samsung’s achievement here shouldn’t be overlooked, even if the £1499 price on Laptops Direct (with a £300 discount) puts it beyond the reach of many.
We could see Apple launch a folding phone in 2026, but it’s Samsung that’s dominated folding phones through these early years of the format. While it’s a great achievement to have a phone this slim – with performance this good – unless you know what you’re going to do with that space, you might be better off with a normal phone instead.
