IEEE Spectrum’s Top Consumer Tech Stories of 2025

In 2025, many of IEEE spectrum'stop consumer electronics the stories were about creating experiences You I want it with technology. Open source software offers more customization options for laptops and displays, devices with less distracting designs are being recognized through a new certification, and smart glasses Manufacturers have found ways to find out what users really want wearable technology.

Other stories highlighted exciting fundamental technologies in our smartphonesfor example, how is your new one iPhone stays cool and its camera can collect information beyond what the human eye can see. And we looked at the impact of US tariffs imposed by the Trump administration.

We are preparing for 2026, filled with many exciting events. In the meantime, read on IEEE Spectrum'The most popular stories about consumer electronics this year.

Source image: Modos

When the hours of our days may be at the mercy of screens, electronic documents displays offer an option that is easier on the eyes. Historically, these displays have been too slow for everyday computing. But this year, a small startup from Boston called Modes created a monitor and display development kit with a 75Hz refresh rate – comparable to some basic ones LCD display screens. This speed is enough even for video.

“Modos has a not-so-secret weapon” contributing editor Matthew Smith writes. In particular, the open source display controller is key to display speed. Modos has completed his crowdfunding The campaign and pre-orders are scheduled to ship at the end of January 2026.

IEEE spectrum; Source images: Apple

Without proper cooling technology, high-end smartphones risk burning a hole in your pocket—literally. The latest generation of Apple smartphones, released in September, includes the iPhone 17 Pro and Pro Max. contain thin chambers with water which help dissipate heat through evaporation. However, cooling phones with water vapor is nothing new: high-end smartphones from Samsung And Google also use this technique.

For more information on how to keep our electronics cool, see IEEE spectrumrecent special report, Hot, hot future of chips. Our editors and expert writers tell you how lasers, liquid coolingand diamond blankets can help temperature control for more complex and productive chips.

Deep Computing

Most laptops can only be customized to a certain extent. Once you get down to the level of specific instructions about how the computer executes instructions (instruction set architecture), laptops typically run on proprietary technologies like x86 and Arm.

Earlier this year, a manufacturer of repairable computers Framework released a laptop that can support RISC-V motherboardbringing open source architecture to the masses – or at least developers and early adopters interested in moving away from dominant closed architectures. Later that year, Framework also made news by releasing replacement graphics module for laptopallowing users to choose between AMD The GPU that the laptop originally shipped with and the Nvidia RTX 5070.

Vincent Walter/Purdue University

A picture is worth a thousand words, as the cliché goes. But images captured by your smartphone's camera contain more information than you might imagine. While the human eye is sensitive to a limited range of visible light wavelengths, the pixels in a standard smartphone camera sensor are potentially sensitive to a much wider range of wavelengths.

Researchers from Purdue The university has developed a way capture hyperspectral information by placing a card with a color scheme in the frame. With this technology, a regular smartphone can serve as a “pocket spectrometer” and identify specific chemicals for detection. medical diagnosticsanalysis of pigments in works of art and much more.

Anthony Behar/USA Girl/Alamy

Shortly after U.S. President Donald Trump sworn in for his second term in January, he began imposing new tariffs on foreign goods. In April, Trump announced significant changes, including a universal 10 percent tariff on all imports, as well as a 125 percent tariff on Chinese goods (now reduced to a much lower base level of 10 percent).

To find out how these tariffs could affect the US electronics market, senior editor Samuel Moore interviewed Sean DuBravac, chief economist at the Global Electronics Association (formerly IPC, or the Institute Printed circuits). As changes continue, they talked about projected price increases, changing supply chains and the impact on lower-cost electronics.

Spectrum also covered how tariffs affect hobbyists and studentswhich often rely on components sourced from suppliers outside United States. And stay tuned for more stories about the relationship between technology and government from technology policy editor Lukas Laursen.

Mui Lab

Thanks to the huge number attractive technology presented at the annual Consumer Electronics Show (KES), it's only fitting that the event is held in Las Vegas. But at CES 2025, some devices took a different approach. Calm Tech has given new certification to several devices showcased at CES that are designed to be less distracting and less of our attention.

For example, electronic ink A wood-effect tablet and smart home interface were among the first batch of devices to receive certification. While everyday devices bombard us with notifications, quiet technology default to minimal notifications and a more natural design.

Source images: Xreal; Patrick T. Fallon/AFP/Getty Images

Rounding out the list, this feature article addresses a fundamental question in consumer technology: What do users really want? Smart glasses have finally reached mainstream use, member Alfred Poor compares two paths forward to wearable technology. “Should a head-mounted display mimic the computer screens we use today, or should it work more like a smartwatch that only displays a limited amount of information at a time?” Two small companies, Xreal and Halliday, offer augmented reality glasses that reflect two design concepts and the tradeoffs between them.