What to expect from AI gadgets in 2025

The market for AI gadgets has no choice but to go to 2025, because that market in 2023 and 2024 was, unfortunately, riddled with garbage.

Overly ambitious devices debuted – apparently linked to the enthusiastic response to ChatGPT and other LLMs – but once they got into consumers’ hands, to say they didn’t appeal would be an understatement .

There was Rabbit R1, a disappointing orange box that, according to Mashable’s Kimberly Gedeon, was essentially a fidget spinner with a screen, with which the user could…do very little. The Verge’s headline summed it up like this: “an unfinished and useless AI gadget“Then came the Humane AI Pin, which YouTube tech reviewer Marques Brownlee bluntly described as “the worst product I have ever tested“.

So the early actors got some attention, but it wasn’t for their usefulness, and it wasn’t exactly positive. The first AI gadget entrepreneurs were more like the inventors of that crazy old stock footage, flying machines from the beginning of the century which doesn’t actually fly.

As we look toward 2025, hope lies in more advanced and functional devices. There is, to be completely clear, no guarantee that we will get such a thing.

1. AI applications pre-programmed into hardware

Useful AI that you can actually hold in your hand might not come at all in the form of a shiny new “AI-powered” device in 2025. Instead, it might materialize via an upgrade. update the stained and scratched device you already have in your pocket.

You may not have even noticed, for example, that the much-vaunted “Apple Intelligence” suite of features that made headlines earlier this year doesn’t actually come with the new iPhone 16. Maybe it was on purpose. Features like “Genmoji” and the new Siri are interesting ideas that are nonetheless far from revolutionary, and it’s unlikely Apple wants iPhone 16 reviews to include lengthy digressions about disappointing AI in otherwise positive hardware reviews. But Apple will inevitably release more new phones in 2025, and they will inevitably come with these AI features. Instead of a bang, AI will come to iPhones with an “oh there you go.”

And don’t be too surprised if AI debuts just as quietly on other devices like smart TVs And automotive infotainment systems in 2025.

2. AI complementing existing wearables

“An AI you can wear” part of the AI ​​fever long before ChatGPTand the integration of AI into wearables has definitely already started. By 2025, however, we should start seeing wearables a large number of people actually have equipped with AI software they could actually use. So while you’re not exactly planning on being the first in an Apple Store to buy a next-generation device in the Apple Vision product line, even though the multi-thousand dollar headset will likely get a huge discount AI update in 2025. – there may still be an AI-enabled laptop in your price range next year.

During a recent Meta keynote from Mark Zuckerberg – which was more focused on new wearable technology far in the future not coming in 2025 – Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses received some AI Updates without too much noise. This happened as Meta was digging deeper its investment in the world of glasses. So don’t be surprised if this niche technology, primarily touted for its hands-free photography capabilities, suddenly materializes on the faces of your entire community next year and appears to be less of a live-streaming tool and more of a kind of portable assistant. or companion.

In the same way, FitbitAI upgrades, and upgrades that make Apple Intelligence features accessible through the Apple Watch are expected to appear on people’s bodies next year.

3. The 2024 announcements become reality

This is probably the AI-based hardware you’re looking for.

In 2025, we’ll start to see 2024 concepts materialize as actual pieces of plastic – at least the ones that survive the hype cycle. One such example is the AI ​​”Friend” medallion, a wearable companion object resembling an orb, created by Avi Schifmann (although its origins are somewhat in dispute). Its purpose is apparently to offer emotional support – to be an AI friend who can provide you with advice and commiseration, rather than, say, summarizing your Zoom meetings. It is expected to ship in the first quarter of 2025.

Samsung’s Ballie, a ball-shaped AI-powered smart robot that charmed attendees at this year’s CES, could also receive a 2025 release.

4. Expect the unexpected in AI gadgets

If 2025 is anything like recent years, we can expect the emergence of weird and unexpected AI gadgets – things that no one asked for but might strangely work.

If 2025 sees the release of, say, a line of AI-powered spoons that stir your sauces, but also taste them and suggest changes to your recipe, well, would you be very surprised? It’s a strange time for technology.