In 2025, a lot of IEEE Spectrum‘s high consumer electronics tales had been about about creating the expertise you need with expertise. Open-source software program supplied extra customization for laptops and shows, gadgets with much less distracting design acquired recognition with a brand new certification, and smart glasses producers cast paths to determine what customers really need within the wearable tech.
Different tales highlighted the fascinating basic tech in our smartphones, like how your new iPhone stays cool and the potential for its digicam to assemble info past what the human eye can see. And we thought-about the results of U.S. tariffs from the Trump administration.
We’re gearing up for a 2026 crammed with many extra thrilling developments. Within the meantime, learn on for IEEE Spectrum’s hottest shopper digital tales of the 12 months.
Supply picture: Modos
When hours of our days could also be dominated by screens, e-paper shows supply an possibility simpler on the eyes. Traditionally, these shows have been too sluggish for on a regular basis computing. However this 12 months, a small Boston-based startup referred to as Modos created a monitor and improvement equipment for a show with a refresh price of 75 hertz—corresponding to some primary LCD screens. That’s even quick sufficient for video.
“Modos has a not-so-secret weapon,” contributing editor Matthew Smith writes. Particularly, an open-source show controller is vital to the show’s pace. Modos accomplished its crowdfunding marketing campaign and pre-orders are scheduled to ship in late January 2026.
IEEE Spectrum; Supply pictures: Apple
With out the right cooling tech, high-end smartphones danger burning a gap in your pocket—actually. Within the newest era of Apple smartphones, launched in September, the iPhone 17 Professional and Professional Max contain thin chambers of water that assist dissipate warmth via evaporation. Cooling telephones with water vapor isn’t fully new although: Excessive-end smartphones from Samsung and Google additionally use the method.
For extra on learn how to hold our electronics cool, try IEEE Spectrum’s current special report, The Hot, Hot Future of Chips. Our editors and knowledgeable authors break down how lasers, liquid cooling, and diamond blankets might all contribute to thermal management for more and more advanced and succesful chips.
DeepComputing
Most laptops can solely be custom-made a lot. When you get right down to the extent of particular directions for the way the pc executes directions—the instruction set structure—laptops normally function on proprietary expertise like x86 and Arm.
Earlier this 12 months, repairable laptop maker Framework launched a laptop computer that can support a RISC-V mainboard, bringing open-source structure to the plenty—or at the least, builders and early adopters inquisitive about straying from mainstream closed architectures. Later within the 12 months, Framework additionally made information when it launched a swappable laptop graphics module, permitting customers to decide on between the AMD GPU the laptop computer initially shipped with and Nvidia’s RTX 5070.
Vincent Walter/Purdue College
An image is value a thousand phrases, because the cliché goes. However the pictures taken by your smartphone digicam include extra info than you may understand. Whereas the human eye is delicate to a restricted vary of seen mild wavelengths, the pixels in a normal smartphone digicam sensor are probably delicate to a a lot wider vary of wavelengths.
Researchers at Purdue College developed a approach to capture hyperspectral information by putting a card with a colour chart in body. With this method, an atypical smartphone might function a “pocket spectrometer” and determine particular chemical substances for medical diagnostics, analyzing pigments in paintings, and extra.
Anthony Behar/Sipa USA/Alamy
Shortly after U.S. President Donald Trump was sworn into workplace for his second time period in January, he started enacting new tariffs on international items. In April, Trump introduced vital modifications, together with a common 10 p.c tariff on all imports, in addition to a 125 p.c tariff on Chinese language items (now lowered to a a lot decrease 10 p.c baseline).
To learn the way these tariffs may have an effect on the U.S. electronics market, senior editor Samuel Moore interviewed Shawn DuBravac, chief economist of the International Electronics Affiliation (previously IPC, or the Institute of Printed Circuits). Amidst ongoing modifications, they spoke about predicted worth will increase, shifting provide chains, and the impact on lower-priced electronics.
Spectrum additionally lined how tariffs affect hobbyists and students, who usually depend on parts sourced from suppliers outdoors of the United States. And hold an eye fixed out for extra tales on the connection between tech and authorities from technology policy editor, Lucas Laursen.
Mui Lab
With the sheer amount of eye-catching tech displayed on the annual Shopper Electronics Present (CES), it’s becoming that the occasion is hosted in Las Vegas. However at CES 2025, some gadgets took a special strategy. The Calm Tech Institute issued a brand new certification to a number of gadgets proven at CES which might be designed to be much less distracting and command much less of our main consideration.
For example, an e-ink pill and a wood-like smart-home interface had been among the many first batch of gadgets that acquired the certification. Whereas on a regular basis gadgets bombard us with notifications, calm technology defaults to the minimal needed notifications and extra naturalistic design.
Supply pictures: Xreal; Patrick T. Fallon/AFP/Getty Photographs
Rounding out the listing, this function article thought-about a basic query in shopper tech: What do customers truly need? With good glasses lastly on the verge of mainstream use, contributor Alfred Poor compares two paths ahead for the wearable tech. “Ought to a head-worn show replicate the pc screens that we presently use, or ought to they work extra like a smartwatch, which shows solely restricted quantities of knowledge at a time?” Two smaller firms, Xreal and Halliday, supply AR glasses that symbolize the 2 design ideas, and the tradeoffs between them.
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