What to expect from AI gadgets in 2025

There's nowhere but up for the AI gadget market to go in 2025, because that market in 2023 and 2024 was, sadly, riddled with junk.

Overly ambitious devices debuted — seemingly pegged to the rapturous response to ChatGPT and other LLMs — but once they got into the hands of consumers, to say they did not please would be an understatement.

There was rabbit r1, an underwhelming 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 as "an unfinished, unhelpful AI gadget." Then came the Humane AI Pin, which YouTube tech reviewer Marques Brownlee described bluntly as "the worst product I've ever reviewed."

So the first movers got attention, but it wasn't for their utility, and it wasn't exactly positive. The early AI gadget entrepreneurs have been more like the inventors in that old stock footage of crazy, turn-of-the-century flying machines that don't actually fly.

As we look ahead to 2025, the hope is for more polished, functional devices. There is, to be absolutely clear, no guarantee we'll get any such thing.

1. AI apps preprogrammed into hardware

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

You might not have even noticed, for instance, that the vaunted "Apple Intelligence" suite of features that made headlines earlier this year didn't actually ship with the new iPhone 16. This may have been on purpose. Features like "Genmoji" and new Siri are neat ideas that are nonetheless far from revolutionary, and it's unlikely Apple wanted iPhone 16 reviewers including long digressions about disappointing AI in otherwise positive hardware reviews. But Apple will inevitably roll out more new phones in 2025, and they'll inevitably ship with these AI features. Instead of a bang, AI will arrive on iPhones with an "oh there that is."

And don't be too surprised if AI features "debut" in this low-key way on other devices like smart TVs and car infotainment systems in 2025.

2. AI complementing existing wearables

"AI you can wear" has been part of AI fever since before ChatGPT, and the integration of AI into wearables has definitely already begun. In 2025, however, we should start to see wearables large numbers of people actually own featuring AI software they might actually use. So even if you're not exactly planning to be first in line at an Apple Store to buy a next-generation device in the Apple Vision product line — even though the multi-thousand-dollar headset will probably get a huge AI update in 2025 — there might still be an AI-enabled wearable in your price range next year.

During a recent Meta keynote from Mark Zuckerberg — which was focused more on a far-out new wearable technology very much not coming in 2025 — Ray-Ban Meta Smart Glasses received some AI updates without too much fanfare. This came right as Meta deepened its investment in the world of glasses. Don't be surprised, then, if this niche piece of tech, mostly touted for its hands-free photography capabilities, suddenly materializes on faces all over your community next year, and seems to be less a livestreaming tool than a sort of wearable assistant or companion.

Similarly, Fitbit's AI upgrades, and upgrades that make Apple Intelligence features accessible via the Apple Watch should show up on people's bodies next year.

3. 2024 announcements becoming reality

This is probably the AI-powered stuff you're looking for.

In 2025, we’ll start seeing concepts from 2024 materialize as real hunks of plastic — at least, the ones that survive the hype cycle. One such example is the "Friend" AI medallion, a wearable, orb-like companion thingy, created by Avi Schifmann (though its origins are somewhat in dispute). Its purpose is ostensibly to offer emotional support — to be an AI friend who can provide advice and commiseration, rather than, say, summarizing your Zoom meetings. It's supposed to ship in the first quarter of 2025.

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

4. Expect the unexpected in AI gadgets

If 2025 is anything like the past few years, we can expect some bizarre, unexpected AI gadgets to emerge — things no one asked for but which might weirdly 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 all that surprised? It's a weird time for tech.