ZDNET's 5 Breakthrough Tech Winners of 2025, Revealed

• Key Takeaways:
• ZDNET named five Breakthrough Award winners for 2025 highlighting bold hardware and robotics advances.
• Standouts include AI glasses with digital overlays and robot vacuums that can pick up leftover laundry.
• The list also features a surprise tri‑fold device that signals renewed experimentation in foldable hardware.
• The roundup was compiled by Kerry Wan, ZDNET’s Managing Editor, Reviews, on Dec. 12, 2025.

Overview: what the list represents

ZDNET’s Breakthrough Awards for 2025 collect the year’s most notable product leaps across consumer tech and robotics. The winners reflect where vendors are investing: ambient AI, smarter home robots, and new form factors.

The brief announcement, written by Kerry Wan, highlights five devices that pushed either user experience or engineering boundaries in 2025.

AI glasses: digital overlays entering daily use

One winner category centers on AI glasses that layer contextual information onto the real world. These devices aim to move AR from novelty to utility by combining live AI assistants with heads‑up displays.

ZDNET’s coverage emphasizes the practical value: lighter interfaces, on‑demand context, and hands‑free notifications that complement rather than replace smartphones.

Robot vacuums that tidy more than floors

Another standout is the class of robot vacuums that can pick up leftover laundry and other small items. This capability represents a step beyond navigation and suction — robots are learning to interact with everyday household objects.

ZDNET notes this shift matters because it addresses a major friction point in home robotics: pick‑up and object handling. Smarter sensing, better appendages, and safer manipulation software are core to this progress.

Tri‑fold surprise: new foldable thinking

The list includes a tri‑fold device, a surprise entry that signals renewed experimentation with multi‑panel displays and compact portability. Whether applied to phones, tablets, or hybrids, tri‑fold designs show manufacturers are exploring alternatives to single‑fold devices.

These form factors raise questions about durability, software adaptation, and real‑world usefulness — but ZDNET selected the device because it advanced at least one of those fronts in a meaningful way.

Why these wins matter

Together, the five winners illustrate larger trends: AI being embedded in wearables, home robots expanding utility, and industrial design pushing new hardware geometries.

ZDNET’s Breakthrough Awards are a snapshot of momentum — and they offer a useful guide for buyers tracking which technologies are moving from prototype to practical product.

Byline and source

This roundup was published by Kerry Wan, Managing Editor, Reviews, on Dec. 12, 2025 for ZDNET.