91mobiles tech wrap 2025: our team’s game-changers and guilty favourites

By Ashish Kumar

Published On: 23 December 2025 | 16:02 IST

2025 turned out to be another remarkable year for technology, packed with innovations that genuinely pushed boundaries. As the year comes to a close, it’s the perfect moment to look back, and who better to do that than our in-house writers, who spent the year living with, testing, and experiencing much of this tech first-hand. From smart glasses and compact, ultra-slim smartphones to Xbox Cloud Gaming and versatile teleconverter kits, the year had no shortage of standout innovations.

So, without further delay, let’s look at the gadgets and trends that truly impressed Team 91mobiles in 2025.

Table of Contents

Ray-Ban Meta AI glasses

Writes: Deepak Dhingra, Senior Director

The Ray-Ban Meta AI glasses (overview) have been out for a while, but I gave in to temptation and finally bought one for myself this year. As it turned out, the Gen 2 model that can shoot higher-res video and boasts better battery life launched soon after I bought the first-generation one, but despite that, I’m not regretting my purchase much. My primary use case is audio, allowing me to listen to music and make calls on the go. The practicality and usability of the Ray-Ban Meta AI lie in the fact that they’re a pair of glasses first and a gadget later, and since I got the one with transition lenses, they can be worn anytime and anywhere.

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I’m quite excited about how the smart glasses segment is evolving, with quite a few brands (Qualcomm and Lenskart, to name a couple) putting in significant effort. I can’t say if 2026 will be the year when smart glasses go mainstream in India, but I’m still keeping my fingers crossed.

Kindle Paperwhite 12th gen

Writes: Sanket Vijayasarathy, Senior Assistant Editor

The 12th Gen Kindle Paperwhite (review) is my favourite tech purchase of 2025 because it did something most gadgets didn’t: it quietly improved my life without demanding attention. In a year dominated by rapid AI advancements that often make you question what’s real and what isn’t, the Kindle felt like an antidote. It encouraged me to slow down and read more. Its lightweight design, glare-free display, stellar battery life, and thoughtful features like warm light and waterproofing made it effortless to carry everywhere, whether on a crowded metro or at bedtime.

More importantly, it rekindled a reading habit I had struggled to maintain amid work and screen fatigue. I got a lot of reading done this year, with Trevor Noah’s autobiographical Born a Crime being my top pick. It may not be the flashiest piece of tech I bought this year, but it’s the one I used most consistently and enjoyed the most.

iPhone Air

Writes: Saloni Tandon, Associate Editor

The iPhone Air (review) is arguably my favourite piece of tech this year, which is ironic because I liked it right after buying its polar opposite – the iPhone 17 Pro Max. Don’t get me wrong here – the Pro Max is a handy daily driver, but only for someone who has a wide grip and doesn’t mind carrying a brick for a phone. Casually handling my long-retired iPhone 6 one day reminded me what phones were meant to feel like – a magical piece of tech making life easy while inconspicuously disappearing into your pockets.

With the iPhone Air, Apple is going back to basics and giving people a whiff of the design innovation that surprised us back in the day. The Air is scandalously slim, irresponsibly light, and extremely charming to handle in day-to-day life. Sure, it has all the makings of a nepo kid – a pretty package lacking meat – thanks to its one lone rear camera in a world of islands and a battery that treats percentages as a suggestion. It’s also wildly expensive for something this minimal. But logic and practicality take a beating when something feels this good. It’s indulgent and slightly ridiculous, but it’s beautiful.

Compact smartphones

Writes: Mukesh Singh, Senior Editor

Compact smartphones from the OnePlus 13s and Vivo X200 FE to the Samsung Galaxy S25 and iPhone 17 ended up being my biggest tech takeaway of the year. You see, phones have grown in size with taller screens and bigger batteries over the years, compromising on one-handed and everyday handling.

That imbalance was finally addressed, and credit where it’s due: Vivo and OnePlus led the charge. Both brands delivered genuinely handy smartphones without cutting corners on battery life, performance, or camera quality. The Vivo X200 FE, in particular, stood out. It paired a flagship-grade chipset with a versatile camera system and a massive 6,500mAh battery, enough to comfortably see you through a full day and then some, all while remaining compact and easy to live with.

Teleconverter camera kits

Writes: Ashish Kumar, Assistant Editor

Vivo and OPPO announced teleconverter camera kits with their respective flagships X300 series and Find X9 Pro (review). While the idea itself isn’t entirely new, both brands have executed it thoughtfully, and the results largely live up to the promise.

I used the OPPO Hasselblad teleconverter kit extensively with the Find X9 Pro, and it genuinely impressed me, especially for distant portraits. With effective focal lengths stretching up to 920mm, the kit delivers striking reach while maintaining impressive stability. Additionally, the kit captures videos with remarkable smoothness, often resembling shots taken on a DSLR rather than a smartphone.

That said, the kits have limitations, with storage management being the most notable drawback, making them hard to recommend. Even so, the overall concept is exciting, and I’m keen to see how these teleconverter kits evolve and improve in the next generation.

OnePlus 13s

Writes: Marcia Sekhose, Sub-editor

What impressed me most this year was compact phones in general, and more specifically, the OnePlus 13s (review). We’ve had compact phones for a while, but I feel like the form factor has become mainstream, especially this year. I’ve used the OnePlus 13s quite extensively, and I love that it’s the perfect size without compromising on hardware. It’s comfortable to hold and use, and it easily fits into my pockets. And the best part? It comes in pink!🩷

I’m looking forward to more compact phones by different brands and what the OnePlus 13s successor has to offer.

Also read: 2025 made compact phones cool again, and Apple and Vivo took the lead

Tecno Pova Slim

Writes: Praveen Bhajanka, Content Producer

The slim phone trend started with the launch of the Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge (review), but it truly went mainstream with the Tecno Pova Slim (review). Priced under Rs 20,000, the handset is slightly thicker than the S25 Edge, but the overall feel is just amazing. Thanks to its curved display and rear panel, the phone feels noticeably slimmer than its dimensions suggest, weighing just 156 grams despite packing a 5,000mAh battery.

Apart from the slimness, the Tecno Pova Slim stands out for its design too. The horizontal camera module bar and the unibody design with a matte-finish back panel add more grip to the phone. Also, the LED lighting on the camera module resembles the animated character Baymax from the movie Big Hero 6, giving the phone a distinctive look and personality.

OnePlus Nord 5

Writes: Ramneek Singh, Senior Writer

The OnePlus Nord 5 (review) is my favourite piece of tech of 2025 for its efficient gaming performance, silky smooth software, and the rear panel that’s not only soothing to touch but also looks gorgeous in the Marble Sands shade. All of this bundled at a valuable price of around Rs 30,000.

I absolutely enjoyed playing games like CODM, in particular, at the native 144 frame rate on the Nord 5. Frame rates were consistently stable, and the thermal efficiency was best-in-class, as noted in my dedicated gaming review.

Another aspect of the Nord 5 I adored is the OxygenOS 16. As a OnePlus user for over three years and having tried every iteration of OxygenOS since OxygenOS 11, I am genuinely impressed by its fluidity, seamless animations, vast customisability, and enormous feature set.

Xbox Cloud Gaming

Writes: Dhruv Joshi, Writer

Xbox delivered one of the biggest surprises this year by bringing Cloud Gaming support (first impressions) to its new Game Pass subscriptions. As an avid gamer, I was excited about the idea of not being limited to a gaming laptop or console when playing the games I wanted. While the option sounded great, it was not until December 2025 and the ensuing chaos of RAM shortages that I realised just how timely this launch had been.

I can no longer afford to buy RAM for the PC build I have been planning for a couple of years, and this shortage seems to have a long way to go before finding a resolution. In that sense, Xbox Cloud Gaming has been nothing short of a blessing. I have been slowly exploring its game library by playing titles my older gaming machine cannot handle smoothly, all with just a controller and a stable internet connection. This convenience and accessibility naturally made Xbox Cloud Gaming my favourite piece of technology in 2025 by helping me sustain one of my most cherished hobbies.

iPhone 17

Writes: Gaurav Sharma, Reviewer

The iPhone 17 (review) emerged as the silent winner in this year’s iPhone lineup. Carrying the same compact form-factor DNA as its predecessor, the smartphone receives some serious upgrades this time around. From a brighter 120Hz ProMotion display and an upgraded 48MP ultrawide lens to the new 18MP Centre Stage selfie camera and the powerful A19 chipset, the iPhone 17 has it all.

These reasons convinced me to buy the smartphone, and during my time using it, I’ve found it to be silky-smooth in day-to-day use with capable battery life. While iOS 26 can be a little buggy, the iPhone 17 is easily the most improved iPhone in the current lineup.