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The year 2025 was a special one in a lot of ways, but not all of it was a rainbow ride for the average technology enthusiast. Apple finally went back to its engineering labs and gave us a taste of its innovative charm.
At the same time, its laggardness in the AI race became even more apparent in the face of Google. Electric cars kept getting better, more so in China than in the West, where the demand is cooling down. Meta gave us a new breed of smart glasses that put a screen in front of your eye, while rocking the classic Ray-Ban look. Smaller brands like TCL’s RayNeo went the extra mile, too. Recommended Videos Google finally got back to form with AI models that cooled down the ChatGPT hype significantly. And for the first time, the harms done by AI chatbots became known to the world in gruesome ways. If these developments were any indication, the year 202r6 is going to be chaotic. Wild. I had a first row ticket to most of these developments, and what follows are my predictions for what comes next. We’re in for a bad wallet run Not everyone is a fan of AI out there. And certainly not folks in the creative community. Even the average PC and mobile user is tired of the incessant shoving of AI in the core software experience, especially when AI tools have become their own subscription headache. But the train won’t stop. But its impact is manifesting in rather pricey ways. Due to the skyrocketing growth of AI data centers, the demand for memory chips has gone through the roof. AI companies are hogging all the supply, creating a massive shortage, while raising the price of RAM modules. The price hike in the PC industry is so steep that you can buy a laptop for the price of two RAM sticks. Moreover, supply chain analysts have already warned that a similar price hike is headed to the smartphone industry this year. Hold on to your plans for tech upgrades in 2026. Apple enters the foldable era Samsung has launched seven generations of hybrid phones that unfold into a tablet. Nearly every other major brand has dipped its toes in the foldable phone waters, as well. Apple, on the other hand, has crucially missed the race, while the likes of Samsung and Huawei have launched folding devices in multiple styles. Pundits and supply chain analysts are hopeful that the drought will finally end in 2026. Leaks suggest that Apple’s first foldable iPhone will be among the thinnest out there, though it could be pretty expensive at nearly two thousand dollars a pop. But more importantly, it could solve a crucial foldable phone problem — the crease in the middle of the inner flexible panel. Let’s just hope Apple can offer a more functionally rewarding software experience than just a stretched-out iOS view on the larger screen. Maybe a hidden desktop mode, akin to Samsung’s Dex, too? AI gets a reckoning AI chatbots can get facts wrong, misinterpret information, or act overtly chatty. But there’s a darker side to them. When pushed in children’s toys, they had such horrific interactions that the toys had to be pulled from the market. But on more mainstream devices – like the humble phone in your pocket — they did much worse. So far, multiple lawsuits have been filed by aggrieved family members, alleging that their loved ones went into a spiral after deeply engaging with AI tools such as ChatGPT. These interactions allegedly ended in death, self-harm, or hospitalization. Now, lawmakers are finally stepping up and fighting for regulations that would force companies to be more transparent about their AI models and build safety guardrails. Moreover, the copyright battle over illicit usage of books and content for AI training is once again picking up momentum. A rebirth for Siri One of the biggest criticisms that Apple has faced over the past couple of years. Google Assistant has transitioned into Gemini. Samsung is pushing Bixby atop Perplexity. Microsoft has pushed Copilot everywhere. Siri has missed the generative AI, and so badly, that it is now piggybacking atop ChatGPT in Apple Intelligence. This year, Apple could finally finish the “AI brain transplant” for Siri. The company was initially rumored to be working on its own AI model, but slow progress and talent exodus reportedly delayed those plans. Instead, Apple is reportedly borrowing the Gemini framework from Google to boost Siri’s intelligence. Apple has a strong software foundation ready to run AI models, especially on-device. Every Mac and iPad with the M1 silicon, or mobile devices with A-series processors and 8GB of RAM, have been ready for years. And based on the “Model Use” framework within the Shortcuts apps, it’s evident that Apple has strong ideas to surprise users. Robots enter the home Elon Musk’s Optimus continues to make waves in the news media, riding atop bold claims of its economic potential and at-home utility. But so far, it has only been deployed meaningfully at Tesla Diners to serve popcorn. But other upstarts are making brisk progress. But Chinese companies such as Unitree and Xpeng have demonstrated that they can make robots with more dexterity, world understanding, and at a lower asking price. In China, robots are already running marathons, dancing, and setting world records. A few days ago, Unitree opened its first robot store, as well. The race will heat up further this year. LG will be showcasing a home assistance robot — with human-like fingers — at CES this year. A bunch of other companies have also lined up their robot buddies in all shapes and forms. We will get a true glimpse of a harmonious at-home human-robot existence this year. Autonomous cars hit the vogue Towards the end of 2025, Tesla’s autonomous CyberCab finally started appearing on roads for testing. On the commercial side of things, Tesla’s Full Self-Driving v14 update got rave reviews. NVIDIA Director of Robotics Jim Fan called it the first AI that can pass the “Physical Turing Test.” Tesla isn’t the lone player. Waymo significantly expanded its fleet of self-driving cars to different cities, even though it still keeps running into technical glitches and getting backlash after running over animals. Baidu is making even taller waves with its self-driving tech in China. The company’s Apollo Go subsidiary recently expanded to the Middle East, and it’s picking up as many rides as Waymo on a daily basis. European expansion is slated for 2026. But China could just take the lead. The chief Pony AI, a well-known autonomous vehicle player, says their tech is “much, much lower” in terms of price than Waymo. Smartglasses finally get productive The Google Glass arrived too early, and failed spectacularly. In the age of generative AI, Meta tried the concept in partnership with Ray-Ban and scored a hit. Now, it’s making smart glasses with a built-in display, while keeping it sporty and chic with screen-less models made in partnership with Oakley and Ray-Ban. I have the RayNeo X3 Pro smart glasses, which already run a version of Android, pack cameras for up to 4K video capture, run Gemini for AI interactions, and feature two built-in display units integrated within a transparent glass lens. They work without any cables, and look as normal as it gets. The likes of RayNeo, Viture, and Xreal are also making some fantastic XR glasses, while Lenovo and Meta are also focused on true AR glasses with industrial applications. Samsung is next in line, while Google has also given us arguably the most promising glimpse of on-face computing set to hit the market later this year. Electric cars make a range leap Yes, the demand for electric cars is slowing down, but that doesn’t mean progress is stalling. On the contrary, we are getting some pretty significant advancements in the EV battery tech that could offer some big respite for range anxiety. And once again, most of it is coming from China. Earlier this year, G set a world record, eclipsing Lucid, when a Chevy Silverado EV truck went 1,059.2 miles on a single charge. In December, Renault showcased the Filante Record 2025 concept car, which went 626 miles without any charging pit stop. Over in China, a fleet of 67 electric cars was put through a brutal terrain test, subjecting them to temperatures varying between 14°F and -13°F. EVs are pretty susceptible to range drop in extreme temperatures, but Xpeng’s P7 managed a 54% efficiency on freezing roads. Tesla, for comparison, could only manage 35.2% of its claimed EPA range in harsh weather. We are going to see range and efficiency breakthroughs in the coming months, and they will light up the EV market once again. Less taps, more talk Chatbots have redefined how we find information on the internet. Instead of clicking blue links in Google Search, we are getting the answers from chatbots, which compile all the information from websites and present it as a summarized article. Tools like Circle to Search, Visual Intelligence, and Project Mariner have turned AI into a world-understanding assistant. Microsoft is also feverishly pushing the idea of conversational work on Windows PCs, instead of clicks and types, thanks to local AI agents. On mobile devices, ChatGPT now has an app store and built-in apps where you can simply describe tasks and get them done across Photoshop, Apple Music, Expedia, etc. — without ever opening these apps and services. Google’s Gemini can also do the same by integrating third-party apps, and Siri has the framework ready to get work done across mobile apps using voice or natural language commands. As the integrations go deeper and developers tune their apps for AI, human interactions will change dramatically, and we’ll see more of it in the coming months. More advanced wearables The concept of AI gadgets started on a rather terrible note with flubs like Humane AI Pin and Rabbit R1. But as the AI models advanced, we got a truly useful category of devices such as the Plaud Note, a card-sized gadget, for AI-driven transcription, voice recording, and format conversion, among other tricks. AI-driven translation earbuds are already here, and so are smart glasses and pendants. But AI is not the sole driving force in the segment. Sensor-driven advancements allowed Apple to fit a heart rate monitor in the AirPods Pro, while Meta’s EMG wrist band understands your neural signals to accomplish tasks on a screen. Samsung says its smartwatch will soon be able to detect Left Ventricular Systolic Dysfunction , while an around-the-ear electroencephalogram device will measure brain signals. Novosound is also pushing a miniaturized ultrasound blood pressure monitoring sensor into the mainstream. The domain is wider than ever, both in terms of form factors and capabilities. And 2026 will likely see it all mature and evolve into mass-market devices.
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