Gizmodo’s 2025 Best Tech: The Readers’ Choice Winners

The results are finally in for our inaugural Readers’ Choice Awards, where we handed the microphone directly to you. The community spoke, casting over 1,100 votes across 18 categories to crown the standout tech of 2025. The winning selections offer a fascinating mix of predictable champions and a few genuine surprises, painting a clear picture of what truly resonated with gadget enthusiasts this year. For a comparison with our editorial team’s own top picks, you can explore our separate Best Tech of 2025 Awards feature.

This list is all about your preferences. If you missed the voting window, feel free to share your personal favorites, be it a phone, laptop, or any piece of software, in the comments below. We want to hear what you loved. Let’s keep the discussion respectful; tech tastes are wonderfully subjective.

A quick note: Our editors independently choose all products featured. Purchases made via our links may earn us a commission, supporting our work.

Best Phones

iPhone 17 Pro / 17 Pro Max Your votes confirmed it: Apple’s top-tier model reigns supreme. The iPhone 17 Pro and Pro Max deliver the pinnacle of Apple’s engineering with unmatched battery life, camera systems, display brightness, and raw processing power. For many users, it might even represent overkill, but it’s the definitive choice for those who want everything.

Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 7 Samsung’s stylish foldable won hearts with a key upgrade. While its profile remains similar, the Galaxy Z Flip 7 features a significantly expanded cover screen that wraps around the dual cameras, providing far more useful information at a glance without needing to open the device.

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7 Earning the foldable crown, the Galaxy Z Fold 7 represents a major refinement. It makes a substantial leap from its predecessor by slimming down its overall footprint, finally feeling much more like a regular phone when closed, while still offering that expansive interior screen.

Google Pixel 10 Pro Google’s flagship continues to win fans with its pure software experience. The Pixel 10 Pro (and Pro XL) offers the cleanest version of Android, now supercharged with deeper Gemini AI integration. Features like context-aware “Magic Cue” and generative photo enhancements for its impressive zoom demonstrate Google’s forward push.

Best Tablets

iPad Pro (M5) The tablet category often feels like a foregone conclusion, and Apple’s latest offering didn’t disappoint. Boasting a stunning tandem OLED display and desktop-caliber performance from the M5 chip, the iPad Pro (M5) easily secured its position as the undisputed king of slates.

Kindle Scribe Colorsoft Launching late in the year, Amazon’s first color e-reader just made the cut. The Kindle Scribe Colorsoft, with its added pen support, leveraged the immense power of the Kindle ecosystem to pull ahead, proving how compelling a full-color, note-taking e-ink device can be for dedicated readers.

Best Laptops

MacBook Pro (M5) Apple’s 14-inch professional notebook was a clear favorite. Combining a proven design, a great selection of ports, a brilliant mini-LED display, and the significant performance boost of the M5 chip, the MacBook Pro remains the reliable “it just works” powerhouse for everything except hardcore gaming.

Alienware 16 Area-51 For those gaming needs, the community pointed to this beast. The Alienware 16 Area-51 packs top-shelf specs, including Intel Core i9 processors and Nvidia RTX 5070 or 5080 graphics, into a 16-inch frame with a blazing 240Hz refresh rate and a full suite of ports, ensuring a seamless, dongle-free gaming experience.

Best Gaming

Asus ROG Xbox Ally X Though not an official Microsoft product, this handheld captured imaginations. The Asus ROG Xbox Ally X proves to be a remarkably capable device for playing a vast library of PC games and supported Xbox titles, potentially offering a glimpse at the future if Microsoft decides to enter the handheld arena.

Best Audio

AirPods Pro 3 Apple’s iconic earbuds dominated the field. With even more effective active noise cancellation, a new integrated heart rate sensor for fitness tracking, and innovative real-time translation capabilities, the AirPods Pro 3 secured an effortless victory.

Sony WH-1000XM6 The ANC headphone champion refused to be dethroned. Sony’s WH-1000XM6 improved upon its legendary predecessor with even richer sound quality, stronger noise cancellation, and a more comfortable fit, reaffirming its status as the best in class.

Bose SoundLink Plus In the crowded portable speaker market, one model rose above the noise. The Bose SoundLink Plus distinguished itself with a surprisingly full, bass-heavy sound profile and impressive volume output, with its sleek color options adding to its overall appeal.

Best Camera

Canon EOS R6 Mark III This camera impressed voters with meaningful upgrades. The EOS R6 Mark III steps up with a higher-resolution 32-megapixel sensor, professional-grade 7K and 4K/120fps video recording, and a speedy CFexpress card slot, making it an ideal tool for creators looking to elevate their production quality.

Best Wearables

Apple Watch Ultra 3 The result was hardly a shock. The Apple Watch Ultra 3 stands as the largest, most durable, and longest-lasting smartwatch for iPhone users, now enhanced with built-in 5G and satellite connectivity for true off-grid adventures.

Ray-Ban Meta Gen 2 AI Glasses Smart glasses found a receptive audience. With double the battery life and superior video recording over the first generation, the Ray-Ban Meta Gen 2 AI Glasses made a strong case for themselves. While smart glasses with displays may loom on the horizon, these models suggest that perhaps subtle, screen-free AI assistance is what people want right now.

Best Smart Home

Nest Cam Outdoor (2025) Our reviewer noted flaws, but readers saw potential. Despite issues with Gemini AI producing inaccurate notification summaries and a required subscription for advanced features, this camera signals a future where computer vision AI becomes standard in home security, pending improvements in reliability.

Roborock Saros Z70 Innovation triumphed over perfection. Although its launch had some bugs and its robotic grasping arm was inconsistent, the Roborock Saros Z70 was celebrated by voters for its bold, innovative approach to robotic cleaning, proving that a compelling vision can win favor even during a bumpy rollout.

(Source: Gizmodo)