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Welcome to ZDNET’s “Breakthrough” Awards for 2025, our latest tradition that celebrates the most innovative and visionary technologies to cross our editors’ desks this year.
Over the past 12 months, we’ve spent countless hours challenging the utility of foldable phones that dominate mobile conversations, lived entire work weeks through the lens of new smart glasses and VR headsets, and benchmarked more robots than ever before, from the ones that can think and pull context through the lens of our phones to the ones that can sweep, vacuum, mop, and complete every chore in between.
Also: The 40 Best Products We Tested in 2025: Editors’ Choices for Phones, TVs, AI, and More
Amidst this constant wave of maturing – yet, constantly innovating – product categories, it has never been more difficult to identify a true ‘breakthrough’. These awards aren’t just given to the fastest chipset or most premium design; They visit products that fundamentally changed the conversation, set a new standard for innovation, and gave us a glimpse of the technology that will define the rest of the decade.
In no particular order, here are the recipients of the ZDNET Breakthrough Award for 2025.
1. Huawei Mate XT Ultimate: The first tri-foldable of many
While Samsung’s upcoming Galaxy Z Trifold has been making headlines since the end of the year, it was a competing tri-foldable phone that left the biggest footprint in 2025. Huawei Mate XT Ultimate It launched globally in February and was immediately met with fanfare. We witnessed the hype in person at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, when hundreds of journalists, analysts and tech enthusiasts flocked to the Huawei booth to get a feel for the Chinese tech giant’s shape-shifting handset.
Also: I tested Huawei’s $3,600 tri-foldable phone — now I’m wondering why Samsung hasn’t made it yet
Unlike traditional foldable phones that can only fold in the center, the Huawei Mate XT Ultimate has two inward-folding hinges that convert a 6.4-inch screen into a larger, tablet-like 10.2-inch display. The result is a true multimedia consumption device that can fit in a pants pocket, backpack sleeve and more.
While the lack of Google services was a notable caveat of the Huawei foldable, we found its general functionality and otherwise uncompromising feature set to be commendable.
ZDNET’s Prakhar Khanna said it best: “The Huawei Mate XT Ultimate sets a new benchmark for tri-fold phones, showing that they’re no longer just experimental – but a bold step towards the future of mobile computing.”
2. Roborock Saros Z70: Truly a helping hand
Robot vacuums have been playing an essential role in thousands of homes, but is there room to expand beyond vacuuming and mopping? Roborock put its money on “virtually moving obstacles” in 2025 with the Saros Z70 model, and it left a lasting impression on ZDNET’s smart home expert, Maria Diaz.
The Saros Z70 features an OmniGrip mechanical arm that is capable of detecting and picking up light objects like socks, tissues, and sandals, as long as they weigh less than 300 grams. From our tests, the motorized feature was successful most of the time, although automation required time and practice.
Also: This viral Roborock with a robot arm is 25% off on Amazon — so it’s finally time for me to buy it
Thanks to the built-in camera, users can also remote-control the Saros Z70 from their phone, operating the mechanical arm like a claw machine to run the vacuum.
“The Saros Z70 is the next level in robot vacuum technology, and it’s pushing the idea of a functional, multipurpose home robot that you can actually rely on,” Diaz said, “and that’s why it earned a spot on ZDNET’s Breakthrough list this year.”
3. Samsung Micro RGB TV: A color-perfect future
Many TV manufacturers launch their first micro-scale RGB LED TVs in 2025, reflecting significant advances in LCD backlighting and color accuracy. The fundamental technology is exceptionally small RGB LEDs – each of Samsung’s iterations measures less than 100 micrometres – which allows the TV to cover the full spectrum of the BT.2020 color standard.
Also: The next big leap in TV panels was just unveiled by Samsung – and it makes LED obsolete
We looked at Samsung’s 115-inch Micro RGB TV in person, and the high levels of color precision, contrast, and brightness made even OLED sets pale in comparison. Notably, Samsung Micro RGB does not use the brand’s self-emitting MicroLED displays; Instead, the latest TVs use individual backlights (LCDs) to display colors. Although confusing, what we meant by watching the TV in person was that the implementation is worth it.
Ultimately, the Samsung Micro RGB TV is a beautiful paradox. It’s both a brilliant final chapter to the era of backlit LCDs and a brilliant, confusing prologue to the era of true mini LEDs. This sector is expected to see more competition in the coming years.
4. Meta Ray-Ban Display: The next line of smart glasses
Riding on the popularity of Ray-Ban-branded smart glasses, Meta worked for Homer this year when it launched the Ray-Ban Display on Connect. While smart glasses retained essential features like hands-free photo and video capturing, they also introduced a waveguide, full-color display that projects contextual information – realizing the true multimodal capabilities of AI wearable devices.
Also: I Tried the Meta Ray-Ban Display Glasses and They Get Me Excited for the Post-Smartphone Era
Via a companion accessory, an EMG neural wristband, users can navigate the floating interface with various hand gestures. Our team was able to learn and become familiar with the controls within just a few minutes of testing. Since then, the Ray-Ban display has become a medium for ambient information, ranging from live captions to meta AI responses and incoming notifications during conversations.
The bundled price of the Meta Ray-Ban Display remains a point of strength, selling for $799. Within the first weeks of release, reservation demos for the latest smart glasses were pushed back by months. The question now is how competitors like Google, Samsung, and possibly Apple will respond in 2026.
5. Antigravity A1: A drone that never misses a shot
AntiGravity, made by popular camera maker Insta360, launched this summer, and its first product set the bar high. ZDNET’s Cesar Cadenas tested the A1 drone in Los Angeles and found that its 360-degree video recording is a game-changer for content creation. Effectively, you can never miss a shot with the A1’s 8K sensor, and its 249-gram weight falls under the US government’s 250-gram limit for recreational drone-flying.
Plus: I replaced my travel video gear with this 360-degree drone within minutes of testing it
The AntiGravity A1 works in conjunction with a grip controller and vision goggles, providing the user with a first-person view of the drone’s sensors as it flies through the sky. Thanks to the glasses’ micro-OLED display and commendable low-latency video streaming, the Cadence impressed with the full flight experience.
“Yes, it’s expensive (at $1,599), but I would still recommend the A1 to anyone interested in drones. Its ease of use makes it great for newcomers, and creators will be impressed by the video quality,” Cadenas said.
