What innovations hit the mark in 2025? The year’s stand out tech designs were those that brought robust industrial design to the fore and focused on doing one thing well. Forget the Swiss Army knife approach to innovation; these are tools and services you can trust, as well as forays into esoteric design and application that piqued our interest. Read on to see what got our vote.
1. Caligra c100 Developer Terminal
c100 Developer Terminal by Caligra
A desktop computer designed for serious work, the distraction-free aesthetic of the c100 caught our eye, thanks to stripped back hardware courtesy of Pentagram industrial designer Jon Marshall.
2. Love Hultén x Aston Martin
Backseat twiddling in the Love Hultén x Aston Martin Lagonda
Not quite an official collaboration, but perhaps the largest synth custom synth projects of recent times, Hultén’s bespoke project for Dr Stephan Sigrist saw twin Roland synths seamlessly integrated into Aston Martin’s epic statement of 70s style.
3. Verso Sine Guitar
Sine Guitar by Verso Instruments
Robin Stummvoll’s Verso guitars continue to intrigue. This year, the German luthier launched the Sine, featuring a curved sheet metal upper body, movable magnetic pick-ups and a design that looks unlike any other instrument.
4. Analogue 3D Console
Analogue 3D console
Finally shipped and into the hands of eager gamers, Analogue’s 3D console brings Nintendo’s iconic N64 console back from the dead, with full cartridge emulation and a number of innovative display options. Racing round the tracks of F-Zero on a 4K TV is a true blast from the past and neatly sidesteps the endless console wars.
5. Bang & Olufsen Reloved
Bang & Olufsen Reloved
A core part of B&O’s effort to bring true circularity to the manufacture of high-tech products, the Reloved initiative brings back reconditioned design classics from the Danish maker’s massive archive. A programme that’ll surely have some imitators in 2026.
7. Lava Studio
Lava Studio guitar amplifier
An all-in-one box for the gadget-loving guitarist, Lava’s Studio blended touchscreen control with amp simulation and basic recording, all wrapped up in a stylish aluminium box that’s more hi-fi than tatty music gear.
8. Light Phone III
Light Phone III
A welcome innovation in more ways than one, the compact Light Phone III not only releases you from the grip of Doomscrolling but does so without completely cutting you off from the rest of the world. Maps, music, notes and even a camera transform this ‘dim-phone’ back into a tool rather than a totem.
9. Layer Art Display
The Layer Canvas, showing Zach Lieberman's 'Untitled'
A hugely impressive slice of tech, as well as a platform for an art form that’s rarely seen as its creators intend, the Layer display brought dynamic generative art together refined industrial design and an innovative subscription/royalty model.
10. Ollee Watch
The Ollee Watch is paired with the accompanying app
A quirky diversion to finish on. The Ollee Watch intrigued us with its combination of timeless old school technology – the original and enduring Casio F-91W and A158W models – with a very contemporary obsession – the smart watch. This kit-based update consisted of new circuitry to embed smart properties into the humble digital watch.
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