6 most exciting tech I want to see in 2025

It’s nearly the New Year, which means making resolutions, putting away the holiday decorations, and preparing for the return of the biggest consumer tech event of the year: CES 2025. The year ahead promises some awesome technology, and not all of it is going to be AI-laden. We’re expecting the next generation of GPUs from Nvidia and AMD, and many new and updated technologies that will make the year fantastic if you’re a techie. I’ve gone through the release dates and predictions and rounded up some of my favorites for the year ahead, and I’m excited about these technologies being launched.

6

HDMI 2.2

HDMI 2.1 is already maxed out, so bring on the next version

Both of the widely used display connector technologies, DisplayPort 1.4 and HDMI 2.1b have been around for a few years now. Since their release, display technologies have maxed out the capabilities of those specifications, which is bad news for monitor, TV, and GPU makers hoping to sell you the next big thing. But that’s about to change in January, with HDMI 2.2 hotly tipped to be unveiled at CES.

HDMI 2.1b can currentlysupport video resolution of up to 10K and 120Hz refresh rates, with dynamic HDR and up to 48Gbps of data bandwidth with high-speed HDMI cables. But TVs and computer monitors, in particular, can support faster refresh rates, which means HDMI users are limited in their supported specifications. To get around this you could use a DisplayPort cable on PC, but console gamers are still stuck with HDMI.

We’ll have to wait until January to see specifics about the next version of HDMI, but an email from the HDMI Licensing Administrator says that the new specification will enable higher bandwidth, higher resolutions, and refresh rates and will use a new cable design. Exciting stuff because we know new GPUs, gaming monitors, and TVs are being announced at CES, and those are typically the first devices to use new connectivity options.

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5

Ultrawide TVs

Immersive entertainment never looked better

It’s always interesting to me to watch the interplay between foundational technologies, the companies that build peripherals, and the wider market. Often, you can see the trajectory that the tech world is about to take by seeing what new updates are added to things like Android, Linux, or iOS, because the support for upcoming devices and features is often done in advance. For example, tvOS, the operating system running the Apple TV streaming boxes, was recently updated to beta 18.2 and one of the new features is support for 21:9 and wider aspect ratios.

Users of ultrawide monitors will know how immersive gaming or watching movies that are anamorphic and can adapt to the wider aspect ratio can be. It’s my preferred PC monitor configuration by far and my preference whenever possible when watching content on a projector.

While I’m overjoyed at the change, the real question is why Apple made this change. It’s possible that device analytics showed that users were using their Apple TV boxes on PC monitors, but it could also mean that TVs with ultrawide aspect ratios are on the horizon. Even if not, it enables home theater manufacturers to design with the Apple TV in mind, and we should see more ultrawide projectors coming out.

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4

Widespread DisplayPort 2.1 adoption

Bring on the bandwidth for our gaming use!

The vast majority of PC monitors that use DisplayPort are using the older standard, DisplayPort 1.4, which requires the use of compression methods to get high resolution and high refresh-rates working. Only a handful of monitors support DisplayPort 2.1, the newer standard that supports enough bandwidth not to need compression, partly because only AMD’s Radeon RX 7900 XT and XTX graphics cards support it as an output option.

Then USB4 came along, which also supports DP2.1 and 2.1a, so that devices with DP Alt Mode display outputs can use the higher-bandwidth specification. In 2025, two things are launching that will drive DP2.1 adoption across the market, and bring a whole new flood of faster PC monitors as a result. That’s the release of the Nvidia RTX 5000 series and AMD Radeon RX 8000 series graphics cards, and I can’t wait to get my hands on faster, more capable monitors as a result.

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3

More power-efficient processors

Intel, AMD, Qualcomm, and Apple are all hunting for efficiency

The PC market is in flux, with the major CPU manufacturers pushing for efficiency. However, it’s not just Intel and AMD that are pushing things forward. Qualcomm and Apple are leading the charge towards more power-efficient processors that still deliver performance when needed. That trend will continue into the next year, and I can’t wait.

Thanks to Qualcomm’s Snapdragon X Elite, Apple Silicon, AMD’s new Ryzen laptop chips, and Intel’s Lunar Lake, laptop battery life has changed from a few hours to at least a dozen (in the worst-case scenario). That’s honestly amazing when, just last year, laptops had a much bleaker outlook on efficiency. This means you won’t need to carry a charger around with you while still getting enough processing power to use creative tools like video editing and photo editing and all the other things you’d usually do on a desktop PC.

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2

QDEL or NanoLED

Enter the next generation of panel technology for your viewing pleasure

Display technology is about to take a literal quantum leap in color accuracy, performance, and more. You’re probably familiar with QD-OLED and QLED now, which use a quantum dot film over the light source to create more vibrant colors than the underlying OLED or LED source can manage on its own. The next advancement coming in the near future is NanoLED (or QDEL as it’s sometimes known), which uses individual pixels of quantum dot material instead of a secondary light source to excite the quantum dots. It’s created in much the same way as OLED, and it promises thinner, brighter, and more colorful displays for future devices.

The individual pixels are essentially printed onto the display, like how your inkjet printer works to create documents at home. Except, your printed paper won’t look this amazing. Only a few prototypes have been shown to the public so far, with small displays and laptops in the mix already. Expect to see this technology on more devices in the new year, and maybe we’ll see some consumer devices towards the end of the year. The future, as they say, is bright (and it’ll be darn colorful too).

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1

Better, safer battery tech

Solid-state and new hybrid battery tech promise safer, longer-lasting power

It’s hard to understate the effect of lithium-ion batteries on the technology we use. Everything from phones to laptops to electric vehicles uses this type of battery for their power source because they can be recharged many times without losing capacity and are stable over time. They’re also toxic and fairly dangerous, as lithium is highly reactive, and lithium battery fires can be difficult to put out, if at all, and can go on for some time before they run out of fuel.

But new types of batteries are on the horizon, and these promise to be safer to use and more suitable for different environments. Alsym is working on a water-based electrolyte battery that uses manganese and other oxides instead of lithium, so they can be used in industrial settings without the fire hazard lithium poses. Another company, South 8, is working on a version of lithium-ion batteries that have the electrolyte as a liquefied gas, so if they get punctured, the pressure sends the electrolyte out quickly, reducing the risk of the fire spreading to another cell. Plus, it can stay liquid at lower temperatures, enabling EVs to work in sub-zero environments.

These, and many more advancements in safety, excite me as we move towards a future with electric vehicles playing a larger role. I love that there are greener technologies ahead, but I worry about crash safety and other issues with EVs becoming more common, and these companies are actively trying to make that safer future happen.

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2025 is going to be an awesome year for refinements to existing technologies

This is only a small selection of technology that might make it to the market in 2025, but each is exciting in its own way. Better display connectivity standards enable better displays and sources, making our enjoyment of content more immersive. Better battery technology benefits everyone, and means a safer, greener future for the generations to come. And more efficient computing makes better use of our current resources, while we can still make a difference.