Oliver's best tech in 2025: iPhone Air, earbuds, and an iPhone Fold teaser

As 2025 draws to a close, attention is turning to all the tech to come, but before that, it's time to look back at some of the best tech Oliver Haslam has used throughout this year.

It's been a busy year of tech, as always seems to be the case. It's seen new iPhones, refreshed laptops, and more, but it's sometimes important to look beyond Apple, too.

The likes of Samsung and Oppo have gone all-in on foldables, and Nintendo has given its hugely popular Switch a new lick of paint with the Switch 2.

I'm fortunate enough to take a lot of new tech for a spin, with some sticking in the memory more than others. And then there is the cream of the crop, products that have found a place in my home.

This list is made up of those products. There's an iPhone and a teaser for what the future iPhone Fold could offer, joined by a pair of AirPods Pro-beating earbuds and more.

I'm going to run through all of the best tech I've used in 2025, and then it's time for what's next. If 2026 is anything like 2025, it's going to be a great year for tech.

Not long before the 2025 iPhones went on sale, I waxed poetic about why I wasn't going to buy one. My iPhone 15 Pro Max was more than enough iPhone for me.

The iPhone Air is the thinnest iPhone yet

Then, with so much discourse around the iPhone Air's compromises, I took one on vacation to see what all the fuss was about.

I came back thoroughly impressed, and I've been using one ever since.

You can check out my long-term review to see why I think people have the iPhone Air all wrong. But it really just boils down to one thing — it makes iPhones interesting after years of design stagnation.

I'm hoping the iPhone Fold will continue that next year.

As someone who is in the midst of a gaming renaissance, the Nintendo Switch 2 arrived at exactly the right time. And it proved that while using an iPhone to game is cool, it's hard to beat a real, dedicated portable gaming device.

The Nintendo Switch 2 is my go-to portable gaming device

As it proved with the original Switch, Nintendo knows what it takes to make a mobile gaming platform. It started with the original Game Boy and continued with the DS and 3DS after that.

I'd gone into the Switch 2 purchase expecting it to be the place I buy Nintendo games, but it's so much more than that. It's now where I play the majority of my indie games, too. Games that won't find their way to the iPhone for years, if ever.

Its detractors will call the Switch 2 nothing more than a Switch Pro, and they'd be right. But that isn't the dig they think that it is; there wasn't much broken, but Nintendo fixed everything that was and then some.

Better graphics, 4K HDR support, and improved Joy-Con tech make the Switch 2 the ultimate mobile gaming device. Until Apple one day gets around to making the Pippin mobile, that is.

No, not the streaming box, the other one. 2025 saw Apple rename Apple TV+ to Apple TV. But it's also the year that it showed it means business in the streaming market.

"Pluribus" continues Apple's run of hit shows

2025 saw the release of so much grade A content that it's impossible to keep up with it all. Across both movies and shows, it's hit after hit.

On the movie front, it's impossible to ignore "F1: The Movie" with Brad Pitt taking the role of a returning has-been. It was a hit at the cinema, and it's sure to be just as popular now it's streaming at home, too.

On the TV show side, we have "Pluribus", which is currently hurtling towards its season one finale. Another hugely entertaining "Slow Horses" season has me itching for the next, and Murderbot didn't get the acclaim it deserved.

Add on the fact that 2026 will see Major League Soccer added to Apple TV free of charge, and the streamer looks set to go from strength to strength.

The AirPods Pro 3 might be the new premium earbuds from Apple, but they aren't my favorites. I reviewed the Bose QuietComfort Ultra 2 earbuds earlier in 2025, and they've become my go-to gaming earbuds since.

The AirPods Pro 3 have stiff competition.

Connected to both the Nintendo Switch 2 and Steam Deck, they're a great way to play games from AAA blockbusters to smaller indie titles. And they aren't half bad when it comes to listening to podcasts and music, either.

One big win for the QC Ultra is the way they fit so comfortably. I find them to be more comfortable than the AirPods Pro 3, albeit marginally, so they're great for long play sessions.

These earbuds also offer more bass, too, which is a big deal if you like your audio to have a bit of weight to it. Again, vital if you're playing more boomy games — like my current favorite Metroid Prime 4: Beyond.

They aren't perfect, not least because at $300 they are on the costly side. But I find myself reaching over the AirPods Pro 3 to pick them up more than I expected to.

I'm still very much an iPhone guy, but if I were switching to Android, it'd probably be to an Oppo Find N5. I spent a few weeks with one earlier in 2025 and was blown away by it.

Once you go bendy, it's hard to go back.

I'd always assumed that foldable phones would be thick, clumsy affairs, but the Oppo Find N5 soon disabused me of that notion. It's incredibly thin. Almost impossibly so.

But it's also extremely capable, too. Both the external and internal displays look great, and it doesn't let itself down when the cameras are used, either.

Despite that incredibly thin frame, it still has stupendous battery life, and did I mention how thin it is?

Open, this thing is just 4.21mm thick, which compares surprisingly well with the iPhone Air. Apple's "thin" phone is thicker at 5.6mm. Incredible, right?

Sure, it runs Android. But what if it didn't? The perpetually rumored iPhone Fold could launch in 2026, and if it's anything like the Find N5, I'll be all over it.

I was already tentatively excited for the iPhone Fold and foldable phones in general. But now, after spending some time with the Find N5, I can't wait.

Fold all the things, Apple. Bring on 2026.