14 Cool New Gadgets to Keep on Your Radar

The iFi Up Travel is a portable Bluetooth travel adapter from the British-based hi-fi company. It works as a transmitter and a receiver. This means you can plug it into an in-flight entertainment system and stream audio to your wireless headphones, but you can also plug it into an old car’s audio system and play music from your smartphone. It also has a high-quality DAC and supports high-resolution codecs, including aptX Adaptive, aptX HD, aptX Low Latency and LDAC files.

The Garmin Forerunner 970 is the company’s new “best of the best” GPS running watch for 2025. Compared to previous Forerunners, the 970 has the “brightest AMOLED screen yet,” according to the brand. It also has a built-in microphone and speaker — a first for the Forerunner line — so you can answer calls right from your wrist during runs. The Forerunner 970 comes in one size: 47mm. (For those looking for a similar but more affordable option, check out Garmin’s Forerunner 570, which is also new for 2025.)

The Audio-Technica AT-LPA2 is the brand’s new flagship audiophile turntable for 2025, which it’s calling the “finest turntable [it] has ever developed.” It is a fully manual, belt-drive turntable featuring a transparent acrylic plinth and platter, which gives the impression that the record is floating while playing. It comes pre-mounted with Audio-Technica’s AT-OC9XEN moving-coil cartridge (which sells for $400 on its own) and has a separate box for power and controls.

The GB-001 is a portable Bluetooth speaker and cassette tape player (and recorder) that resembles a classic 1980s boombox. It features backlit VU meters, which deliver a similar soft glow to those found in many vintage stereos, as well as numerous tactile knobs, switches and a folding carrying handle. It’s designed for high-quality cassette tape playback — according to the French audio brand, it has “a top-of-the-line cassette deck mechanism, complete with a powerful, user-adjustable motor that includes internal speed regulation.”

The Sony WH-1000XM6 are the company’s new flagship noise-canceling wireless headphones for 2025, and they’ve been completely upgraded over the brand’s 2022-released XM5. Compared to its predecessors, the XM6 have drastically improved ANC thanks to a new processor (which is “seven times faster”) and twelve built-in mics (versus the previous eight). They boast a redesigned driver and new upscaling technology for improved sound. And the headphones have an improved foldable design — they can fold flat and compactly (the latter their predecessors could not) — and have a round on/off power button (instead of being the same shape as the ANC button). The only real caveat is that Sony added $50 to the price tag.

To celebrate the Danish hi-fi company’s 100-year history, Bang & Olufsen has released special edition versions of its Beolab 28 speakers and Beovision Theatre soundbar (which comes with an optional OLED LG screen), each of which has been reimagined with an Art Deco design. According to the brand, “the design draws on the bold geometry and rich material palette of 1920s architecture, with dark rosewood and chestnut-anodised aluminium at its core.” Only 100 will be made.

The WiiM Amp Ultra is the company’s most powerful and refined streaming amplifier that, according to the brand, “builds on the streaming power users loved in the Amp Pro and combines it with the premium display experience introduced in the WiiM Ultra (its premium music streamer).” It can deliver 100 watts per channel (into 8 ohms) or 200 watts (into 4 ohms). It features an audiophile-grade DAC and a dual Class-D amp chip that allows it to stream audio up to 32-bit/384 kHz. And, thanks to an HDMI ARC input, it’s also primed to be the hub of your home theater setup.

The WiiM Sub Pro is the company’s first subwoofer that works similarly to Sonos’s Sub Mini (but for WiiM’s ecosystem). It features an 8-inch woofer, Class D amplification, and can output up to 250 watts of power. It’s also flexible, capable of being used as a wired or wireless subwoofer; you can wirelessly add it to a WiiM hi-fi system or wire it to any other system.

The WiiM Sound is the company’s first smart speaker, which can be integrated with either Alexa or Google Assistant. The speaker resembles Apple’s HomePod, but features a front-facing touchscreen color display that displays album artwork, playlists, and other menus. On top of the speaker, the Sound has other playback controls. The wireless speaker features a 4-inch woofer and dual-balanced mode radiator tweeters. It promises to output up to 100 watts of power and stream high-resolution audio up to 32-bit/192kHz.

Focal’s Diva Utopia are high-end wireless active floorstanding speakers that cost $40,000. When they were initially released in October 2024, they were only available in one grey felt finish. However, the French luxury audio maker has now introduced three new lacquered high-gloss finishes: black, dune and white. But they come with an additional $9,500 cost.

Sony’s flagship smartphone for 2025, the Xperia 1 VII, feels like a throwback. Yes, it boasts all the high-end specs you’d expect from today’s flagships, including a gorgeous 6.5-inch OLED display and an excellent triple-camera system. However, it also features elements from the past, including a traditional 3.5mm headphone jack and expandable storage capabilities via a microSD card slot. It’s expected to cost $1,700, but unfortunately, it’s unlikely to be released in the US.

The Fyne Audio F704SP is the latest pair of high-end loudspeakers from the Scottish hi-fi manufacturer. They are essentially upgraded versions of the brand’s existing F704 floorstanding loudspeakers, which retail for $18,999 per pair, and join the brand’s “SP” (or “Special Treatment”) line of loudspeakers. They feature a 300mm IsoFlare driver, which is “directly inspired” by the IsoFlare driver in its F1 series, for midrange and high frequencies, as well as a second 300mm driver for bass. They feature beautiful wooden cabinets, handcrafted in the UK from high-density European birch plywood. 

The Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge joins the company’s existing Galaxy S25 smartphone lineup that was released earlier this year. And, in a nutshell, the “Edge” is a thinner, slimmer, bigger and slightly upgraded version of the base Galaxy S25. It features a 6.7-inch display, matching the Galaxy S25 Plus, and measures 5.8mm in thickness, making it one of the thinnest smartphones available. It features a dual camera system, borrowing the 200-megapixel main camera from the higher-end model; the notable omission is the telephoto camera. The other big tradeoff is that it has a smaller battery than the rest of the company’s flagship lineup.

The Eversolo Play is a “just add speakers” streaming amplifier. It packs a Class D amplifier that promises to deliver 60 watts per channel (into 8 ohms) or 110 watts per channel (into 4 ohms). The onboard AK4493 DAC supports high-resolution audio files, including DSD512 and PCM up to 32-bit/768kHz. It has built-in Wi-Fi and supports a wealth of modern streaming features, including Tidal Connect and Spotify Connect. It also has a variety of inputs for connecting wired sources, including an HDMI ARC for connecting to a TV, and an MM/MC phono input for connecting a turntable. Most interestingly, Eversolo will sell a variant of the Play with an integrated CD player — called the Eversolo Play CD Edition — for those who want a modern player that can keep that physical media format alive.