Welcome to 2025. Are you ready for more AI in your tech this year?

Happy New Year! Welcome to 2025's first BTTR weekly review.

Honestly, it's been a bit quiet around here. That time between Christmas and New Year's is a great time to sit back and reflect.

I did take the time to write up my favourite products of 2024. There were some really great gadgets released last year, but what impressed me most in 2024 wasn't the AI features being crammed into anything with a power cord or battery.

It was thoughtful, intelligent design that increased the usefulness of a product. It's honestly what I hope to see more of in 2025.

But with CES just around the corner, we're already seeing that the real focus of tech companies this year will be more AI.

My hope is that while the buzz of AI is still huge, it moves away from average-at-best "creative" use-cases, and into more practical uses that actually solve problems, rather than create them.

Ideas like AI fridges that suggest groceries to buy based on object recognition inside your fridge seem interesting. But I'm also not sold that it will be accurate enough to be actually useful.

Generally speaking, CES is a good opportunity to get an idea for what to expect for the year ahead in the world of tech, so stay tuned for more of that next week.

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This week in tech

I'm taking it a bit slow this week, so there isn't too much fresh stuff this week. But there's still stuff to read!

10 best gadgets of 2024, based on first-hand reviews | BTTR

The best gadgets of 2024 weren’t necessarily the ones you would expect.

BTTR ReviewsNick Broughall

How to pair the AirPods 4 with anything | BTTR

Without a setup button on the AirPods 4, it’s not obvious how to pair them with a non-Apple device. Here’s how you do it.

BTTR ReviewsNick Broughall

Australia’s passport is overpriced for basic tech | BTTR

It now costs over $400 to get a new or renewed passport, the most expensive passport in the world. Why?

BTTR ReviewsNick Broughall

Samsung’s fridges will use AI to shop for groceries | BTTR

A partnership with Instacart in the US will semi-automate grocery shopping.

BTTR ReviewsNick Broughall

Last year's most-read reviews

I haven't written up any of my reviews in the past week, so instead, I'm going to share my three biggest reviews of 2024 here.

3: OPPO A79 5G review

Oppo A79 5G review: Better than expected | BTTR

The BTTR review of the Oppo A79 5G finds a remarkable device that performs well above expectations for its price, while also looking great.

BTTR ReviewsNick Broughall

2: Motorola G34 5G review

Motorola Moto g34 5G review: Better budget options

Motorola’s Moto g34 5G does a reasonable job as a budget phone, but for an extra $20 you can get the much, much better g54 5G model, making this hard to recommend.

BTTR ReviewsNick Broughall

1: Ecovacs Deebot N20 Pro Plus review

Ecovacs Deebot N20 Pro Plus review: A good idea - BTTR

The Deebot N20 Pro Plus uses a cyclonic dustbin to rid itself of bags. But does it work?

BTTR ReviewsNick Broughall

Thanks for reading

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• A collection of the best tech news of the week (with some commentary from yours truly)
• A preview of next week's product reviews

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As always, I'd love to hear your thoughts on this week's newsletter, or even some input on what you'd like to see in next week's roundup.

Until next week

Nick @ BTTR