2025 was a busy yr for Apple. The corporate launched a number of new merchandise, a few of which pushed its lineup ahead in significant methods. Nevertheless, others left lots to be desired. Trying again, it’s clear that Apple delivered each standout successes and a few head-scratching misses.
Right here’s a take a look at the perfect and worst Apple merchandise of 2025 — those that acquired the whole lot proper, and those that missed the mark fully.
Greatest and worst Apple merchandise of 2025
This record isn’t about Apple’s highest- or worst-selling merchandise of 2025. It’s about execution. It’s about merchandise that delivered significant upgrades or failed to take action.
On the brilliant facet, Apple confirmed that it nonetheless is aware of how one can nail the basics when it desires to. The iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Professional and M5 MacBook Professional every signify targeted, well-thought-out upgrades that improved efficiency, effectivity and on a regular basis usability with out pointless gimmicks.
On the flip facet, some 2025 launches felt poorly positioned or unnecessarily compromised, making them laborious to suggest.
Desk of contents: Greatest and worst Apple merchandise of 2025
Greatest Apple merchandise of 2025
Worst Apple merchandise of 2025
Greatest Apple merchandise of 2025
iPhone 17
Photograph: Ed Hardy/Cult of Mac
The common iPhone 17 stands out as Apple’s finest product of 2025. It won’t function a daring new design, but it delivers precisely the upgrades that matter.
The bottom iPhone lastly acquired a 120Hz ProMotion show this yr, and Apple didn’t lower corners. The iPhone 17 makes use of the identical panel because the iPhone 17 Professional, full with 3,000-nit peak brightness, a 1-nit minimal for low-light use, and an antireflective coating that noticeably reduces glare.
The A19 chip ensures the iPhone 17 is among the many quickest telephones out there, with the five-core GPU with Neural Accelerators considerably boosting AI efficiency. The SoC can be extra environment friendly, permitting the telephone to last more.
One other noticeable improve this yr? An 18MP Middle Stage entrance digital camera. It permits you to seize panorama selfies with out having to rotate the telephone. And in video calls, the digital camera can comply with the topic with out requiring any hand gymnastics.
The upgraded selfie digital camera alone justifies shopping for the iPhone 17.
Regardless of all of the upgrades, together with extra RAM and twice the bottom storage (256GB), the iPhone 17 prices the identical as its predecessor: $799.
With tariffs, inflation and a significant RAM and NAND provide crunch, it’s commendable that Apple managed to maintain the iPhone 17’s beginning value so low. It makes the iPhone 17 top-of-the-line value-for-money telephones in the marketplace.
iPhone 17 Professional
Photograph: Ian Fuchs/Cult of Mac
In 2025, Apple gave its Professional iPhones their largest design revamp in years. The iPhone 17 Professional and Professional Max introduce a redesigned rear digital camera island housed in a thicker, heavier physique that pairs effectively with a daring new orange end.
Even aside from the design, the iPhone 17 Professional packed main upgrades in all key areas: an antireflective show, an upgraded selfie digital camera, higher efficiency, longer battery life, quicker wired charging speeds, and a bigger telephoto digital camera.
The common iPhone 17 steals a few of the iPhone 17 Professional’s thunder. Nonetheless, when you’re an influence consumer, the Professional mannequin stays the higher purchase. It’s Apple’s finest iPhone Professional to this point and one in all its strongest product launches of 2025.
No marvel the telephone has been promoting like hotcakes since launch, with Apple on monitor for its finest vacation quarter but.
M5 MacBook Professional
Photograph: David Snow/Cult of Mac
The M5 MacBook Professional is one in all Apple’s most underrated system launches of 2025. It doesn’t deliver a brand new design or flashy adjustments. The one improve is the quicker M5 chip. And that’s the true star of the present.
That includes the world’s quickest CPU cores, the M5 chip guarantees to ship as much as 15% quicker multithreaded efficiency over the M4.
It additionally delivers a giant leap in AI efficiency. Every of the ten GPU cores now encompasses a devoted Neural Accelerator, dramatically bettering on-device AI workloads. On high of that, the GPU itself will get a sizeable improve, providing as much as 30% quicker graphics efficiency in comparison with the M4.
The M5 chip permits the entry-level MacBook Professional to stay as much as its “Professional” moniker. It even manages to beat older-generation Professional chips in lots of duties.
40W Dynamic Energy Adapter with 60W Max
Apple’s 40W Dynamic Energy Adapter with 60W Max is a superb instance of the corporate getting the fundamentals proper in 2025. On paper, you may assume that it’s only a charger. However it’s a wise one.
The 40W Dynamic Energy Adapter is only a wee bit bigger than Apple’s 35W twin USB-C charger. And but, it may ship as much as 60W of energy.
Relying on the system related, Apple’s new 40W energy brick can briefly increase its energy output to as a lot as 60W. That additional headroom turns out to be useful when charging a MacBook Professional or Air. For iPhones, it delivers as much as 40W energy, which is sufficient to juice up the iPhone 17’s battery to 50% in solely 20 minutes.
Worst Apple merchandise of 2025
iPhone 16e
Photograph: D. Griffin Jones/Cult of Mac
The iPhone 16e ranks among the many world’s bestselling telephones this yr. Nonetheless, it’s amongst Apple’s worst merchandise to debut in 2025.
The telephone packs comparatively respectable inside specs, together with an A18 chip and a 12MP entrance digital camera. However it stumbles badly with an outdated Tremendous Retina XDR show that adheres to a notch moderately than adopting the Dynamic Island.
The one rear digital camera makes issues worse, making it laborious to justify the telephone’s $599 record value. Anybody contemplating the iPhone 16e could be much better off spending an additional $200 on the iPhone 17, which delivers a noticeably extra full and polished expertise.
iPhone Air MagSafe Battery Pack
Photograph: D. Griffin Jones/Cult of Mac
Apple reintroduced its MagSafe Battery pack this yr, however fumbled huge time with the execution.
The iPhone Air MagSafe Battery pack exists for precisely one purpose: to assist the iPhone Air make it by way of a day of heavy use.
Regardless of its $99 price ticket and MagSafe assist, the transportable battery pack solely works with the iPhone Air. Whereas it may technically cost the iPhone 17 and iPhone 17 Professional, their rear digital camera layouts stop the pack from sitting flush, making the expertise impractical.
Sure, the iPhone 17 and iPhone 17 Professional last more and assist quicker wired charging speeds. Nonetheless, Apple ought to have ensured the MagSafe Battery pack’s compatibility with its non-Air iPhones. (Searching for an alternate? Learn our evaluate: Anker’s Nano Energy Financial institution is the iPhone battery pack Apple ought to have made.)
iPad (A16)
Photograph: Ed Hardy/Cult of Mac
Apple spent most of 2024 hyping Apple Intelligence. And but, it went forward and upgraded the entry-level iPad this yr with solely an A16 chip, which doesn’t assist Apple Intelligence.
Positive, the bottom iPad begins at $329, however that’s not an excuse for Apple to lock its headlining AI options out of its most accessible pill.
In observe, it makes this yr’s iPad a no-buy. You might be higher off spending some additional money and getting the M3 iPad Air as an alternative.
What in regards to the iPhone Air?
Regardless of being a gross sales dud, the iPhone Air shouldn’t be a flop — at the very least from a technical viewpoint. Sure, it suffers from some compromises, which stored it from making the record of finest Apple merchandise of 2025.
Nevertheless, the 5.6 mm-thin iPhone required a number of technological breakthroughs to attain its slim body. What’s much more exceptional is how Apple squeezes respectable battery life out of the iPhone Air’s modest 2,900mAh cell, largely by way of aggressive effectivity optimizations.
Consider the iPhone Air as a stepping stone for Apple towards one thing larger. Experiences already recommend Apple’s first foldable iPhone may resemble two iPhone Airs connected to one another.
The know-how used inside this telephone will allow Apple to make its future iPhones, MacBooks and different units slimmer and lighter — all with out sacrificing efficiency.
Rajesh has been carefully following and writing in regards to the newest happenings on the earth of cellular for almost a decade now. Whereas he prefers Android, he doesn’t deny the prevalence of Apple’s merchandise and ecosystem.
