5 of the Biggest IoT Stories of 2025

Plus our top IoT stories of the week!

Author

IoT For All
December 18, 2025

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Hello readers!

This week we’re taking a look back at 2025, talking about wireless spectrum, microdata centers and more.

5 of the Biggest Stories in IoT This Year

This year’s biggest IoT stories were less about shiny new gadgets and more about scale, infrastructure, and long-standing constraints finally being addressed—or exposed. From power and security to developer ecosystems and enterprise deployments, these five moments helped define where IoT is actually headed.

1. Ambient IoT took a step toward real-world scale

Power has always been one of IoT’s biggest bottlenecks, especially for large, distributed deployments. That’s why the launch of the Ambient IoT Alliance, backed by companies like Intel and Qualcomm, mattered. While battery-free sensing isn’t new—passive RFID has been around for decades—recent advances in energy harvesting and standards support have pushed the concept closer to viability. If Ambient IoT delivers, it could enable massive, low-maintenance sensor networks and reshape how data is collected for AI.

2. McDonald’s demonstrated what enterprise IoT looks like at scale

McDonald’s “Digitizing the Arches” initiative offered a clear look at IoT operating across tens of thousands of locations. By combining edge computing, connected equipment, and AI, the company is improving predictive maintenance, order accuracy, and drive-thru performance. None of these use cases are novel on their own—but executing them consistently at global scale is. The message was simple: IoT-driven digital transformation is no longer optional in high-volume operations.

3. Qualcomm’s Arduino acquisition reshaped the IoT on-ramp

Qualcomm’s acquisition of Arduino signaled a strategic move upstream in the IoT value chain. By pairing Arduino’s massive developer base with Qualcomm’s high-performance processors, the company aims to eliminate the painful jump from prototype hardware to production systems. New hybrid boards suggest developers may soon start with Linux-class hardware and edge AI from day one. The upside is faster deployment; the risk is a more vertically integrated—and potentially less open—ecosystem.

4. IoT’s security problem reached critical mass

This year made it impossible to ignore how central IoT has become to modern cybercrime. Record-setting DDoS attacks and the rise of residential proxy networks built on compromised smart devices highlighted how insecure IoT hardware now fuels entire criminal business models. As more devices connect through 5G and IIoT deployments, insecure endpoints threaten individual networks but also strain the internet itself. Security by design has evolved from best practice to prerequisite.

A research breakthrough from the Institute of Science Tokyo showed how IoT power delivery might evolve. Researchers demonstrated a safe, LED-based optical wireless power system that uses computer vision and AI to dynamically deliver energy to multiple devices. While still experimental, the work hints at a future where indoor IoT devices operate without batteries or cables. If commercialized, approaches like this could make power far less of a deployment constraint.

📖 Top Articles

AT&T’s $23 billion spectrum acquisition is a calculated move to influence how wireless networks evolve. The scale of the acquisition gives AT&T more control over where and how performance improvements are delivered. It also puts pressure on other providers that rely on leased or resold spectrum, tightening margins for smaller players competing in high-demand areas.

A fast shift is sweeping through modern computing. Signals from sensors, cameras, machines, and tiny connected devices keep rising. A long wait for cloud responses pushes real-time work to the limits. A new structure has started filling that gap with surprising force: Micro Data Centers.

Imagine logistics operations as a pilot navigating a plane through the night without instruments — only guesswork, intuition and hope. That is how operations function without IoT asset tracking. For organizations aiming for high-performance logistics, the absence of connected systems creates blind spots. Real-time visibility and asset tracking provide actionable insight that transforms operations from reactive to proactive.

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🔥 Rapid Fire

🎙️ The IoT For All Podcast

In this episode of the IoT For All Podcast, Barry Libert, Chairman and CEO of HiveMQ, joins Ryan Chacon to discuss moving past the pilot phase in industrial IoT and AI. The conversation covers viewing businesses as data streaming entities, the importance of understanding one's data collection processes, aligning different tiers of employees to achieve success, the shift from connectivity to AI data platforms, the role of agentic workflows, and the type of leadership required to navigate the evolving landscape of data and AI.

🗓️ Events & Webinars

Com4 Global Satellite Solutions

Learn how Starlink and LTE/5G create resilient global connectivity. Join Com4’s Managed LEO webinar Feb 5 at 10:00 CET.

📄 White Papers

2026 Global IoT Predictions

The world of global IoT connectivity isn’t just evolving; it’s undergoing a great re-alignment where the stakes have never been higher. Powerful forces like sentient AIoT, the maturation of 5G, and the new SGP.32 eUICC standard are converging to create a landscape of immense opportunity, but also profound complexity. 

Policy-Driven Development of Smart Buildings in Europe

Facing stringent climate goals and a vast stock of inefficient buildings, Europe's renovation market is rapidly expanding, propelled by powerful EU policies like the Renovation Wave. Smart technologies, particularly IoT sensors and building management systems, are becoming essential to achieve deep energy savings and transform aging structures into sustainable, intelligent assets.