Hit and Missed Gadgets of 2018

Introduction

Keeping a track of the technology world is equal to living through multiple simultaneous hurricanes. All through the years since tech and tech gadgets have gained the importance that they have now, there are have been several changes. There’s always some new product getting leaked or launched or some company trying to grab attention with its latest technological promotions. There were a number of gadgets released in 2018. The year has ended and it’s the beginning of 2019. Pertaining to the speed of technology, the count of gadgets to be launched in the upcoming year is definitely going to increase.

When it’s the beginning of a new year, more often than not, we get to step back a bit and take a look at the bigger picture. It only means we for ourselves get to decide which device actually made a difference to the technological domain and which just missed the track. When a person decides to invest in an expensive and technologically advanced device, he makes sure that he is truly getting the finest gear in the market. This is why the market introspection is required. Sometimes it so happens that the list of products doesn’t change for a long time. To make matters easier, we bring you the best and bad gadgets introduced in the consumer technology space in 2018.

2018: The Beginning of Optimal Automation

Over the last many years, there have been a noticeable advance in and adoption of new automation technologies. It has rapidly changed, right from autonomous vehicles, connected devices, digital transformation, the Internet of Things to machine learning, artificial intelligence automation and so much more. We are now in an age which makes survival difficult without gadgets and technology. The previous year was no different.

2018 saw the introduction of a number of new technological advances. New gadgets in the market included new consoles as well as smartphones, gadgets like PCs, tablets, and smartwatches are swiftly catching up the pace. The technology introduced in the previous year noticed a major fresh foray of innovative upcoming gadgets in the future to be a part of our life. recent advances include industrializing some popular consumer technology. This helps to accelerate the ongoing convergence of information technology and operational technology to support digital transformation. At the beginning of the previous year, systems based on reinforcement learning with little supervision went beyond impression. Supply chain optimization, customer journey, predictive maintenance, data center operation, and building automation are examples of a myriad of domains where we have built rule-based systems. Gadgets introduced were able to quickly train systems that apply various rules more optimally than human-generated logic.

The previous year observed that automation and AI have the potential to augment abilities and make individuals better at what they do. AI, like all technology, is assistive technology. Perhaps 2018 was the only year which thought of AI not as artificial intelligence, but as assistive information technology. Automation has continued to revolutionize industries , through analytics and algorithms. These trends have only shape technology in 2018 and beyond, but have transformed and will continue to transform the tech world.

Gadgets Released in 2018

The year of 2018 has seen numerous gadgets being introduced in the market and below list consists of a mixture from various categories. The list includes:

1. iPhone SE 2
2. HomePod
3. Foldable tablets
4. Moov Now
5. Fitbit Alta HR
6. Sony WH-1000XM2
7. Oculus Go
8. Halberd
9. Nutale GPS
10. Flow
11. Jaybird Run
12. MyKronoz Smartwatch
13. Proof
14. Sleepbuds by Bose
15. Google Clips
16. Movi Phone
17. HP Envy x2
18. Samsung QLED monitor
19. Philips SmartSleep
20. Magic Leap Assistant

What follows is a list of the best and worst gadgets that were available in 2018.

Best Gadgets of 2018

To help overcome the problem of researching a superior tech set up, below we have collated a list of the best gadgets available. These gadgets are industry leaders and allegedly the best.
Oculus Go
Google Home Hub
Magic Leap Assistant
Sleepbuds by Bose
Moov Now

Each product has various characteristics that make it worth the hype. Following is a detailed description of all the best-rated products and what makes them the same.

Oculus Go

The Oculus Go is supposedly the first VR headset that creates a real immersion experience all on its own, without the assistance of a high-end gaming desktop. The 2560-by-1440-pixel LCD actually has more pixels dedicated to each one of the eyes than the Oculus Rift. And the device’s built-in speaker system adds to the sensory onslaught. It pumps carefully timed audio that tricks the ears into thinking there’s really a zombie sneaking up from behind. The gadget is also launched with more than 1,000 VR experiences, from peaceful meditation apps to riding impossible roller-coaster rides. The device’s 16.5-ounce headset doesn’t feel like a phone accessory or a watered-down version of its predecessor. Oculus Go is a huge step in VR’s journey out of the niche gaming community and into the mainstream.

Oculus Go Features:

• Completely wireless
• Sleek minimalist design
• Large library of apps and games
• Crisp details and vibrant colors with minimal motion blur
• The intuitive controller makes navigation faster

Google Home Hub

Assistant still sports a much deeper knowledge base than Alexa, and the Hub offers one not so secret weapon: YouTube. Google’s video service is light years ahead of anything Amazon (or anyone, really) currently offers, and the competition shows no sign of catching up.
Google Home Hub, the obvious competitor for Amazon’s Echo Show is a gadget launched by Google. The device consists of an assistant voice-control built-in, access to YouTube along with a great design. Google Home Hub’s smart screen splits the size difference between the Echo Spot and Show, with a form factor that fits in much more comfortably in most home decor. The whole setup process of the gadget takes a few minutes because of the great new Google Home app UI that makes setting up additional devices easier.

Google Home Hub Features:

• Great design and display
• Fantastic smart home control
• Adequate sound quality
• YouTube integration
• Excellent price

Magic Leap Googles

The Magic Leap Goggles delivers an experience that puts digital objects right in front of one’s eyes. It is an augmented-reality headset that uses light field display. The headset uses a projection technology called light-field to shine light onto transparent glass displays. The device has cameras and infrared sensors on the front that capture one’s surroundings in order that digital sprites interact with IRL objects. Magic Leap Googles are lightweight which makes wearing it simpler delivering an excellent experience.

Magic Leap Assistant Features:

• Computer vision
• Spatial audio
• Comfortable wearable
• Adequate memory and storage

Sleepbuds by Bose

Bose’s Sleepbuds earplugs are designed in a way that comes with a gap in the audible spectrum. The noise-masking quality of this gadget enables the user to stay aware of the emergencies. What makes this interesting is that you can’t play your own music, podcasts or sounds. On the plus side, this means that They won’t kill your phone battery because the tracks are stored on the buds themselves, as opposed to streaming via bluetooth all night. The app is also minimalist and easy to use. You can use it to select your track your preferred volume and an alarm if you’re so inclined. These are comfortable to wear for long periods even while sleeping. The plugs use a single balanced armature speaker, like what you’d find in a hearing aid, so they’re 20 percent smaller than typical in-ear headphones much comfier. Sleepbuds also have a long battery life which enables them to be used for a prolonged period of time.

Sleepbuds by Bose Features:

• Elegant, lightweight design
• Magnetic charging case
• Long battery life
• Comfortable to wear
• Improves the quality of life/sleep

Moov Now

The Moov Now the device is the most appropriate fitness tracker and highly unlike; like any of its competitors. It doesn’t have GPS tracking, it doesn’t even have a screen but performs better than others. It has a six months battery life and throughout can track steps, sleep time, fitness regime, running techniques and a lot of different things. This may be an unconventional fitness tracker, but it’s a great one.

Moov Now Features:

• Real-time coaching
• Counts reps
• Vocal feedback
• Water- and dust-proof
• Six-month battery life
• Works with iOS and Android

Worst Gadgets of 2018

While some gadgets received a great response, some fell back in the race. The list of missed gadgets of 2018 include:

Red Hydrone One
Facebook Portal
Homepod
Coral One

Let’s have a closer look at each of the product in this category and the possible reason for their failure.

Red Hydrogen One

Red’s Hydrogen One is a smartphone that is ambitious, striking but not worth releasing in the market. This gadget has an outdated version of Android, non-existent mods, and camera quality that degrades Red’s reputation to the lowest. And while its 4 View screen is close to neat it doesn’t come anywhere close to delivering the mind-blowing holographic experience the company’s hyped-up marketing promised. To add up to its list of faults, the display of the device sports a nano-photonic design that looks a bit like a moving version of those holographic baseball cards.

Facebook Portal

The Facebook Portal has nothing special to offer from its competitors. The Portal became one of the missed products of the year not because of its concept but because of its limited functionality. It’s a video chat device that brings the person you are speaking through a device into the room by just saying their name. Facebook is a company that uses consumer data to sell ads, and the way it stores and uses that data is already suspect. Consumers almost certainly do not want to open the door to bring Facebook into their homes in an even more intrusive way, and the company should have realized that without launching a device that few, if any, will buy. Pertaining to all the social media privacy concerns that were raised in 2018, Facebook-branded hardware had to be of some worth. The design of the device is solid but having no special characteristic attached to it just makes it a major failure.

Homepod

Just because a tech company like Apple kills it with some of the popular smartphones and laptop designs, that doesn’t mean they automatically stake a claim on the best of tech across the board. The price range at which the device is being sold is a bit steep to justify its functionalities. Along with functionalities, Siri in comparison to Alexa has difficulty contextualizing more nuanced questions and requests. The major drawback that this gadget has is it only accepts commands from Apple music. Because of this non-apple users are unable to give the device a try even if they want to.

Coral One

Over the years robot vacuums have gotten much better at cleaning and autonomously navigating a house, but that’s about all the innovation that has been seen. The Coral One is a brilliantly put idea. It’s robotic that easily transformed into a hand vac for cleaning all the spots a tiny rolling robot can’t reach. Unfortunately, when using the included attachments in handheld mode, the vacuum didn’t have much cleaning power. And in robot mode, the Coral One had a hard time navigating a room without forcefully crashing into furniture and other obstacles.

SEE ALSO: Top AI Breakthroughs of 2018: Artificial Embryos Now a Reality

Conclusion

The beginning of 2018 was a major wave of automation coming in which led to the release of many automation driven products. Another aspect that gains importance in this year was the changing scenario of technological transformation. To say, this transformation proved to be a must for any industry to grow which also enabled them to compete effectively and maximize business performance. As a part of the digital transformation, asset performance became an equally major characteristic. Considering the number of gadgets launched in 2018, the increasing convergence of operational technology and information technology can be noticed. This has served as an enabler for digital transformation that gained prime importance. With so many events taking place all at once, amongst everything there have been gadgets that got launched. Some of them proved to be the best while some didn’t work. This being the scenario there are more trends and gadgets to be introduced in 2019 which are surely going to be a step ahead of all the existing ones.