This year may have slowed down many industries – but not the technology one. Products were being developed left, right and center, and now there really is something for everyone. Services are being completely transformed, while others are straight from scratch, made by real entrepreneurial spirits. With CES 2021 not too far away and going “all online”, let’s review some of the highlights for 2020. If you want to discover the most intriguing and exciting gadgets of the year, look no further.
More typically known for their computers and products related to them, Dell has done something different this time, showing off an intriguing idea when it comes to PC gaming on the go, with the Intel-powered Alienware Concept UFO, which stole the spotlight for many tech enthusiasts this year. The product is still a prototype but looking at the reception it received, it won’t be shocking if this really happens.
The portable Windows PC, which has a similar design to the Nintendo Switch, includes an 8-inch display, kickstand, detachable controllers, and support for external devices like a keyboard. Yes, it’s still a concept device and there aren’t even specifics in numbers yet, but a portable gaming experience may just be what gamers need.
Fisker Automotive, known best previously for the ‘Fisker Karma’ – one of the world’s first luxury plug-in hybrid electric vehicles, are taking even more steps to show the world how to save the world. Fisker is using its luxury SUV, the Ocean, to show the competition how to make eco-friendly vehicles.
They claim it’s the world’s ‘most sustainable’ vehicle, and they might have a point: with all its all-electric drivetrain, vegan leather interior, and use of recycled materials such as nylon. There’s also a solar panel roof, for battery charging that can give you the possibility of over 1000 free miles a year.
Core is the world’s first handheld meditation trainer. It’s a device that you think you don’t need, but you really do. Meditation can be a tough habit to build and difficult to maintain, but the benefits you get from it make it a great one for everyone to have. If you need an extra hand, or a little nudge to get you back in the zone, Core is here for you. It uses tech like vibration and biofeedback, as well as an app that gives you details on your health, as well as meditation classes, to help you unlock a whole different level of yourself. It’s not just technology; it’s an experience.
Acer’s new invention is a laptop doubling as an artist’s easel, with 6 different modes to choose from, allowing users to collaborate with others in many different ways – propping the display over the keyboard to show some work or folding the screen flat for some sketching. This laptop was built for artists and creators, supporting Adobe RGB color gamut and also featuring Nvidia graphics to make sure you’re always running smoothly. It’s everything an artist needs, with the power to create everything.
Foldable displays are going to be the next big thing with screens, it seems. And Lenovo is reinforcing that idea by following the pattern companies like Samsung have started on already. We see Lenovo’s take with its new device, the ThinkPad X1 Fold – the world’s first foldable Windows machine.
It’s difficult to discern exactly what to call this, as the device is more laptop than a tablet in function, with the 13.3-inch display supporting stylus inputs and Windows Ink, as well as a magnetic keyboard. Whatever it is, it’s perfect to carry around and use at any time of the day, and portability is something everyone wants.
Inspired by various movies, especially the Gyrosphere in Jurassic World, Segway has recently revealed its newest invention: the S-Pod. It’s essentially an egg-shaped rideable chair, sort of like a self-balancing stroller, that can hit speeds of up to a whopping 24 miles per hour. The company describes the invention as a ‘game-changing personal transporter’ primarily intended for ‘enclosed campuses’ like airports.
And unlike other Segway products, this one can be controlled with a joystick instead of your body – so it’s easy to sit back, relax, and enjoy the ride. Safety was definitely also taken into consideration, with the S-Pod containing features such as automatic braking on turns, as well as exterior lights that can double as turn signals. It’s the ultimate relaxation vehicle.
The EOS-1D Mark III is the latest high-end, ultra-tough, and hyper-fast DSLR from Canon. The outside of it may deceive you, looking like any old Canon from 10 years ago. However, it is now so much more, with radical updates and definitely one of the best DSLRs ever made. It produces some of the best-quality images we’ve seen from Canon yet, and a professional could pick one right up and get straight to work – but they’d be missing out on some key features which make it so special.
The AF smart controller and the autofocus system give better performance than ever, while simultaneously being easy to use. It also boosts improvements like the faster Digic X processor, burst shooting at 16 frames per second, 5.5K RAW video, and 4K video at a huge 60 frames per second. This will open up new possibilities for both professionals and amateurs alike.
Described as a ‘first-class seat on wheels,’ BMW is trying to reinvent the rideshare experience by adding more class and having fewer seats. The BMW i3 Urban Suite is a modified version of the BMW i3, made for a more luxurious rideshare experience. In a playful fashion, there is only one seat, designed in airline first-class fashion, and is focused on chill time. While the driver seat remains the same, the passenger gets perks like a hanger for coats, a literal desk lamp, and heated cup holders – things we all need in life.
There are also privacy features like simulated acoustic sealing. It is as if a limo got an upgrade, except now the limo fits one person. It’s a hotel on four wheels.
For all the Star Wars fans out there, a good way to describe the Samsung Ballie would be like a real-like mini BB-8. Ballie is a small ball-shaped robot, intended to help around the house with menial and major tasks. It uses AI to be a security robot, a fitness assistant, a tool for seniors to connect with other devices at home, and even just a friend.
The ball-shaped gadget is equipped with sensors and cameras to follow you around and can control various smart home features. It’s like an assistant, but in a small ball shape – it does things like send you home updates while you’re away, take photos; essentially the Ballie is designed to be an ‘all-around life companion’. It’s even cute enough to be a pet, without all the maintenance needed.
Another one from Samsung, their 49-inch Odyssey G9 monitor is described by tech specialists as the gaming monitor to have right now. Curved monitors are great for PC gaming, and the 49-inch display makes it pretty impressive to see. The refresh rates are incredibly fast: 240 Hz, 1ms response time, great performance, and great immersive gaming with 1000R curvature.
It’s definitely an immersive experience and one that, if tried out once, will be sorely missed later. This monitor is one to remember, and it also supports AMD’s FreeSync 2 and Nvidia’s G-Sync for smoother gameplay, with less tearing or framerate loss. Gamers, if you can get it, buy it.
Dimension Robotics Dr. CaRo is designed to help especially with mobility, for stroke victims without needing to get expensive physical therapy sessions. The device is essentially a robotic arm, that is motorized and handle-equipped, attached to a 23-inch display. It is intended to help in remaking neural associations with a patient’s limbs, with some great training exercises. Patients that are looking to strengthen decayed muscles, Dr. CaRo can alternate between assistive and resistive modes, to oblige patients hoping to recapture quality and aptitude in their appendages.
Sex tech is becoming a bigger thing now, and as more and more people are open about their sex lives, the more toys are brought and used. Come Play, a sexual wellness company, are quick to recognize this and have come out with a new toy focusing on helping women share their toys with their partners, so both can be in on the experience.
To do this they’ve invented Petl, a couple-friendly vibrator, designed for clitoral stimulation during intercourse. Its design is such that it allows it to stay secure in a variety of positions, adding to the experience.
Hydraloop has made it their mission to save water and energy by coming up with smart and affordable water recycling products. Their most recent invention does just that, saving you water and money. Their recycler is about the size of a refrigerator, and it filters and purifies grey water – from baths, showers, and washing machines. Hydraloop has a thorough process to do so, employing a series of six maintenance-free filtration techniques: think sedimentation, flotation, and foam fractionation.
Treated water is then processed with an aerobic bioreactor, and then finally disinfected with UV light. These treatments are regularly used in large-scale water treatment facilities, so you can be assured they do it right.
With these methods Hydraloop can help you to recycle up to 85% of the water you use in your home, and this water goes to toilets, pools, and irrigation systems. Don’t fret about your toilet and kitchen sink; these are safe from the filtration. At $4000 for one, they may not seem cheap at first, but comparing it to a lifetime of water bills and doing your part to save the planet, it may well be worth it.
Joué Music Instrument uses a condensed, backpack friendly, wooden, and aluminum board. This board supports swappable pads, to help accommodate an instrument of your choice, and choices can range from beatpads to piano keys to a guitar neck. It can even support mobile devices like tablets. With the range of items, it is able to support, the Joué could be the music-making device for anyone at all that’s looking to experiment with various types of sounds, without having to carry around a giant instrument case around everywhere.
Another great and innovative design by Lenovo is its ThinkBook Plus. While the laptop looks fairly normal, with its 13-inch display and standard array of ports, it’s far from normal. Closing the laptop you see a 10.8 inch E-ink display on the lid, which can control various features, show you immediate information like calendar appointments, and even supports the Kindle app for Windows.
Once you close the laptop it’s almost as if you’re using a different device, which can be great for when you’re done with work and you just want to relax and unwind with your favorite book.
And even without the E-ink display, the ThinkBook is a perfectly respectable mid-range laptop – it’s well-made, very comfortable to type on, and offers great horsepower for its battery life. Although, it is the E-ink display that makes the laptop stand out, as Lenovo’s most successful E-ink experiment yet.
LG’s new OLED ZX Real 8K TV is without a doubt one of the best TVs of the year, and really knocks the competition out when it comes to 8K sets. The 77 and 88-inch displays easily exceed what the Consumer Technology Association defines as what constitutes as an 8K Ultra HD TV. The main attraction of the TV is the quality – the pictures look so crisp and the colours are so vibrant that it’s hard not to be impressed.
And it also boasts impressive upscaling features due to its α9 Gen3 AI Processor 8K – a powerful processor that can help support Filmmaker Mode (designed to present content exactly as the filmmaker intended).
LG also keenly boasts of the AI smarts of its picture processing and uses machine learning to better upscale content to 8K. The AI can recognize various elements on the screen such as a person’s face and applies optimum processing for these features. The voice assistant support also makes it easy to find what you want without channel surfing. It’s just one of the many sets LG has launched supporting 8K resolution.
Smartphones are ever-evolving, with insane competition on which the company can create the best photos or create the phone with the longest amount of battery. While there is so much going on with phones, one thing that always remains an issue, and doesn’t look like it will be resolved anytime soon, is lighting, especially when trying to capture a cute moment with someone that you always want to remember.
Moon Ultra fixes this issue. It’s a minute, touch-sensitive, clip-on light source, that’s incredibly powerful and doesn’t require a bulky case. It doesn’t just stop at being a light source; Moon Ultra has multiple color temperatures and adjustable brightness which make it great for darker-skinned people who aren’t always able to get the best photos because of the cooler light temperatures which most smartphone cameras tend to have.
Described as a ‘pricey but perfect vape pen’, the Pax Era Pro Vaporizer is a vape pen delivering weed in as small and stylish a body as possible. Juul now places a big threat to lives, but Pax Era Pro Vaporizer doesn’t do any of that. Often there are problems associated with pens, like explosions. Pax has worked against this, creating a pen that goes against what everyone believes about it.
This pocket-friendly vaporizer puts power into the hands of the consumer, keeping them informed and safe when it comes to cannabis consumption. And thanks to new NFC-equipped pods, the Pax Era Pro can share data, like strain information, oil content, and state-required test results – right to your smartphone, giving you a much nicer user-friendly experience.
rOcean’s whole mission is to save the ocean, and in this quest, they’ve created one of the most stylish water filters you’ve probably ever seen. The rOcean One works on eliminating the need for all sources of bottled water. A great way to think of this device would be to imagine it as a SodaStream with water filtration connected straight to your tap.
What the device actually does is it can filter, carbonate, and flavor water, thanks to a pair of reusable flavor pods that come with the device and a built-in carbon dioxide tank. The purpose of this is to stop users from feeling the need to go out and get a bottle of a type of water that ends up creating plastic waste.
The company is partnering with lots of brands in the hope to recreate and offer particular flavors of water to discourage bottle use, while also providing customers with the drinks they want. While still far off from actually happening, when rOcean One gets out, it seems like a great item to grab up – to save money and the environment. It’s even smart, compatible with any type of Alexa, so you don’t even have to do anything.
Vizio’s Elevate Soundbar is a 10 channel, 5.1.4 sound system that literally approaches audio from a different angle. When playing content, the Soundbar’s outermost speakers rotate upwards, giving you sound which fills the whole room: a whole experience. It also features two HDMI inputs so you can enter any device you want, and supports Bluetooth 5.0 as well as Google Chromecast, with great audio standard.
This one can be described as ‘the TV no one asked for’. The Sero is aimed at heavy social media users, and it is able to present both landscape and portrait content, meaning you could be watching Netflix one minute and scrolling through Instagram or Tiktok the next. It may be a bit of a useless invention, but nonetheless Samsung deserves credit for bringing it to the table.
Instead of rotating your phone to watch any vertical or horizontal video, the 43 inch 4K TV does the heavy lifting for you, able to rotate between portrait and landscape mode depending on the type of content being shared to the TV. This is great for users of Samsung smartphones, as they can do screen mirroring simply by tapping the phone against the TV’s frame – a step further than what Apple do already. But it’s a small screen for the money, which can seem impossible to justify.
NANO’s Sigma hearing aids are the latest addition to a series of hearing aids the company makes. The story of the company’s beginning is heartfelt, with it being started to make affordable hearing aids for the public (most hearing aids can average around $5000, but the company managed to slash prices heavily and still scored stunning results when hearing aid reviews were compared across the board by independent media).
NANO Sigma hearing aids are going viral today because they go further than many other hearing aids, for a price that seems almost too good to be true. You can now control your hearing aids straight from your smartphone with Nano’s app, as well as taking a hearing test on the app, which allows your hearing aids to adjust with only a few clicks.
The hearing aids are also discreet and can blend in well with your ears even if you wear glasses, as well as having noise reduction technology and directional microphone technology which enhances sound technology. With hearing aids, it really can’t get any better than this – especially not at a price this good.
To be fair to all those visionaries who made it happen: there are many more unsung heroes. This list could have been much longer so stay tuned for future updates.
If you are interested in even more technology-related articles and information from us here at Bit Rebels, then we have a lot to choose from.
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