The first decade of our century was characterized by the birth of a technological product that changed everything: it smartphone. From then on, nothing was the same, difficult to compete with a technological device that, compared to the past, has radically changed the ways of doing certain actions and relating.
However, the technological evolution continues and even in the last 10 years there has been no shortage of news. Starting from the birth of the tablet up to virtual reality and streaming.
Some of these innovations have practically already exhausted their popularity to make room for other innovations. Others are relatively recent and have yet to find the right impact on the masses, this does not mean that in the near future they could grow to change our habits forever.
The fact is that in the last 10 years some have arrived technologic innovations noteworthy, reported in this article.
Tablet but above all iPad
When Steve Jobs introduced the first iPad, he reigned absolute skepticism. Too big, uncomfortable and useless, these were the most popular adjectives among enthusiasts, but even the experts were not forgiving.
Despite the predictions, the iPad was a success and continues to be so. Today there are four variants of multiple sizes, with many accessories to expand the possibilities. Apple has tried to transform the concept of tablet over time, bringing it to be more and more similar to a MacBook, introducing for example a file manager and support for external memories in the most powerful models, without yet being able to achieve versatility notebook and PC.
The golden age of tablets has actually come to an end, the growing size of smartphones has engulfed part of the market, which is still led by Apple today. The American company is the only one that has been able to give adequate support to these devices, especially on the software side, which in the Android counterpart has never shone. We do not know if the tablets will resist the next decade, the certain thing is that they have played a fundamental role in what is about to end.
Netflix is king of streaming services
Netflix is a service, not a product, but we could not fail to include it in this ranking, seen the impact it has had on the use of video content and the future of optical media. Netflix started to offer films and TV series in streaming already in 2008, but only in 2010 the first consecration arrived, with the gradual landing in Europe and in the other continents. Within ten years, streaming has changed the way we watch movies and TV shows forever, leading to the failure of names like Blockbuster and the increasingly massive reduction in the use of optical media. Just think that, at the dawn of the 8K era, no physical breeding technologies are planned of these contents, at least for now, an unequivocal sign that streaming will have more and more weight in the years to come.
From the rental of VHS and DVDs to the worldwide leadership of the online video market, the step has not been a short one, but in the last period the acceleration towards the use of this type of content has brought Netflix to the honors of global news and the center of production. of movies and TV series around the world.
Samsung Galaxy Note with large screen and stylus
Samsung is one of the companies that has innovated more in the field of smartphones, it is no coincidence that today it is the largest manufacturer in the world of these devices. However, if we had to choose a model that most of all gave an innovative push to this sector, this would be the Note. This range of phones, born in 2011, has in common with iPad the initial skepticism with which it was accepted. Again it was the size that created the biggest doubts, given that its "huge" 5.29 "Super AMOLED screen was defined too large to carry in your pocket. The result was that from that moment on, the phablet era was born, generously sized smartphones halfway between a phone and a tablet.
Today this term is no longer used, screens larger than 6 inches are now the norm, but Samsung was the first to offer them on the marketdespite general skepticism. If to this we also add the integration of a nib to take notes, already very precise and constantly improved over time, which has remained unmatched in the smartphone field, we get one of the most important phones released over the last decade.
Apple Watch: Smartwatches
Apple did not invent smart watches, but without Apple Watch this market would still be stuck in the Stone Age. Before the arrival of the American house, the interest in these products was very low, also thanks to the use of proprietary operating systems that poorly integrated with smartphones.
The presentation of Apple Watch (here our review) in 2015 however changed the cards on the table, with a product with an original look, yet another success of Jony Ive, and born to work in symbiosis with the iPhone. Today Apple Watch is not only the best-selling smartwatch in the world, but it is also the most purchased watch globally. In a few years he managed to overcome all the historical names in the sector, many have tried to imitate him but no one has managed to repeat its success. Over time, the features have grown, for example taking the heart rate measurement, complete with ECG, and GPS, in the coming years we expect instead an improvement in autonomy, the only Achilles heel of a practically perfect product .
Amazon Echo: Voice assistants
We are still at the dawn of the era of voice assistants, but in the next few years their evolution is destined to change the interaction between man and technology. Also in this case there is Apple's hand, Siri was in fact the first voice assistant for the general public, launched in 2011. Subsequently Google Assistant and Alexa arrived, but it is the latter that is driving the development of this technology , also thanks to its integration in the range of smart Echo speakers, born in 2014. We have chosen this over other voice assistants because Amazon is focusing a lot on its development and above all on its integration in as many products as possible.
The commercial power of the e-commerce giant is helping out a lot the diffusion of Alexa, compatible today with the most disparate devices, from light bulbs to cars. Amazon dreams of an interconnected world in which Alexa can lend a hand in daily operations, from the simple search for information to security, passing through the opening of a gate to the management of our time. For now the uses are still limited, but in ten years, when the vocal assistants will be used in a massive way, we will remember fondly this period of transition and development.
Windows 10
Windows 10 has been a real watershed for Microsoft, as it has not been seen since the days of Windows 95. After a few limping years, in which Windows 8 has not been able to enter into the good graces of the public, the important decision came to make free the update to Windows 10 to all holders of a valid Windows 7 and 8 license.
A radical change from the past, which has brought the adoption of this operating system to sensationally high levels and concentrating over 80% of the PC market in the hands of Microsoft, leaving the crumbs to macOS and Linux. Windows 10 in the meantime has continued to update, always for free, also changing shape from the origins, but the fact remains that Microsoft's strategy has led to results that go beyond the most optimistic expectations.
Oculus Rift and HTC Vive: VR at home for everyone
Will virtual reality ever be able to definitely take hold in the consumer sector? We don't know, but great strides have been made in this past decade, thank you when Oculus Rift and HTC Vive arrive. These two viewers have started a new era for VR, still expensive and niche but still clearly more accessible than in the past. Over time, especially Oculus, it has managed to bring the price bar lower and lower, with significant improvements in the user experience, also thanks to the arrival of Facebook, which has injected fresh capital into the company to invest .
Today VR is still underused but it is alive and well, also thanks to Sony that with its PSVR has managed to make virtual reality within reach of all portfolios. In the coming years we expect further quality improvements and an increasingly cheaper offer, the VR revolution needs time to be completed. In ten years, when we will make a new ranking like this, we will know if virtual reality will be able to do it.
Apple AirPods
It is said that Apple is no longer able to innovate, but in the last ten years we find its paw in many products that have managed to break through the hearts of consumers. Impossible not to mention the AirPods, the wireless headphones that created the true wireless earbud market. Today there are all types, from the cheapest and most basic to the most expensive and with highly technological functions, but without the AirPods they could not exist.
On their release in 2016, as often happens with newly designed devices, they found it difficult to spread, but already with the arrival of the end of the year, and of Christmas, their ascent began. In 2017 the AirPods were one of the best-selling products in the Apple ecosystem and their success continues today, thanks also to the technical improvements that led to the creation of the AirPods Pro (here our review).
In Cupertino they once again anticipated the times, within a few years everyone, from Samsung to Sony, passing through Huawei, created headphones similar to AirPods, confirming their success without a doubt.
NVIDIA GeForce RTX
Real-time Ray Tracing has always been a chimera for the gaming world. Its implementation in graphics engines leads to a significant increase in graphic quality, without it the goal of photorealism, not yet achieved, would be impossible. That's why the introduction of the NVIDIA RTX video card range is a important step towards increasing the graphic quality, thanks to the integration within them of specific calculation units for Ray Tracing.
NVIDIA has been ahead of the times with RTX video cards, not without a dose of criticism, but the fact remains that these cards will be remembered forever for bringing Ray Tracing in real time to the mass public. Today support is still limited to a relatively low number of titles, but next year, also thanks to the release of PS5 and Xbox Scarlett, we will see the arrival of a greater number of games, for the definitive consecration of this technology.
Samsung Galaxy Fold, Huawei Mate X and Motorola Razr
The era of folding smartphones has begun and could also bring about very important changes to the concept of smartphones. The precursors of this revolution are Samsung, Huawei and Motorola, the first brands to offer folding devices already in 2019. The Galaxy Fold, after the initial problems, will arrive by the end of the year in Italy, the Mate X instead is for now only available in China, but these are two revolutionary products, at least in terms of use and technologies. Motorola also came to the photo finish with its Razr, which brings the clamshell design back to life with an innovative product, which combines the latest technological discoveries with a retro look.
Already from the first models that arrived on the market it is understood that the foldable revolution will go far beyond the presence of a screen that folds, going to impact on the form factor of the devices, for a freedom in choice in design unprecedented in the world of telephony.
We do not yet know how it will evolve, but already from 2020 we will be able to better see the impact of this technological evolution, which will bring new types of increasingly portable and innovative devices.
