392 . That ’s how manytech products we ’ve reviewed this twelvemonth so far , and we ’re bound to cross the 400 mug by the fourth dimension January 2025 undulate around .
The huge bulk of these technical school products take a more iterative approach to their plan and engineering . We ’re all familiar with the yearly membranophone measure of small refinement , and do n’t get me wrong : over time , it create the very upright technical school . The kind that we all rely on every daylight .
But every beneficial intersection set off with a Dame Muriel Spark of innovation . dare to do something new . take a chance unsuccessful person . And despite the diversity of technical school in the list below that came out in 2024 , those are the duds that endure through every one of them . As we prepare to move into 2025 , here is the very most modern tech our expert team of reviewer flummox to hear out this year .
Most innovative phone: HMD Fusion
When we looked at theHMD Fusionearlier this year , we call it 2024 ’s “ bravest smartphone . ” It ’s not the most technically impressive or capable phone we ’ve used this year , but it is one of the most unique and challenging .
What form the Fusion so interesting is its modular pattern . Other companies have tried ( and failed ) to make modular smartphones work , but HMD is doing things differently . HMD reach and sells its own add - on modules — scream “ Smart Outfits ” — but it ’s also made the entire organization open - source so anyone can create raw modules for the phone .
Furthermore , the HMD Fusion is also exploiter - repairable . After removing a fistful of screws , you could easily replace many fundamental constituent — including the show and stamp battery . HMD will also keep refilling parts usable for seven years , ensuring you could obtain onto and fix the phone for a while to come .
All the more impressive is that the HMD Fusion is n’t a concept earphone . It ’s available for purchase in the U.S. right now for just $ 300 . It wo n’t dethrone theiPhone 16orGalaxy S24anytime soon , but it ’s not assay to . The HMD Fusion is very much carve its own way in the smartphone blank , and it ’s one no other company is undertake to follow .
Most innovative laptop: Framework Laptop 16
When it comes to foundation , there ’s no company labour the boundaries more than Framework . TheFramework Laptop 16is more than just challenging though — it ’s downright audacious . The Framework Laptop 16 takes the modular internals of theoriginal 13 - inch model , which lets you swap out just about every element with simpleness , and apply it the exterior chassis as well .
Using a variety of spacers and input faculty , you’re able to make the keyboard pack of cards expect and experience however you require . That might be with a number pad to slide in to the right hand of the keyboard , or perhaps something a bit more experimental like a programmable macro instruction keys or a ground substance of LED . It ’s just plain cool , if not the most practical matter in the man .
For me , all of that is fun , but it is n’t the main draw of the laptop . It ’s the hope of a truly modular and customizable laptop that can last more than just a couple of year . The Framework Laptop 16 is , plain , a much heavy and more performant laptop than the 13 - in example , feature a AMD Radeon RX 7700S Graphics Module onboard . That have in mind , unlike every other laptop computer of this category , the Framework Laptop 16 is actually upgradeable for better performance further down the demarcation . It ’s not for everyone , no , but is it innovative ? You depend .
Most innovative TV: Sony Bravia 9
For the past 10 yr , two TV venire types have compete for client attending : LCD and OLED . Neither is perfect , with each dog the most desirable attributes of the other . Innovations in OLED television technology have seek to make them brighter , while progress in LCD video technical school target to improve their LED backlight engineering for better black levels and , thus , contrast .
In 2023 , LG Display acquire our innovation award for the introduction of its Micro Lens Array applied science — MLA for short — which bring alone luminousness to OLED tv set . By end the luminance opening between OLED and LCD , LG Display made it possible for OLED TVs to look with child in a wider variety of installment .
In 2024 the singularly salient Sony Bravia 9 meet the honor for its new XR Backlight Master Drive mini - LED backlight tech , which has brought LCD telly technology nigher to OLED than ever before . The backlight tech pairs K of tiny miniskirt - LEDs with unprecedentedly granular ascendance , thanks to a extremely advance structured circle develop in - family by Sony locomotive engineer .
So exciting was this newfangled technology , it inspired Sony to bankrupt a decades - farsighted custom of keeping its secret tightly under wrapper . Under a strict non - disclosure accord , Sony invited Digital Trends to its corporate headquarters in Tokyo where it not only revealed its as - yet - unnamed backlight technology but show us how it was made .
To say we were impressed with the presentment would be an understatement . It seem that not only could Sony virtually eliminate the blooming and halo effects that have long plagued LCD - based video but it could also produce exceedingly insidious variations in brightness intensity , culminate in an icon that was as subtle as it was vivid .
Most innovative tablet: Amazon Kindle Colorsoft
OK — so theAmazon Kindle Colorsoftisn’t technically a pill . However , of the tablet - like devices released this twelvemonth , it ’s the one most worth of this award . Since the first Kindle debuted in 2007 , the dream of a Kindle with a semblance display has survive . It took 17 years to get there , but we finally have it with the Colorsoft .
As you ’d imagine , lend a color exhibit to a Kindle e - lector is a pretty sorcerous experience . You ’ve always been able-bodied to learn magazine and cartoon strip on Kindles , but they ’ve never felt quite right having to read them in black and white-hot . On the Colorsoft , you may read them in all of their original colors , just as the authors and newspaper publisher intended . The splash of color for volume covers on your home screen and shut up screen images are nice touch , too .
While the Kindle Colorsoft is n’t the first coloration vitamin E - proofreader we ’ve ever seen , have a coloring screen paired with the respite of the Kindle experience is what piddle the Colorsoft so special . Amazon ’s version setup is second to none , from the simple user interface , the ease of buying leger , and the oh - so - comfortable hardware . Amazon did n’t acquire the backwash to the color eastward - reader marketplace , but the wait for the Kindle Colorsoft was well deserving it .
Most innovative headphones: Neurable MW75 Neuro
Lately , innovation in headphones has centered around things like spacial audio frequency , or ( in the case of our 2023 innovation winner , theHed Unity ) new types of connectivity such as Wi - Fi . The Neurable MW75 Neuro phone , on the other bridge player , introduce an wholly new type of functionality : the power to monitor your level of genial focus via discreet electroencephalogram ( EEG ) sensors built into the capitulum cushions .
We can all benefit from knowing when we ’re in a state of heightened focussing , or alternatively , when we ’re more distracted . It can make right habits like take on regular breaks from our work , but it can also teach us something about the kinds of stimulant that affect our focal point , including the medicine we listen to .
That aspect — music listen — is a big reason why Neurable partner with New York - base Master & Dynamic ( M&D ) to create the MW75 Neuro . Look closely and you may notice that aside from the telltale alternate gloss pattern on the ear cushions ( and the $ 100 gamy cost ) , these are just the same as M&D ’s excellentMW75high - final stage wireless cans .
The M&D app let you control things like noise cancel , while Neurable ’s app let you typeset up focus - tracking Roger Sessions , records the solvent , and prompts you when it find a drop in mental focal point .
finally , Neurable enounce that identifying when you ’re focussed will become 2nd nature , which should boost your productiveness whether you ’re at study or engaged in a more easygoing pursuit .
Does it operate ? We ’re going to keep you in suspense while we eat up up our in - depth follow-up , but answer to say , even if you decide the focusing tracking is n’t for you , you ’ve still get one of the best wireless headphones on the market .
Most innovative gaming hardware: PS5 Pro
On paper , it ’s backbreaking to call thePlayStation 5 Pro“innovative . ” It ’s simply a souped up PS5 that supports advanced shaft tracing and has an improved GPU . depend below those upgrades , though , and you ’ll find what might be the future of gambling : PSSR .
unforesightful for PlayStation Spectral Super Resolution , PSSR already feels like the starting line of the next console genesis four years early . It draws on the current trend of AI upscaling in microcomputer gaming and brings it to consoles to specify this generation ’s biggest computer hardware hurdle . Ever since the PS5 and Xbox Series X set in motion in 2020 , developers have struggled to let go games that can run 4 K visuals and maintain 60 frames per 2nd while doing it . The PS5 Pro effectively solve that problem by using AI to upscale an image to something that looks like 4 K without sacrificing soma rate .
What does that mean ? For underpin games , players no longer have to choose between Graphics and Fidelity mode . That ’s a big quite a little study how much this console table multiplication has disappointed when it come up to give birth on Sony and Microsoft ’s initial promises . Considering how well PSSR turn already ( even if it has some kinks to work out ) , it already feels like the sort of feature article that will become received in every console table soon enough . Perhaps this will be how theNintendo Switch 2finally gives us 4 K resolution when dock ? We can dream .
Most innovative wearable: RingConn Gen 2
More so than any old one , 2024 was the year for smart rings . Samsung finally link the fray with theGalaxy Ring , small companies likeCircularandMovanobrought more option to market , and Oura release theOura Ring 4 . It was an incredibly big and busy year , but one fresh ringing stands out as being especially special : theRingConn Gen 2 .
The most impressive thing about the RingConn Gen 2 is that it ’s the first smart band able of detecting sleep apnea . It ’s not a feature everyone will need or even wish about , but the fact that this stratum of wellness - smell engineering science is crammed into a smart ring is nothing short of telling . That ’s paired with the RingConn Gen 2 ’s other lot of wellness features , including sleep and basic natural process trailing , run / walk / cycle workout trailing , and more .
All of this is packed into a smart halo that ’s fabulously comfy ( one of the best we ’ve tested this year ) and easily live a week or more on a single tutelage . Even comfortably , it does n’t require a subscription — something that ca n’t be say of other impudent mob and smartwatches . The RingConn Gen 2 pushes the boundaries of health tracking in this form cistron while remaining more affordable than most of its rival , and that ’s something that merit recognition .
Most innovative monitor: HP Omen Transcend 32
TheHP Omen Transcend 32didn’t postulate to do much . With a raw QD - OLED panel , great brightness , and blistering play performance , it was always designate to be a grand monitor . What ’s so telling about the showing is that HP was capable to take this OLED panel and turn it into a proper monitor lizard packing features that few others are offering .
An forward-looking on - screen show and deep controls makes the proctor a dandy fit for gaming and conception , and 140W of office delivery through the display supports just about any laptop computer with USB - C power deliver . We ’ve seen a stream of new OLED monitors over the preceding couple of years , but the Omen Transcend 32 is one of the only OLED display that does work to stand out .
-Jacob Roach , Lead Reporter , PC Hardware
Most innovative speaker: Samsung Music Frame
Samsung ’s Music Frame is n’t the first verbaliser to hide its dead on target nature in plain sight , but it might be the audio world ’s most successful Chamaeleon act so far .
At first coup d’oeil , you ’d never know that it was anything other than what it seems to be — a standard ( if somewhat large ) photo skeletal frame . With a removable glazing and matte , you’re able to switch in your own 8×8 or 8×10 photo , or you’re able to set up a custom high - gloss artwork jury to take its billet . you could even wall mount it with the included hardware .
Take a look behind the frame and you ’ll see two large subwoofer diaphragms and a slender powerfulness cable — about the only clues that this skeletal system is n’t just a form .
What ’s most impressive , however , is that the Music Frame has n’t compromised one bit on its audio mission . It ’s surprisingly powerful and it produce gargantuan amounts of bass for its size . It works with Wi - Fi , AirPlay 2 , Google Cast , Tidal Connect , Spotify Connect , and it can be added to Apple Home and Google Home .
you’re able to use it as a full - fledged Amazon Alexa smart speaker , and there ’s even keep for Dolby Atmos Music when pullulate from Tidal or Amazon Music . Samsung idiot box owner get even more : The Music Frame can act as a wireless Atmos TV speaker or it can be tally to choose Samsung Q - Symphony soundbars for a wider , more immersive experience .
We ’ve see speakers disguised as table lamps , bookshelf , and even wall art , but the Samsung Music Frame is the first of these plan that does n’t give away its true nature , even when filling a room with euphony .
