F-22Raptor
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10. Google Pixel 2 (2017)
The Pixel may have opened a new era for Google phones after the Nexus line sputtered out, but the Pixel 2 was the one that defined where Google’s phones would go next — and it actually managed to push the industry along with it. The Pixel 2 premiered with AI-based “computational photography” that offered features like portrait mode and augmented reality support from a single lens.
But it was one key trick — taking a series of underexposed photos and using the data to create a far more detailed picture than a smartphone’s tiny camera would otherwise be capable of — that handed Google the undisputed title of smartphone camera champion for a while and gave other companies, including Apple, a road map for where to go next. Google pushed the boundaries of what smartphone cameras could do and paved the way for features like Night Sight and Super Res Zoom that, frankly, feel impossible to be without today. —Natt Garun
9. Sony PlayStation 4 (2013)
The PlayStation 4 easily beat out its competition in terms of power, price, and game offerings to become this decade’s leading console. Exclusive titles like The Last of Us, God of War, Uncharted 4, Persona 5, and Death Stranding made the console a must-own this generation, and Sony has continued to refine the hardware in the years since launch, with upgrades like the PS4 Pro to give the system even more staying power. Even as this console cycle winds down, the PlayStation 4 has managed to break records, with the PS4 becoming the second bestselling home console ever, coming in under the PS2. Heading into the new decade and next console generation, the PlayStation 4 has proven that Sony can deliver a stellar, affordable product without sacrificing quality. —Megan Farokhmanesh
8. Microsoft Surface Pro 3 (2014)
Microsoft’s tablets got off to a bumpy start with the Surface RT, but just a couple of years later, the Surface Pro 3 really got things right. “This is the tablet that can replace your laptop,” Microsoft’s Surface chief declared during the Pro 3 launch. Microsoft perfected the Surface Pro hardware here, thanks to the combination of a kickstand that freely adjusts, a larger 3:2 aspect ratio display, an incredibly thin form factor, and a reliable Type Cover keyboard. Microsoft has tweaked this formula ever since and inspired everyone to copy the Surface Pro. —Tom Warren
7. Apple Watch Series 3 (2017)
In 2015, Apple CEO Tim Cook still had a lot to prove. He had brought the company to stratospheric profits, but he hadn’t personally overseen the launch of a new hit product — not since Steve Jobs died. The Apple Watch was meant to launch an entirely new category of gadgets, and Apple spared no expense for the launch: Bono, claims that the Digital Crown was as important as the mouse, and a custom-built building on a college campus.
It took three generations to make the Apple Watch that hit product. The Apple Watch Series 3, released in 2017, was the first to come close to living up to Apple’s original vision. A relentless focus on what actually worked (health tracking and elegant watchface information) and a deemphasis on what didn’t (third-party apps and sending weird thirsty rando emoji) turned into a winner. It may not have reached the heights Cook originally envisioned, but it’s better than everything else you could strap to your wrist. —Dieter Bohn
6. Apple AirPods (2016)
Apple introduced AirPods on the very same day that it killed the headphone jack with the iPhone 7. And in the years since, they’ve become an indispensable accessory for millions of people. Other companies like Bragi had already paved the way to truly wireless earbuds, but as it’s done so many times in the past, Apple took its time entering a new product category — and then nailed it.
Once people got over their very recognizable look and started using them, AirPods quickly became a sensation and were hard to buy for months. They came in an easily pocketable case that always kept them charged up. The process of pairing AirPods with an iPhone — just hold the flipped-open case near the phone — eliminated the traditional frustrations of Bluetooth. And they sounded perfectly fine, with balanced and clean sound reproduction.
Since the originals, Apple has followed up with models that add wireless charging and, most recently, noise cancellation (and an improved in-ear fit). Companies like Jabra, Sony, and others have produced worthy AirPods rivals over the last couple years, but for anyone with an iPhone, they’re still the default, must-have earbuds. —Chris Welch
5. Tesla Model S (2012)
Tesla’s Model S sedan certainly wasn’t the first electric car, but it seems like it was the first to really matter. The Model S helped transform Tesla from a struggling, niche automaker with only one car in its lineup to a global phenomenon that, while still struggling to turn a profit, has made an indelible mark on the auto industry and pop culture as a whole. For better or worse, it made Elon Musk a household name. And more importantly, the Model S made electric cars look cool — a bit of lightning in a bottle that Tesla’s competitors are themselves hoping to catch.
You can make the argument that the Model S has since been eclipsed by the more minimalist and affordable Model 3 in the category of “most important electric vehicle.” But the Model 3 wouldn’t exist without the Model S. According to Musk’s master plan, the luxury vehicle — the Model S starts at $75,000 — needed to be released first to fund the production of the more mass-market one. If indeed the Model 3 leads us to a future of more affordable, zero-emission vehicles, then it will be because the Model S made it possible. —Andrew J. Hawkins
4. Samsung Galaxy S6 (2015)
By 2015, Samsung had already established the fact that it could sell a lot of smartphones. But while the Galaxy line had grown to be very popular, Samsung’s success was often criticized as just being the result of aggressive marketing.
The Galaxy S6 changed that: it was the first Galaxy phone people actually wanted to buy, not just because it was the only phone that wasn’t an iPhone at the carrier store. With a sleek glass-and-metal finish, vibrant OLED screen, and two designs — one with a curved screen — the Galaxy S6 said goodbye to Samsung’s cheap plastic finishes and ugly aesthetics and showed that the company could make phones that are just as desirable as Apple’s.
The S6 design was so successful it carried through Samsung’s product line for the rest of the decade. You can even see its DNA in 2019’s Galaxy S10 and Note 10. While the Galaxy S8 became Samsung’s most popular phone of the decade, it was the Galaxy S6 that really changed the perception of the company and showed Samsung was a design force to reckon with. —Dan Seifert
3. Apple MacBook Air (2013)
This wasn’t the first MacBook Air or even a design refresh, but the 2013 MacBook Air represented the ideal thin laptop: perfection of the form.
Apple unveiled the MacBook Air redesign that would define the modern laptop in 2010. The 13.3-inch model included two USB ports, a MagSafe connector, an SD card slot, and, of course, no CD drive, an omission that would soon become standard across the industry.
But it was three years later that Apple finally had all the right pieces: namely, a processor that could properly balance performance and battery life. The 2013 model lasted around 13 hours on a single charge, more than enough to keep you working all day in a coffee shop.
We didn’t realize how good we had it in 2013: this was before Apple’s terrible butterfly keyboards and the questionable disappearance of just about every single port. And as high-res displays became the norm, battery life this good wouldn’t be coming back.
The MacBook Air was iconic, and the 2013 version was the epitome of the product. —Ashley Carman
2. Amazon Echo (2014)
Science fiction movies have had computers that answered back for decades — think the voice of Star Trek’s Enterprise — but it wasn’t until Amazon came out with the Echo smart speaker that digital assistants came into our homes. Amazon’s Alexa assistant informed you of the weather, answered questions, told stories to your kids, and became the punchline for hundreds of jokes. And eventually, as its abilities increased, it was able to turn on your lights, start your car, arm your alarm system, and help you sleep.
Five years later, Alexa is now ubiquitous. The puck-shaped Echo Dot, which went on sale in 2016 for half the price of the original Echo, helped bring the assistant into more corners of the home, and more than 100 million Alexa-enabled devices have now been sold. Alexa and the Echo are not without their rivals, including Google’s Assistant and Apple’s Siri, and there have been some controversies along the way, many dealing with privacy issues. But despite these road bumps, Alexa is quickly becoming as much a part of our lives as the TV set and telephone. —Barbara Krasnoff
1. Apple iPhone 4 (2010)
We spent hours arguing about every product on this list and where they ranked, but the top spot was never really in dispute: the iPhone 4 is the most beautiful smartphone ever made, it arrived in a swirl of controversies that shaped the entire tech and media landscape, and it remains the basic template for phones to this day.
The iPhone 4 was the first phone to be built as an ultra-precise glass-and-metal sandwich, a design legacy still visible in every flagship phone today. The iPhone 4 had the first Retina Display. It had the first selfie camera on an iPhone, and the 5-megapixel camera on the back set a photo quality standard that took years for the competition to match. The operating system gained the ability to run background tasks and was officially named “iOS” for the first time. The A4 chip inside was the first Apple-designed processor in a phone, which kicked off the company’s decade-long run of processor dominance.
It was the first iPhone on Verizon, which was news so big at the time that Apple held an entirely separate event to announce it.
But it wasn’t perfect: the external antenna system could be made to drop a signal by gripping the phone tightly, leading Steve Jobs to first tell people to “just avoid holding it in that way” and then convene the “Antennagate” press conference to demonstrate that other phones had the same problem, offer everyone a case, and basically charm his way out of the issue. It worked, creating a new template for crisis management.
And of course, a prototype iPhone 4 was left behind in a bar and sold to Gizmodo, which leaked everything about it, causing Steve Jobs to send the cops to raid editor Jason Chen’s house and ultimately sue the site for extortion. This did not work, and now everything leaks anyway.
It’s been a wild decade of gadgets and technology, but mostly, it’s been the decade of the smartphone. And there has never been a phone that changed both technology and culture around it like the iPhone 4. Someone ought to make another one. —Nilay Patel
https://www.theverge.com/2019/12/10...ist-roundup-apple-iphone-tesla-amazon-samsung
Top 100 at the link
The Pixel may have opened a new era for Google phones after the Nexus line sputtered out, but the Pixel 2 was the one that defined where Google’s phones would go next — and it actually managed to push the industry along with it. The Pixel 2 premiered with AI-based “computational photography” that offered features like portrait mode and augmented reality support from a single lens.
But it was one key trick — taking a series of underexposed photos and using the data to create a far more detailed picture than a smartphone’s tiny camera would otherwise be capable of — that handed Google the undisputed title of smartphone camera champion for a while and gave other companies, including Apple, a road map for where to go next. Google pushed the boundaries of what smartphone cameras could do and paved the way for features like Night Sight and Super Res Zoom that, frankly, feel impossible to be without today. —Natt Garun
9. Sony PlayStation 4 (2013)
The PlayStation 4 easily beat out its competition in terms of power, price, and game offerings to become this decade’s leading console. Exclusive titles like The Last of Us, God of War, Uncharted 4, Persona 5, and Death Stranding made the console a must-own this generation, and Sony has continued to refine the hardware in the years since launch, with upgrades like the PS4 Pro to give the system even more staying power. Even as this console cycle winds down, the PlayStation 4 has managed to break records, with the PS4 becoming the second bestselling home console ever, coming in under the PS2. Heading into the new decade and next console generation, the PlayStation 4 has proven that Sony can deliver a stellar, affordable product without sacrificing quality. —Megan Farokhmanesh
8. Microsoft Surface Pro 3 (2014)
Microsoft’s tablets got off to a bumpy start with the Surface RT, but just a couple of years later, the Surface Pro 3 really got things right. “This is the tablet that can replace your laptop,” Microsoft’s Surface chief declared during the Pro 3 launch. Microsoft perfected the Surface Pro hardware here, thanks to the combination of a kickstand that freely adjusts, a larger 3:2 aspect ratio display, an incredibly thin form factor, and a reliable Type Cover keyboard. Microsoft has tweaked this formula ever since and inspired everyone to copy the Surface Pro. —Tom Warren
7. Apple Watch Series 3 (2017)
In 2015, Apple CEO Tim Cook still had a lot to prove. He had brought the company to stratospheric profits, but he hadn’t personally overseen the launch of a new hit product — not since Steve Jobs died. The Apple Watch was meant to launch an entirely new category of gadgets, and Apple spared no expense for the launch: Bono, claims that the Digital Crown was as important as the mouse, and a custom-built building on a college campus.
It took three generations to make the Apple Watch that hit product. The Apple Watch Series 3, released in 2017, was the first to come close to living up to Apple’s original vision. A relentless focus on what actually worked (health tracking and elegant watchface information) and a deemphasis on what didn’t (third-party apps and sending weird thirsty rando emoji) turned into a winner. It may not have reached the heights Cook originally envisioned, but it’s better than everything else you could strap to your wrist. —Dieter Bohn
6. Apple AirPods (2016)
Apple introduced AirPods on the very same day that it killed the headphone jack with the iPhone 7. And in the years since, they’ve become an indispensable accessory for millions of people. Other companies like Bragi had already paved the way to truly wireless earbuds, but as it’s done so many times in the past, Apple took its time entering a new product category — and then nailed it.
Once people got over their very recognizable look and started using them, AirPods quickly became a sensation and were hard to buy for months. They came in an easily pocketable case that always kept them charged up. The process of pairing AirPods with an iPhone — just hold the flipped-open case near the phone — eliminated the traditional frustrations of Bluetooth. And they sounded perfectly fine, with balanced and clean sound reproduction.
Since the originals, Apple has followed up with models that add wireless charging and, most recently, noise cancellation (and an improved in-ear fit). Companies like Jabra, Sony, and others have produced worthy AirPods rivals over the last couple years, but for anyone with an iPhone, they’re still the default, must-have earbuds. —Chris Welch
5. Tesla Model S (2012)
Tesla’s Model S sedan certainly wasn’t the first electric car, but it seems like it was the first to really matter. The Model S helped transform Tesla from a struggling, niche automaker with only one car in its lineup to a global phenomenon that, while still struggling to turn a profit, has made an indelible mark on the auto industry and pop culture as a whole. For better or worse, it made Elon Musk a household name. And more importantly, the Model S made electric cars look cool — a bit of lightning in a bottle that Tesla’s competitors are themselves hoping to catch.
You can make the argument that the Model S has since been eclipsed by the more minimalist and affordable Model 3 in the category of “most important electric vehicle.” But the Model 3 wouldn’t exist without the Model S. According to Musk’s master plan, the luxury vehicle — the Model S starts at $75,000 — needed to be released first to fund the production of the more mass-market one. If indeed the Model 3 leads us to a future of more affordable, zero-emission vehicles, then it will be because the Model S made it possible. —Andrew J. Hawkins
4. Samsung Galaxy S6 (2015)
By 2015, Samsung had already established the fact that it could sell a lot of smartphones. But while the Galaxy line had grown to be very popular, Samsung’s success was often criticized as just being the result of aggressive marketing.
The Galaxy S6 changed that: it was the first Galaxy phone people actually wanted to buy, not just because it was the only phone that wasn’t an iPhone at the carrier store. With a sleek glass-and-metal finish, vibrant OLED screen, and two designs — one with a curved screen — the Galaxy S6 said goodbye to Samsung’s cheap plastic finishes and ugly aesthetics and showed that the company could make phones that are just as desirable as Apple’s.
The S6 design was so successful it carried through Samsung’s product line for the rest of the decade. You can even see its DNA in 2019’s Galaxy S10 and Note 10. While the Galaxy S8 became Samsung’s most popular phone of the decade, it was the Galaxy S6 that really changed the perception of the company and showed Samsung was a design force to reckon with. —Dan Seifert
3. Apple MacBook Air (2013)
This wasn’t the first MacBook Air or even a design refresh, but the 2013 MacBook Air represented the ideal thin laptop: perfection of the form.
Apple unveiled the MacBook Air redesign that would define the modern laptop in 2010. The 13.3-inch model included two USB ports, a MagSafe connector, an SD card slot, and, of course, no CD drive, an omission that would soon become standard across the industry.
But it was three years later that Apple finally had all the right pieces: namely, a processor that could properly balance performance and battery life. The 2013 model lasted around 13 hours on a single charge, more than enough to keep you working all day in a coffee shop.
We didn’t realize how good we had it in 2013: this was before Apple’s terrible butterfly keyboards and the questionable disappearance of just about every single port. And as high-res displays became the norm, battery life this good wouldn’t be coming back.
The MacBook Air was iconic, and the 2013 version was the epitome of the product. —Ashley Carman
2. Amazon Echo (2014)
Science fiction movies have had computers that answered back for decades — think the voice of Star Trek’s Enterprise — but it wasn’t until Amazon came out with the Echo smart speaker that digital assistants came into our homes. Amazon’s Alexa assistant informed you of the weather, answered questions, told stories to your kids, and became the punchline for hundreds of jokes. And eventually, as its abilities increased, it was able to turn on your lights, start your car, arm your alarm system, and help you sleep.
Five years later, Alexa is now ubiquitous. The puck-shaped Echo Dot, which went on sale in 2016 for half the price of the original Echo, helped bring the assistant into more corners of the home, and more than 100 million Alexa-enabled devices have now been sold. Alexa and the Echo are not without their rivals, including Google’s Assistant and Apple’s Siri, and there have been some controversies along the way, many dealing with privacy issues. But despite these road bumps, Alexa is quickly becoming as much a part of our lives as the TV set and telephone. —Barbara Krasnoff
1. Apple iPhone 4 (2010)
We spent hours arguing about every product on this list and where they ranked, but the top spot was never really in dispute: the iPhone 4 is the most beautiful smartphone ever made, it arrived in a swirl of controversies that shaped the entire tech and media landscape, and it remains the basic template for phones to this day.
The iPhone 4 was the first phone to be built as an ultra-precise glass-and-metal sandwich, a design legacy still visible in every flagship phone today. The iPhone 4 had the first Retina Display. It had the first selfie camera on an iPhone, and the 5-megapixel camera on the back set a photo quality standard that took years for the competition to match. The operating system gained the ability to run background tasks and was officially named “iOS” for the first time. The A4 chip inside was the first Apple-designed processor in a phone, which kicked off the company’s decade-long run of processor dominance.
It was the first iPhone on Verizon, which was news so big at the time that Apple held an entirely separate event to announce it.
But it wasn’t perfect: the external antenna system could be made to drop a signal by gripping the phone tightly, leading Steve Jobs to first tell people to “just avoid holding it in that way” and then convene the “Antennagate” press conference to demonstrate that other phones had the same problem, offer everyone a case, and basically charm his way out of the issue. It worked, creating a new template for crisis management.
And of course, a prototype iPhone 4 was left behind in a bar and sold to Gizmodo, which leaked everything about it, causing Steve Jobs to send the cops to raid editor Jason Chen’s house and ultimately sue the site for extortion. This did not work, and now everything leaks anyway.
It’s been a wild decade of gadgets and technology, but mostly, it’s been the decade of the smartphone. And there has never been a phone that changed both technology and culture around it like the iPhone 4. Someone ought to make another one. —Nilay Patel
https://www.theverge.com/2019/12/10...ist-roundup-apple-iphone-tesla-amazon-samsung
Top 100 at the link
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