2017 Tech— A year in review
Yet another revolution around the Sun was made by the planet Earth so you know what it means… The so amazing and expected articles reviewing the past 365 days are finally here and you are thrilled! Everyone around the world grabs their preferred 2017 edition gadget to read about all the fascinating things that blow their minds.
Yeah, I know… I am exaggerating a bit, but I actually think “year in review” articles are kind of cool. You remember things that seem like ages ago and keep up with a lot of material that your brain might have filtered throughout the year.
During 2017 I gathered what I thought was relevant in this vast world that gets more and more people interested in… I bet you can’t get it right… Oh, you read it in the title and it is quite obvious?… Just bear with the announcement…
The one, the only: Technology!!!
Tech is present in almost every aspect of my life. As a software engineer at MOXY, I have a continuous feed of curated tech news on our #geeky slack channel. On our quest to do better, this enables us to stay up to date on potential threats and opportunities, while creating a forum for fascinating discussions.
Finally, let’s go right to the point and start with some news.
Sweden will introduce coding to children since first grade
This was actually a trendy topic for quite some time in Sweden. Software is growing at a really fast rate and the nordic country wants their children to take a closer look at a really young age to try and hook their interest.
Adobe announces the goodbye of Flash for 2020
You might be thinking:
“What? Again? Isn’t it dead yet?”
I know it seems like old news, but this time it appears to be for good. The announcement was made by Adobe itself and in 2020 the Flash Player will no longer be updated and distributed.
Android overtook Windows as the Internet’s most used OS
In March of 2017 we saw Android surpassing Windows as the most used operating system. This reveals that not only mobile devices but IoT gadgets are quickly growing and more present on our day to day life.
Google admitted it tracked user location when location service was off
You have an Android device and you think that with the location service turned off you are safe? Then I might have some bad news. Your device is still able to record your position through cellular towers. It’s not quite as accurate as GPS but it is precise enough to be worried about.
Facebook to stream live soccer matches
That internet live streams were already becoming a big thing is not really new, but having free live sports content available worldwide is actually great.
Facebook scored a deal with MLS to stream some soccer matches to everyone. A deal with UEFA was also done to stream Champions League games but only in the US, for now.
SpaceX demonstrates the reusability of its rockets
In 2017 SpaceX re-launched a previously used rocket and managed to re-land it. Why is this awesome? Because they proved that a lot of money could be saved by returning space hardware while preventing stuff like this from happening:
They actually managed to have 14 successful landings throughout the year, one of them in partnership with NASA.
Bitcoin and crypto currencies skyrocket
A single Bitcoin was worth around 1000$ USD in the beginning of the year. Its value kept rising while reaching an all time high of nearly $20 000 USD early December. A few days later, Bitcoin dropped significantly but kept is value at around $15 000 USD until the end of the year. Other currencies like Bitcoin Cash, Ethereum and Litecoin also saw a significant increase of value.
Still, the fact that Bitcoin price is becoming even more volatile raised some concerns. Steam, one of the biggest online gaming platforms, expressed it by removing Bitcoin as a method of payment for now.
On the other hand, Amazon seems to keep its belief in these crypto currencies and, during the past year, they bought some very interesting domains:
- amazonethereum.com
- amazoncryptocurrency.com
- amazoncryptocurrencies.com
This reinforces the rumours that crypto currencies might be accepted as a method of payment in the near future.
Netflix provides 4K HDR content
High Dynamic Range and 4K televisions were already a thing, but little to no content was available to actually profit from this technology. An improvement in picture quality is noticeable since it provides more details and more vivid colours (brighter whites and deeper blacks).
Netflix started rolling out a set of tv shows with HDR support earlier in the year, joining Amazon Prime which already had some material available since the beginning of 2016.
This seems to be the next big step for TVs since 3D. The latest appears to be reaching the end of the line.
Almost every mid to high end TV launched in 2017 had enough processing power and capability to support 3D, but brands simply choose not to.
And why should you trust that HDR will be the next big thing and not another misstep like 3D? Think about it this way: Remember the wow factor we had with the transition to HD? HDR gives you a similar feel but with colours. No need for glasses and no need to compromise brightness.
Gadgets
We can’t talk about tech without mentioning our beloved gadgets that we learned not to live without. It was the year for some really great releases and also some anniversaries.
Smartphones
It was a good year for smartphones. Apple celebrated 10 years since the very first iPhone was introduced by Steve Jobs. To mark the special number, the Cupertino company released…
The iPhone X!!!
What? You think it should be called the iPhone 10? Well it technically is, since X is the representation of number 10 in roman numbers. However people will forever call it “The X”.
It is the kind of thing that catches up without it being fully intended. For example, when Microsoft released the Xbox One, they were expecting users to call it: “The One”. Why? Because the previous system was being referenced as “The 360”. As always, nobody went through with it and a new nickname was born: “The Xbone”.
Smartphones also became bezeless. A trend seen in devices from Samsung, Apple, Huawei, LG, Google, OnePlus, Xiaomi and many other brands. This design seemed widely well received and it is expected that most devices will follow the same style next year.
But, bezeless didn’t come without a price… Apple also introduced what quickly was transformed into a meme: The Notch!
Most users just got used to it, and it didn’t distract as much as firstly thought. But what does it mean for a lot a of developers around the world? It means that a little bit of special attention is required since this phone has a screen that doesn’t follow the “rectangle” format anymore. Isn’t that nice?
To wrap up the smartphone category, a quick honourable mention to other relevant news:
- Apple slows down iPhones with bad batteries
- iOS and Samsung market share tied in US
- First on screen fingerprint sensor by Vivo
Other Gadgets
Along with smartphones, we saw some cool new devices. It was the year that smart speakers became globally acknowledged with the availability of Google Home and Amazon Echo 2 (a.k.a Alexa).
The amount of videos with people trying out these gadgets were simply astonishing. Even a livestream of two Google Home devices debating the existence of God was available. You may find it dumb, but it was actually pretty entertaining (Read More).
To embrace this new kind of tech, IKEA also updated its smart light bulbs to support these smart speakers. For now only Google Home, Amazon Echo and HomeKit are supported. Having the world’s largest furniture retailer backing this technology, kind of shows that it keeps gaining traction.
Other nice gadgets that you may find interesting:
- Logitech developed a wireless charging mouse pad
- A Roomba but for your garden
- The biggest 4K TV with 262 inches
- Nintendo released the Switch, the fastest selling console ever
AI
Can’t close the article without acknowledging the advancements in artificial intelligence.
Google’s Deep Learning AI project seems to diagnose diseases like cancer faster than human pathologists. While humans accomplish successful rates of 73%, the AI was able to reach 89%. (Read More)
Space! New planets! Aliens? We finally found them! 👽 👀…
That alone would be enough for a few articles. We still haven’t found any green fellas, as far as I know, but we are closing the gap. NASA and Google are now using AI to find new planets with focus on other forms of life. Here we go to universe domination! (Read More)
And what about safety? Do you wear a tinfoil hat at home? Or do you feel that people are overreacting? Here is a new one for you: Scientists at Oxford say they’ve invented an artificial intelligence system that can lip-read better than humans. A video of you from really far away and your conversation can be compromised. (Read More)
Farewells
Like every year, we welcome all this new stuff. However everything has its lifecycle and we must say goodbye to some projects that died in 2017. A quick list of the lost ones:
Wrap up
It was a great year, or at least I like to think about it like that. Let’s hope that 2018 brings us much more and that I can review it in 12 months.
What about you? What was the biggest tech news for you? Think I missed a few? Make sure to comment and let me know!
Thank you for your time, hope you liked it and let’s talk about all these exciting things again next year!
