Top tech of 2021: From surprise hits to breakthrough gadgets, and the troubling tech to avoid

2021 has been a year of ups and downs for technology. See list of must-haves and what to avoid.

Exclusive: A flexible smartphone that had us flipping out, a powerful laptop to rule all your media, and a new way to play games are among the top tech hits of 2021.

But in a year that had its ups and downs for all of us, there were disappointments too.

These are our top tech hits and misses of the year.

TOP TECH OF 2021

Samsung Galaxy Z Flip3

Samsung's new flip phone with a flexible screen, the Z Flip3, features a larger external screen, thinner body, and comes in more colours.

Smartphones that fold in half to fit in a pocket are obviously impressive but this particular model unexpectedly outperformed this year. Improving on its first appearance (where it was like a folding version of an older phone) the Z Flip3 launched with more power, a 5G connection, tougher form, and a bigger and more useful cover screen. It also came with better accessories to win more attention and the option to customise its case with colours. All this, and a lower price akin to regular phones, at $1600, rightly earned it many new fans.

Apple MacBook Pro

Apple unveiled new MacBook Pro models using its new M1 Pro and M1 Max chips on October 19, 2021.

When Apple announced plans to replace Intel chips with its own, this was the laptop fans anticipated. The MacBook Pro models with M1 Pro and M1 Max chips are serious computing beasts that can use their new 10-core CPUs to edit multiple streams of 8K footage simultaneously in Final Cut Pro, break down images in Affinity Photo, and manage many screens of musical samples in Logic Pro. Surprisingly, Apple also returned some of the items it had taken away in past models, including a magnetic charger and memory card slot, confirming their place at the top of tech wishlists.

Google Pixel 6 Pro

Google's Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro smartphones will feature advanced cameras in a large block across their back panel.

Google’s latest top smartphone wasn’t unexpected but the depth of its features caught some by surprise. The Pixel 6 Pro is indisputably its best smartphone to date, as Google ditched its reliance on advanced software alone and added cutting-edge hardware to this device. That included three capable cameras (one with a 50-megapixel resolution), a 120Hz. 6.7-inch screen, a next-generation 5G connection, and its own chip, called Tensor, to run software like real-time language translations. What could have been just another Android is a genuine iPhone challenger and a threat to Samsung alike.

Xbox Cloud Gaming

Microsoft has a big line-up of games launching on it Games Pass subscription platform in 2021.

Once known as Project xCloud, Microsoft’s games team tried something different this year, and won. In October, company launched a subscription service that put some of its most popular games on mobile phones, laptops and tablets, in addition to its Xbox consoles, and let users play with touch controls or a connected controller. Microsoft Game Pass Ultimate subscribers found themselves with easy access to titles like Forza Horizon 4, and, more recently, Halo Infinite. Microsoft says it expects to see players load games more often and try new styles.

TROUBLING TECH OF 2021

Apple AirTags

AirTags act like a key finder, helping find keys and other products. Picture: Supplied

In a rare disappointment during a bumper year, Apple issued these challenging gadgets. AirTags are Bluetooth devices designed to track misplaced items but their button shape makes them easy to hide on people and in cars, and their power source – a button battery – makes them ill-suited for use by kids. The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission warned the parents should keep them “out of the reach of young children” just two months after their launch and said the watchdog had “fundamental concerns” kids could access the batteries inside them. To address privacy concerns, Apple recently launched a Tracker Detect app for Android users who may not otherwise know they have an AirTag nearby.

Facebook (Meta)

Mark Zuckerberg, chief executive officer of Facebook Inc., adjusts an avatar of himself during the virtual Facebook Connect event, where the company announced its rebranding as Meta. Picture: Michael Nagle/Bloomberg via Getty Images

The world’s biggest social network again made us ponder the question, “how many simultaneous scandals does it take to create change?” Sadly, following its disastrous ban on all news in Australia early in 2021, ongoing health misinformation issues, and just days after a whistleblower emerged with revelations about ongoing harm to young Instagram users, Facebook announced it would change … its name. Meta, as the company is now called, has since made some minor safety additions to Instagram but failed to address larger complaints.

Samsung Galaxy Note

If absence makes the heart grow fonder, Samsung Galaxy Note fans are well prepared for the next big release. The smartphone that created the big-phone trend was absent from Samsung’s line-up this year, failing to show up amid its folding phone launches late in the year. Speculation is rife that the Note brand will not return, fuelled by S Pen compatibility for the Z Fold3 and devastating recalls in 2017, though leaks now point to the unconfirmed possibility of a 2022 comeback.

Clearview AI

This controversial facial recognition firm scraped photos from social media and promised users it could identify subjects by name. In November, the Australian Office of the Information Commissioner ruled the company breached Australians’ privacy by using their biometric data without their consent or knowledge and in December ruled the Australian Federal Police breached privacy rules by trialling the software without the correct safeguards in place. Despite the findings, the company has defended its actions and argued its operations fall under US, not Australian law.

Originally published as Top tech of 2021: From surprise hits to breakthrough gadgets, and the troubling tech to avoid