It’s a big year for tech, with CES 2015 just around the corner and a whole slew of new gadgets set to arrive from the biggest corporations around.
Also See: 2014: The Year Hackers Took Over – See Their Worst Hits
Alongside products we already knew would be arriving this year, there are also a number of mysterious projects that have only recently appeared on our radar, and we’re here to highlight all the best in tech that we’re hopefully going to get our clammy palms on over the course of the next 365 days.
Here’s a rundown of the tech we cannot wait to get our hands on in 2015.
Header Image: Getty Images
Most Anticipated Tech of 2015
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iPad Pro
With news that sales of the iPad are dwindling, Apple is looking to revitalize its ailing tablet market with the iPad Pro, the rumored next iPad that will allegedly prove to be a game-changer.
It's expected that the iPad Pro will feature a multitude of different-sized screen, though its generally accepted that the standard model will be bigger than all other iPads thus far, along with featuring an ultra high-definition display along with stereo-quality audio.
Though traditionally a new iPad would launch in the fall for Apple, it has been rumored that the iPad Pro could launch between April and June.
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Google Glass Magic Leap
Google Glass hasn't been the revolutionary next step in tech that Google would've wanted it to be, releasing to mixed critical reviews and the general consensus that they look a little bit silly. We've been critical of the Glass before, but it does have one thing going for it in 2015 that looks genuinely interesting: Magic Leap.
Google piled $542 million of funding into Magic Leap, a mysterious augmented reality business, with the intention to bring it to Google Glass. Little is known about what impact this will have on Glass, but the company has released a batch of images showing what Magic Leap is looking to create, featuring an AR blue whale floating over a beach, and a micro-elephant tucked inside a user's hands.
Magic Leap could add a whole new dimension to Google Glass, one which could stand to make the wearable tech a more desired product, and though it's unlikely that it will help the Glass break the casual consumer demographic as Google would have hoped, it could still see it appealing to many more tech enthusiasts.
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Super Slim Sony 8K TV
Sony made it known that they'd be appearing at CES 2015 with a weird promotional trailer featuring a series of cryptic visual messages. One such visual was a quick shot of what appeared to be a super slim TV, and now it's being rumored that the company, along with LG, will be unveiling 8K televisions for the first time ever.
While 4K has only just become known to the average consumer, Sony and LG are allegedly already looking at raising the stakes with super ultra HD displays that we can only imagine will be so beautiful our retinas will burst into a wave of rainbows.
There's no information about the tech aside from the odd rumor, but if 8K is about to become a thing, then we can expect to see more at CES 2015, which we'll be attending.
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Apple Watch
When the Apple Watch was unveiled by Apple following the iPhone 6/6 Plus announcement, it was clear to everyone watching that the tech giant was entering the smartwatch game in a big way. While by no means revolutionary in the department, the Apple Watch looks to take all the existing aspects of wearable tech and improve upon them/make them look much more stylish, in a way that only Apple can.
Featuring a multitude of designs and a focus upon health and fitness, the tech world's next bandwagon that everyone is jumping upon, many have speculated that the Apple Watch could prove to be dismal failure for the company given its high price point and supposed lack of usefulness; didn't they say the same thing about the iPad?
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Self-Driving Cars
Google already has its prototype models on the road, though the likes of Tesla and BMW are lining up their own self-driving cars to become commercially available by the end of this year. Tech enthusiasts with plenty of disposable income will surely be pleased by this.
Google is currently working on a better-looking version of its Google Car, which is mightily fortunate because the current model (pictured) leaves a lot to be desired in the aesthetics department. It's not yet confirmed who will be the first manufacturer to put their auto-driving vehicles on the market, but we're excited to see the outcome.
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Hendo Hoverboard
Not a year seems to go by where we aren't told that hoverboard are just around the corner, and we'll soon be able to zoom around town like Marty McFly, but rarely are those promises fulfilled. However, in December the Hendo Hoverboard successfully surpassed its Kickstarter goal, and video footage of prototype models in action reveal that it actually works.
The board, created by Hendo Hover, has already seen the likes of pro skater Tony Hawk try it out. Utilizing Arx Pax Maglev technology, the Hendo Hoverboard featured four discs on its underside that allow the board to levitate from the ground, making use of magnetic fields in order to do so.
It's unlikely that the board will reach a mainstream audience in 2015, and its bulky, unseemly design is a little off-putting, though it's certainly a big step in the right direction when it comes to helping us relive the action of the Back to the Future series.
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Windows 10
Windows 8 wasn't exactly well-received by consumers, and though Microsoft made drastic improvements to the operating system in its 8.1 update, the damage had already been done and public perception of the company's ability to frequently pile out game-changing OS' was tarnished, more than it had been since the lowly Vista.
Now Microsoft is looking to get itself back in the game with Windows 10, an OS which the company deems to be so good that they opted to step over Windows 9 entirely. The new OS promises to be more user-friendly than ever before, marking the welcome return of the Start menu and also featuring Cortana integration, adding a voice-recognition element to the new desktop operating system.
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Samsung Galaxy S6
Samsung's Galaxy smartphone series has emerged as a true contender to the iPhone over the past few years, though despite a hefty marketing budget the S5 did little to bowl over consumers, feeling like more of an update to the S4 than it did a worthy successor.
Samsung is reportedly investing a lot in the S6 as it hopes to prove that it can rival the iPhone's popularity once again. Touted to feature a 64-bit CPU and expected to be the company's most powerful, best-looking (and potentially largest) phone yet, there's one thing we ask for when it comes to the S6 - please, Samsung, give it an all-metal chassis. The plastic effort we've had to contend with thus far simply isn't doing the trick.
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New iPhone
Apple will inevitably be bringing out an updated version of the iPhone 6/6 Plus devices this year, with iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus likely being the names of the new models.
It's expected that the new iPhone 6 models will boast cameras will much better resolutions, with it being reported that they will feature the biggest leap in camera technology for the company yet. Improved sapphire displays and lengthier battery lives are also expected.
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Oculus Rift
Virtual reality has been sneaking up on us ever since the initial unveiling of the Oculus Rift, with many having already picked up developer builds while the world awaits its inevitable commercial release.
Oculus hasn't revealed whether said release will take place in 2015, but with Sony looking to burst out the gate with its own VR headset Project Morpheus, and with Oculus having been purchased by Facebook last year, we should imagine that progress with the tech is going well.
The Oculus Rift brought us the first real taste of how well virtual reality could lend itself to gaming, and trying it out genuinely felt like experiencing a glimpse of the future. We hope we get to see more of it in 2015.
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HTC One M9
The HTC One is one of the very best Android phones yet released, and the HTC One M8, though overshadowed by the release of the Samsung Galaxy S5, was another notable improvement. Now HTC is looking forward to the M9 (or Hima, as it's also rumored to be called), which looks set to be an even better alternative to those who don't want to rest in camp Apple or Samsung.
Though HTC has no plans to unveil anything at CES 2015, we should still expect more news on the next HTC One early in the year.
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Project Morpheus
It's not expected that the Project Morpheus will rival the Oculus Rift in terms of specs, but with the Rift solely set to be used with PC games, the Morpheus certainly has its very own demographic in the form of PS4 owners.
It might not be as powerful as the Rift, but from initial impressions it seems that Sony has created a good alternative that will impress console gamers. Let's hope that it lives up to the hype, and we learn more about it this year.
