In the month that saw Apple Intelligence open its doors and Google DeepMind release the 2.0 version of Gemini, celebrating tech with no AI component whatsoever seems rather churlish. But 2024 wasn’t all about the all-conquering imposition of LLMs and generative creativity. We’ve assembled our ten tech stories that had the most impact in 2024.
01. Orchid by Telepathic Instruments
The Orchid
One of the players behind newcomer Telepathic Instruments is Tame Impala’s Kevin Parker. That’s piqued the interest for the company’s first product, the Orchid synthesizer and chord generator. Expect to hear more from them in 2025.
02. Fender x Hello Kitty Stratocaster
Otoboke Beaver's Yoyoyoshie and the Hello Kitty Squier Stratocaster
The ultimate musical mash-up returned in time to celebrate Sanrio’s famous feline’s 50th. Fender Japan cannily cranked up the kawaii with bespoke guitars, including the revival of its Squier Hello Kitty Stratocaster, and a plethora of accessories.
03. Epson EF-22 Projector
Epson EF-22 Laser Projector
Epson EF-22 is a compact laser projector that performs perfectly and unobtrusively, sized so you can store it away when not in use and featuring Google TV for ease of everyday operation.
04. Openhagen LightBoks projector
LightBoks projector by Openhagen
On the other hand, you might want to keep your projector on display, in which case the warm wooden stylings of the LightBoks, from Danish maker Openhagen, is the one for you.
05. Apple Watch Series 10
Apple Watch Series 10
Incremental increases may be possible, but the Apple Watch has come a long way since it debuted in 2015. The Apple Watch Series 10 is the most sophisticated (and sensor-stuffed) device you can wear.
06. Ten years of Monument Valley
Monument Valley by Ustwo Games
Now that the long-awaited Monument Valley 3 has arrived on Netflix, revisit the story of the original game.
07. Analogue3D console
Analogue3D supports original Nintendo controllers and up to four players
More gaming nostalgia in the form of the Analogue3D console, which brings back the catalogue of Nintendo’s famous N64 console.
08. Bring Your Own Keyboard
The BYOK screen is also backlit
Writers love to find new ways of practising their craft. In addition to the reMarkable Paper Pro, our paltry attention span was piqued by the distraction-free design of the BYOK screen.
09. Teenage Engineering EP-1320
Teenage Engineering EP-1320 Medieval
TE had a busy year, culminating in the all-new OP-XY sequencer. We couldn’t resist the stylings of the EP 1320 Medieval, a quirky ‘portal into a world of imagined medieval grooves.’
10. On Google Gemini and the rise of AI
Google Gemini AI
AI is such a fast-moving sector that our July musings on the ins and outs of the tech have been superseded many times over. As Google readies Astra, its next-gen multi-modal AI assistant, check back and see the origins of the tech before it blends seamlessly into our lives.
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Like a modernist iceberg, this Krakow house has a perfectly chiselled façadeA Krakow house by Polish architecture studio UCEES unites brutalist materialities with modernist form
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Leo Costelloe turns the kitchen into a site of fantasy and uneaseFor Frieze week, Costelloe transforms everyday domesticity into something intimate, surreal and faintly haunted at The Shop at Sadie Coles
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Can surrealism be erotic? Yes if women can reclaim their power, says a London exhibition‘Unveiled Desires: Fetish & The Erotic in Surrealism, 1924–Today’ at London’s Richard Saltoun gallery examines the role of desire in the avant-garde movement
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Two new portable projectors from Wanbo and Soundcore showcase extremes of scaleThe ultra-compact Wanbo Dali 1 goes up against Soundcore’s mighty Nebula X1 Pro mobile theatre system
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The best wireless in-ear headphones, tested by expertsOur latest round up of the best wireless in-ear headphones includes products from Apple, Bang & Olufsen, Bose, JBL, Nothing, and Sony
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Google Home gets a glow-up as Gemini joins the party with its uncanny observational skillsYour smart speaker becomes sentient and you now have your own NSA-grade domestic surveillance set-up. Welcome to the terrifying power of Gemini-enabled Google Home
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We roadtest Apple’s newest wearable tech, the Apple Watch Ultra 3 and Series 11The Apple Watch Ultra 3 hardly reinvents Apple’s most ruggedly handsome of designs, but it does refine it. And for truly off-grid adventurous types, it adds some potentially critical capabilities
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Montblanc’s new Digital Paper and Digital Pen are high-end entries into the e-ink clubFamed for its traditional writing instruments, Montblanc brings its premium approach to the digital realm
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Back to black: five new coffee machines serve up everything from smooth filter to rich espressoFrom bean to cup, there’s no messing up with these five new coffee machines, offering a fine selection of coffees in a variety of sizes
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The Apple iPhone Air leads the company’s round of autumn product launchesThe new Apple iPhone 17 range boasts better cameras, more memory and more Apple Silicon. It launched alongside new Apple Watches, new AirPods and the remarkable iPhone Air. We explore out the key innovations and products
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The new Plaud Note Pro deploys AI to transform the spoken word into searchable dataThe Note Pro promises full-on conversational AI, a pocketable device that can capture roundtable chats and correctly attribute speakers and action points. Help or hindrance?
