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Blunders and blockbusters from the biggest names in tech
In many ways, the world in 2016 was defined by its mistakes. Companies let products languish, and when they did release updates, they often made questionable design choices. And of course, one of Samsung's most important phones literally went up in smoke. This year was a different story though. Some previous offenders learned their lesson while others set themselves up for success down the road. Not that everything was rosy. There were plenty of errors along the way, including glitchy products and misguided strategies. With that in mind, let's look at the hits and misses of 2017 -- and more importantly, consider how they'll affect what happens in 2018.
Facebook, Twitter and social media’s road to federal regulation
The extent of Russia's meddling in the 2016 US presidential election remains unclear, but it's no secret that social media played a major role. This year brought with it a great deal of scrutiny for tech giants, particularly Facebook, Twitter and Google. These three companies came under the US government's microscope after news that Kremlin bots and trolls, spearheaded by a group known as the Internet Research Agency, used their sites to tamper with the 2016 presidential election. They spread misinformation (fake news!) and dubious ads across Facebook, Twitter and Google to hundreds of millions of users in the US, with the aim of fomenting hostility among Americans. And it's safe to say they succeeded.
The best games of 2017
It had just turned April when we declared that 2017 was a great year for video games. The post-holiday quarter is usually fairly quiet for new releases, but in 2017 it brought us legitimate contenders for game of the year in The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, Horizon Zero Dawn and Persona 5 -- and that's not to mention Resident Evil 7's return to form. Now the year is almost over, and we've had a stunning Mario game, another great Wolfenstein title and even an Assassin's Creed game that exceeded all expectations. Getting an entire editorial team to agree on just one game is tough, and ultimately not that fun, so we didn't try. Instead, we each picked the one game that stood out to us the most -- avoiding duplicates -- and then named the title we're most looking forward to for 2018.
Green tech will be everywhere in 2018
In 2017, clean power gathered unprecedented momentum. Multiple automakers launched entire families of EVs, including the most exciting one yet, Tesla's Model 3. The company also started pre-orders for the Solar Roof, a type of home photovoltaic panel that will make solar panel installations less ugly. With climate change problems mounting, national and local governments are pushing for more renewable energy and an end to fossil-fueled cars -- despite hostile moves in those areas by US President Donald Trump. Elected officials and the public want fewer gas-powered vehicles and coal plants, and more EVs, solar panels and wind turbines. That will ultimately benefit your health, wallet and environment, and you'll be less reliant on large energy and oil corporations, to boot.
The new space race is postponed until 2018
Aboard the International Space Station, an A4-size flag of the United States hangs next to a 1:100 model of a space shuttle. The memento, placed there by the last crew to fly on shuttle Atlantis, is meant to be retrieved by the next batch of astronauts that launches on a US spacecraft. NASA had hoped to reach that goal in 2017 after awarding Boeing and SpaceX billion-dollar contracts under the Commercial Crew Program (CCP). However, the road back to manned missions is paved with thorns and technical challenges. We certainly won't see any astronauts ferried to Low Earth Orbit before the year ends, but both companies believe that 2018 is the year that flag will be returned to Earth.
The worst gadgets of 2017
2017 was not a great year, to say the least. And it wasn't just the weekly political dramas, sexual harassment scandals or a massive security breach that affected nearly half the population that had us down. There was also a slew of terrible consumer devices that sullied our mood this year. Before we say goodbye to them, though, let's relive the horror one last time. Here's hoping that 2018 brings us better gadgets than this sorry lot.
The best gadgets of 2017
2017 hasn't been the easiest year to live through, but we've found joy and comfort in some of the hardware we've tested over the last 12 months. Last year, we saw VR surge in prominence, but our picks this year are more conventional -- not to mention more diverse. The usual suspects include the iPhone X and Surface Laptop for getting helping us get things done, and the Nintendo Switch and the Sonos One for their ability to let us luxuriate at home and on the road. There's some more unexpected stuff on our list, too, like the easy-to-use DJI Spark drone as well as the Mighty, a tiny music player that won over much of the Engadget staff. Ultimately, we appreciated these picks for the ways they made our lives more pleasant, even if only a little.
Fragmentation in self-driving cars will eventually be a problem
If you remember the '80s, you were probably amazed that you could walk up to a computer, type the following in BASIC and something would happen: 10 PRINT "Robbie is rad" 20 GOTO 10
2017 laid the foundation for faster, smarter AI in 2018
"AI is like the Wild West right now," Tim Leland, Qualcomm's head of graphics, told me earlier this month when the company unveiled its latest premium mobile chipset. The Snapdragon 845 was designed to handle AI computing tasks better. It's the latest product of the tech industry's obsession with artificial intelligence. No company wants to be left behind, and whether it's by optimizing their hardware for AI processing or using machine learning to speed up tasks, every major brand has invested heavily in artificial intelligence. But even though AI permeated all aspects of our lives in 2017, the revolution is only just beginning.
In 2017, society started taking AI bias seriously
A crime-predicting algorithm in Florida falsely labeled black people re-offenders at nearly twice the rate of white people. Google Translate converted the gender-neutral Turkish terms for certain professions into "he is a doctor" and "she is a nurse" in English. A Nikon camera asked its Asian user if someone blinked in the photo -- no one did. From the ridiculous to the chilling, algorithmic bias -- social prejudices embedded in the AIs that play an increasingly large role in society -- has been exposed for years. But it seems in 2017 we reached a tipping point in public awareness. Perhaps it was the way machine learning now decides everything from our playlists to our commutes, culminating in the flawed social media algorithms that influenced the presidential election through fake news. Meanwhile, increasing attention from the media and even art worlds both confirms and recirculates awareness of AI bias outside the realms of technology and academia.
Worlds collide: VR and AR in 2018
Oculus, the company responsible for kickstarting the $2 billion virtual reality marketplace, knows virtual reality is not the future. As its engineers pour millions of Facebook's dollars into the second generation of VR headsets, the company's head of research, Michael Abrash, is preparing for a world where augmented reality dominates our everyday lives. "No matter how good VR gets, few people would be comfortable socializing in person with someone whose eyes they can't see, and social acceptability is an absolute requirement for anything we wear in public," Abrash said at Facebook's F8 conference in April.
This year we took small, important steps toward the Singularity
We won't have to wait until 2019 for our Blade Runner future, mostly because artificially intelligent robots already walk, roll and occasionally backflip among us. They're on our streets and in our stores. Some have wagged their way into our hearts while others have taken a more literal route. Both in civilian life and the military battlespace, AI is adopting physical form to multiply the capabilities of the humans it serves. As robots gain ubiquity, friction between these bolt buckets and we meat sacks is sure to cause issues. So how do we ensure that the increasingly intelligent machines we design share our ethical values while minimizing human-robot conflict? Sit down, Mr. Asimov.
The best Engadget stories of 2017
This year gave us an innovative new console from Nintendo, an iPhone without a home button, EVs and self-driving cars from almost all the major automakers, and fresh headaches for Twitter and Facebook alike. As busy as we were reviewing a new flagship phone seemingly every other week, Engadget's writers and editors looked beyond that never-ending gadget cycle to deliver impactful, thoughtful features. In fact, some of our favorite stories from this year were weeks, sometimes months, in the making. Here's a selection of our best pieces, chosen by the team. Enjoy, and here's to even more long-form in 2018.
2017 year in review: Good riddance!
2017 has been a long year. From incessant breaking news alerts to the collapse of net neutrality to a string of natural disasters, we are all very tired. Though it's worth revisiting why this was a momentous twelve months in science and tech, we'd much rather look ahead to the new year. Over the next two weeks, we'll be looking back on the year that was, and sharing our hopes and predictions for 2018. Join us as we place our bets on AI, algorithms, social media regulations, green tech, streaming services, robotics, self-driving cars and even space taxis. And, of course, since we're Engadget, you can expect to hear about the upcoming products and games we're most excited about. We have more than 15 stories coming between now and December 31st. Let's all shake off 2017 and usher in what we hope will be a better year. Check out all of Engadget's year-in-review coverage right here.
