With Christmas right around the corner, it’s a good time to look back on all the new technology and gadgets that 2018 has brought us.  So far, the year has brought us all sorts of cool new technology, like the newest iPhone and Samsung.

One of the biggest releases of 2018 comes from Apple. On September 21^st, 2018 Apple released the newest versions of the iPhone, the iPhone XS, and XS Max. With a 6.5 inch display, the iPhone XS Max is the biggest phone that Apple has released. It also had a custom OLED (organic light-emitting diode) display that delivers the most accurate color in the industry. Apple released the XS and the XS Max on September 21^st, and the iPhone XR was released about a month later on October 26^th.

Apple had a big year with the release of the new iPhones, The Apple Watch Series 4, iPad Pro, and the Apple Home Pod. The Apple Watch S4 is the newest installment in Apples SmartWatch series and it comes with a lot of new features. The S4 has the largest display of all Apple Watches and has curved corners to precisely match the radius of the case. The S4’s CPU is also two times faster and the speaker is 50% louder than the S3. Apple also had success with their Apple HomePod, a breakthrough speaker that adapts to its location and delivers high-fidelity audio wherever it is playing. Apple didn’t stop there, and on November 7^th, Apple released the new iPad Pro. The iPad Pro comes equipped with the new liquid retina display that brings true-to-life color. This essentially means that the iPad Pro relies on higher levels of pixels per inch to create a paper-like effect where pixels are not visible to the naked eye. The iPad Pro now has Face ID and the all-new Apple Pencil.

Although Apple did very well this year, one of their main competitors, Samsung, also had some success. On March 16^th, Samsung released the Galaxy S9. The S9 has an incredible camera that can capture stunning pictures in bright daylight and super low light, thanks to the dual aperture lens. The S9 also has an intelligent scan that combines face recognition and iris scan that makes unlocking your phone simple even in low light. Samsung is not only big in the phone industry but is a prominent name in the TV world. In January 2018, Samsung released the Q9FN, a 4K QLED smart UHD TV. With more than a billion shades the QLED TV’s have phenomenal quantum colors that make up a very beautiful display.

However, the year hasn’t only been about smartphones and TVs. The Oculus Go brings a new experience of Virtual Reality to your home. The Oculus Go is a standalone VR headset that doesn’t require any cables or PC. The Oculus Go brings experiences to life in rich details and vibrant colors. With the headset, you can immerse yourself in over 1,000 VR games, social apps, and 360 experiences.

So far 2018 has been packed with great new technology ranging from smartphones to VR headsets, and the year is not even over yet. With more to come in the future, who knows what we will be in store for in 2019.