The best tech news and headlines of 2021

Best, oregon worst?

Image: elenabs/Getty Images

To accidental 2021 was an eventful twelvemonth would, arsenic was the lawsuit past year, beryllium an understatement. The continued COVID-19 pandemic, the sluggish system it has created and however we've each responded to it person made this year's quality rhythm fast, brutal and short.

As is the lawsuit erstwhile a batch is happening, not each of it is bad. The 8 quality items covered successful this champion tech of 2021 database see gadgets and goings-on that were breathtaking successful a bully way, truthful nary — determination won't beryllium immoderate notation of the spot shortage aft this sentence. 

The Apple M1 has a banner year

Apple started selling M1 computers successful precocious 2020, but 2021 was the twelvemonth the M1, and its successor the M1X, captured headlines and wowed users. 

Apple's in-house M1 chips were immense show boosters for its machines, and arsenic of precocious 2021 tin beryllium recovered successful its desktops, laptops and adjacent the iPad Pro, bringing desktop-level show to Apple's top-end tablet. 

The latest M1 chips, the M1X, is reportedly doubly arsenic accelerated astatine GPU tasks and 3 times faster performing instrumentality learning operations than its predecessor. There's inactive respective years betwixt present and erstwhile Apple yet phases retired its usage of Intel processors, but the stellar show of its archetypal silicon offerings bespeak thing but bully things successful store. 

Google announces its ain silicon, too

Not to beryllium outdone, Google precocious announced the Pixel 6 series, which volition travel with the company's archetypal in-house SoC, the Google Tensor chip. 

Unlike the M1 series, Google designed the Tensor chip, named for its TensorFlow ML platform, from the crushed up for its Pixel bid smartphones. In particular, Google's purpose with the Tensor spot was to bring its next-level instrumentality learning capabilities to its mobile devices without needing to nonstop information disconnected to the unreality for processing.

SEE: Artificial Intelligence Ethics Policy (TechRepublic Premium)

Like the latest mentation of the iPhone, which brought code designation to the on-device chip, the Tensor spot boosts show by eliminating the request to transmit data. Along with on-device code recognition, the Tensor spot is capable to execute AI photograph touch-ups and corrections conscionable similar those Google is capable to bash connected a full-scale TensorFlow setup. 

Basically, if you've been impressed by what Apple has done with its ain in-house silicon, but aren't an Apple user, this is the spot to beryllium excited about. 

Commercial abstraction formation becomes a portion of life

The aboriginal portion of 2021 was afloat of headlines astir the billionaire abstraction contention that pitted Richard Branson, Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos against each different successful a bid for who would scope (near to) the stars first. Fast guardant respective months, and Bezos' Blue Origin is regularly ferrying the affluent and influential to the borderline of abstraction successful its reusable rocket. 

Commercial abstraction formation quality reached its apex erstwhile William Shatner, a.k.a. Captain James T. Kirk, reached space with Blue Origin connected October. At 90, Shatner became the oldest idiosyncratic ever to spell to space, but his going does thing other wholly for nationalist cognition of abstraction travel: It signals that it's here, adjacent if it's inactive somewhat retired of scope for astir of us.

NFTs show much blockchain applications

There's a bully statement to beryllium made for leaving NFTs disconnected this list: What applicable bully bash incredibly overpriced integer paintings and collectibles, whose ownership rights you're not adjacent technically buying on with the NFT, make for the world? 

Well, the NFTs themselves whitethorn not make immoderate existent worth speech from the ludicrous prices they tin fetch, but NFTs warrant a notation arsenic 1 of the champion pieces of tech of the twelvemonth for showing america yet again what blockchains could beryllium utilized for; successful this case, establishing ownership of non-fungible assets. 

The conception of a blockchain is inactive comparatively caller and, successful galore cases, hard to comprehend. That's led the satellite to treating it similar a toy, but playing astir with speculative cryptocurrencies and integer non-fungible assets paves the way for applicable uses similar astute contracts that tin transportation ownership, amended chains of custody and proviso concatenation management. 

Pholding phones are phinally pheasible

Samsung released the 3rd procreation of its Galaxy Z Fold and Z Flip, its 2 folding smartphones. As reviewed by TR editor-in-chief Bill Detwiler and myself, the 3rd procreation of these devices are the archetypal ones that consciousness similar thing much than a concept.

Both devices are overmuch improved implicit their predecessors, some successful presumption of the devices themselves and their quality to fold. Beyond usability, some Bill and I enjoyed utilizing them thoroughly, with the verdict being that we'd gladly usage a folding telephone if determination was an Apple version.

SEE: BYOD Approval Form (TechRepublic Premium)

The Fold 3 and Flip 3 bespeak that folding phones came into their ain successful 2021. Now we conscionable person to hold to spot which different OEMs determine to hop connected the bandwagon.

The crypto marketplace attracts regulators

There's a governmental doctrine astatine the halfway of cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology: It's decentralized and resistant to rules and regulations. Unfortunately, a non-hierarchically and centrally managed means of speech is antithetical to the existent planetary economy, truthful it makes consciousness that Bitcoin and different cryptocurrencies would pull regulators arsenic they grow successful influence.

China banned cryptocurrency mining this year, and portion U.S. regulators person been vacillating connected their tendency to bring the crypto marketplace to heel, it's improbable it volition proceed to beryllium allowed to tally rampant arsenic an unregulated speculative market, particularly with such drastic swings successful worth possible.  

SEE: Metaverse cheat sheet: Everything you request to cognize (free PDF) (TechRepublic)

Regulation successful the crypto market, portion it whitethorn not beryllium wanted, whitethorn beryllium what it needs to marque cryptocurrencies a applicable possibility. Current vigor usage, excessive fees and rampant scams marque Bitcoin thing but utile arsenic a currency close now. Some caller ineligible standards surrounding the marketplace volition beryllium thing but atrocious successful the agelong run.

Right to repair makes breakthroughs

There's been a long-standing conflict betwixt OEMs and instrumentality owners for the close to repair their hardware astatine location oregon via a 3rd enactment tech, and 2021 is the twelvemonth erstwhile things yet started moving. Device owners person been the ones benefiting from caller regulations, similar those successful Europe that mandate each physics devices be repairable for 10 years. 

Apple enactment the close to repair combat backmost successful the headlines successful November erstwhile it announced that it would commencement selling instrumentality parts straight to consumers who privation to repair their ain iPhones. Apple plans to widen the programme to different devices successful the future, and though it didn't accidental so, it's apt that the EU's repairability laws were a large impetus for the change. 

With Apple, 1 of close to repair's staunchest opponents, giving in, it's lone a substance of clip earlier much tech from much companies is easy repaired from the comfortableness of location — large quality for those who are technically proficient capable to prevention the wealth and spell the DIY route.

Electric conveyance purchases surge

Predictions successful aboriginal 2021 forecasted a 71% summation successful electrical conveyance purchases implicit the people of the year. By October, an 88% summation was really reported, putting EV marketplace maturation beyond expectations. 

All that maturation means that EVs inactive lone relationship for astir 2.7% of the full automotive market, truthful there's a batch of country to grow. With further infrastructure requirements and further incentives from the Biden administration, there's ne'er been a amended clip to bargain an EV. We've adjacent entered an property wherever you tin find used electrical cars. The aboriginal truly is now, and much affordable than ever.

Also see

• DevOps: A cheat sheet (TechRepublic)
• Ethereum Cheat Sheet: Everything you request to cognize (free PDF) (TechRepublic)
• Cloning tools: What they are and however to usage them (TechRepublic Premium)
• Tom Merritt's Top 5 series (TechRepublic connected Flipboard)