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4 tech products everyone should own in 2017
There are lots of imitators out there, but you should accept no substitutes: Amazon Echo is the best smart-home device out there, by a longshot. Even the next best “similar” product, Google’s Home, pales in comparison.
Amazon Echo deserves a spot in your home because it’s simple, beautiful, easy to use, and extremely useful. You just plug it into a wall, connect it to your WiFi network via the Alexa app, and you’re up and running! The Echo can hear you from one room to another, thanks to its seven omni-directional microphones, and respond to you quickly and naturally. While the Echo can do all sorts of amazing things, like call you an Uber or read you the day’s news, it’s much better at the simple stuff, like setting timers and playing music. Having owned an Echo for over a year now, I can’t imagine life without it.
Though it’s only been out for a few weeks, the $300 Nintendo Switch has already made an incredible first impression. Its premise is simple but effective: Play games on the TV, then take them with you! And I’m pleased to say this concept is even better in practice. Being able to hold console-quality games in your hand, and take them with you wherever you go, is a profound development in the world of video games. It will literally change your expectations for what a gaming console should do, and what it should be.
Not only is its flagship game, “Zelda: Breath of the Wild,” easily one of the best games ever created (seriously), the console itself is so fun and accessible that it’s brought my fiancée and I closer together. She wasn’t much of a video-game person prior to the Switch’s arrival, but now she’s hooked. It’s really a testament to Nintendo’s prowess as a game maker.
Yes, there is already a game console on this list, but the Nintendo Switch is relatively limited right now. The Switch can play its own games and connect to Nintendo’s online store, but its online service to play against other people isn’t up and running yet, and it won’t support streaming services like Netflix anytime soon.
Enter the PlayStation 4, a more “mature” console — having been around since 2013 — with a library of amazing exclusive games (“Bloodborne,” “Horizon Zero Dawn,” and “Uncharted 4”) that you won't find elsewhere. It also has a host of other significant capabilities, like the ability to play multimedia from an external hard drive, or stream Netflix, Amazon, or other apps you might want to download. You can even listen to your own Spotify playlists while playing your favorite game! So while the PlayStation 4 is an excellent game console, its true value is the fact that it can also be your main hub for all things entertainment — you can even use it to power Sony’s excellent TV streaming service, PlayStation Vue. You won't need a Roku or an Apple TV if you have a PS4.
I was hesitant about AirPods at first. When Apple unveiled its truly wireless earbuds last fall, I was incredibly excited at the prospect of buying them (I'm a big fan of Bluetooth headphones over wired cans). But then I saw how they looked on people’s heads — yikes — and then I was further discouraged by its lack of playback controls and the fact that Apple didn’t have a great plan if you happen to lose one AirPod, or the whole case. It felt like an expensive, wireless version of Apple’s $30 EarPods.
But then last month, I actually bought a pair of AirPods — and I haven't looked back since.
Yes, they don’t look great on everyone’s head — the same could probably be said for most headphones, frankly — but their portability and ease of use are all top-notch. Since AirPods come in an adorable floss-sized carrying case, which also charges the pods when they’re not in use, I find AirPods easy to manage and even easier to put away or take out for a quick listening session. I also think the sound quality is very good.
To me, wearing AirPods is the most futuristic feeling you can achieve in the year 2017 — because it's not about the audio itself, but the experience of listening to audio, and all the various ways you might want to do that. If you take an AirPod out of your ear, the music pauses; if you put it back in, it resumes playing. You can listen to just one at a time, or use both like a pair of normal headphones. You can answer calls with it. You can give one AirPod to your partner and listen to your favorite tunes together — maybe even sing along if the mood strikes. Everything just works: It's a seamless experience that feels like magic. Aside from the iPhone 7, it's my favorite Apple product in a long time.
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