Press members attend an Apple event showcasing the tech company's new products. (Photo : Getty Images/Stephen Lam)
As 2016 is coming to a close, a lot of experts are counting down what they believe to be the best pieces of tech to have come out in the last year. There were a lot of laptops, smartphones, tablets, and video game consoles, among other things that came out in 2016. However, there are those that really stood above the rest.
Snapchat Spectacles
In terms of originality, Snapchat's spectacles took the cake. Although not widely available and seemingly catered only to the niche audience that uses the social media application. It was still highly original and was available to avoid the pitfalls of its nearest predecessor, Google Glass.
Virtual Reality
The HTC Vive is another piece of tech that ranks high on the list of 2016's best gadgets because of how it was able to put virtual reality in to the forefront of the consumer market, CNET reported. The Oculus Rift and PlayStation VR also rank high for the same reasons.
Next-Gen Video Game Consoles
In terms of video gaming, the PlayStation 4 Pro and Xbox One X were the popular choices in 2016. A major surprise for the year was also the Nintendo NES Classic Edition - a miniature version of the original console that comes loaded with fan favorite games.
Computers, Laptops, and Tablets
Purchasing a new computer proved to be difficult this past year. This is because there is a large number of them available in today's market. Some of the biggest releases of the year had to be the Microsoft Surface Pro as well as the brand new MacBook Pro that has been revamped and has the added version of the highly functional touch bar. In the tablet front, it is hard to go wrong with Apple's latest tablet offering, the larger Apple iPad Pro, with phablets and convertibles also made large waves in 2016.
Smartphones
Last, but definitely not the least, are phones. It seems as though 2016 was flooded with smartphone releases, but the ones that took the cake in most people's eyes are the Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge and the Apple iPhone 7, according to the Mirror . However, there are a lot of other brands that offer high quality smartphones as well, such as Oppo and Huawei.
Watch a video introducing the Microsoft Surface Studio and its features below:
