This year we saw some of the most interesting and important launches in the tech industry. We saw some upgrades and also some brand new products that re-define tech. Here is a list of the biggest tech launches of 2014
64-bit Mobile SoC
The mobile processor is evolving and this year saw it advance to feature 64-bit architecture. Till now, only desktop and laptop processors were used this architecture, but now almost every mobile chip maker has started working on their own SoC with the 64-bit architecture.
Alienware 13 with Amplifier
Alienware not only surprised us with a brand new 3-inch gaming laptop, it went further to announce what the company calls the Amplifier. Once attached to the Alienware 13, this amplifier brings in desktop level graphics performance to the laptop as it offers space for a full sized GTX 600 and above or a Radeon 5000 and above GPU.
Amazon Fire Phone
Amazon announced its own smartphone this year which is 3D enabled. It offers a "Dynamic Perspective" which is done by using four front-facing cameras and the gyroscope to track the user's movements. The OS adjusts the UI so that it gives the impression of depth and 3D.
Android Lollipop
A brand new Android update was delivered by Google this year, which is one the best looking updates for the mobile platform. It features a UI overhaul called 'Material Design' and apart from that, the new update assures stability, better memory management, new notification features and more.
Android One
Google announced the Android One project this year which aims to help affordable Android based devices enter countries where accessibility of smart devices and internet is unstable. The initial launch partners are Indian based OEMs and Google plans to expand its partners and the market for this project in the coming months.
Apple Health
Apple announced its jump into health based services on mobile devices with the launch of Apple Health. While it is a work in progress, the app itself aggregates information and data from all the health based apps on your device and provides you with various statistics.
Apple Pay
One of the biggest announcements from Apple was Apple Pay. Using NFC, Apple Pay users can make payments by just tapping their iPhone and confirming the payment using the fingerprint scanner. Apple has already got various partners and has started rolling the new payment system in the US.
Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare
COD is one of the biggest gaming franchises and it made a comeback this year with Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare which features innovative FPS gameplay elements with a brand new storyline.
Samsung Galaxy Note 4
Samsung's flagship smartphone, the Galaxy S5, didn't make a lot of heads turn, but the OEM learned from its mistakes and launched the brilliant looking Galaxy Note 4. The latest phablet offers some of the latest and the most powerful hardware on a mobile device and is truly the best phablet to buy today.
Apple iMac Retina (5K)
Apple also announced its updated iMac lineup with the brand new 27-inch 5K (5120x2880) retina display which can be configured with an Intel Core i7 4.0GHz processor, 32GB of RAM and upto 4GB of graphics memory.
Inbox
Google, along with its Material Design philosophy, announced (via invites) a new email app called Inbox which aggregates all your emails in a well organised format along with a flat and simple looking UI. Google has also added the option to use Inbox from your browser.
Intel Broadwell
Intel announced a brand new microarchitecture codenamed Broadwell which is a 14nm die shrink of its Haswell microarchitecture. The new chip is aimed at low-power, moderate-performance devices such as 2-in-1 tablets and higher-performance Broadwell chips are expected to arrive early 2015.
Apple iPhone 6/6 Plus
Probably THE most awaited announcement for 2014 was the brand new iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus which completely shook the smartphone world as Apple went for a 4.7-inch and a 5.5-inch device. The new devices also came with a brand new curved design ditching the old sharp edged finish.
Xiaomi Mi3
Chinese giant Xiaomi made a huge impact on the Indian smartphone market by announcing the Mi3 at a very affordable price with specifications that beat the Nexus 5.
Moto 360
Wearable devices made an official entry this year and the hottest device was the Moto 360 with its round dial and AMOLED display. Motorola reached new heights with the device and it has been selling like hot cakes.
Nexus 6 and 9
Along with the new Lollipop update, Google also announced two new Nexus devices. The Nexus 6 by Motorola is the new flagship smartphone and the Nexus 9 is the brand new tablet from HTC.
Nvidia Maxwell
Nvidia's next-gen GPU architecture was also announced this year creating a buzz among gamers. The new Maxwell architecture comes with two new models, the GTX980 and GTX970 which offer twice the performance of last gen GPUs.
Windows 10
Microsoft skipped Windows 9 and surprised everyone with Windows 10. The new update to the operating system is said to improve on the issues seen in Windows 8 and 8.1 and the new OS will be officially released will next year.