INSCMagazine: Get Social!

If you’re anything like us and have digital devices to run just about every aspect of your life, you’ve probably filled your Christmas list with gadgets and tech toys. But you might want to hold off on that for a second, as you could be replacing them pretty soon.

2018 is bringing some amazing new gadgets that will have you writing your birthday wish-list before the new year. There’s some impressive new offerings from Apple, Samsung and Fitbit coming up, plus the opportunity to get on-board with a different kind of technology, as 2018 is shaping up to be the year of cryptocurrency.

1. Apple HomePod

Smart speakers like the HomePod, which Apple say is set for release in early 2018, are revolutionizing our living rooms. Intelligent appliances will become more normalized and accessible in the coming year, and the Internet of Things (devices with internet connectivity communicating without input from humans) will continue to expand into our homes and daily lives.

This all sounds pretty freaky, but things haven’t gone that far yet – the HomePod’s main function is as a tiny but powerful surround speaker that can be controlled by voice. If you don’t fancy asking it to do your grocery shopping for you, you can just stick to using it for playing your music with amazing sound quality.

2. Cryptocurrency

If you’re still asking, ‘What is Bitcoin?’ after its domination of news, tech and finance websites in the latter months of 2017, then digital currency probably isn’t for you at this point. But, for those on the fence about investing, early 2018 is the perfect time to act. If the ‘Bitcoin bubble’ hasn’t burst by then (and that’s not looking likely), it’s surely more than just a trend.

If you’re skeptical of Bitcoin, then it’s absolutely worth looking into some of the various other cryptocurrencies. Iota is one to keep an eye on – it’s the currency of the Internet of Things, which is only going to expand from here on out. The only hitch is that you can currently only buy Iota with Bitcoin or Ethereum, but there are rumors that it will hit the crypto exchanges soon, where you’ll be able to purchase with traditional currency.

3. Samsung Galaxy Smartphone

It’s not yet been announced, but there are strong indications that Samsung will release 3 Galaxy smartphones in the new year: the S9, S9+, and S9 Mini.

A huge rival to the omnipresent iPhone, Samsung Galaxy phones were placed at or near the top of many smartphone rankings in 2017. If you’re bored of the same old iPhone interfaces, consider hopping over to a Galaxy.

4. Fitbit Ionic Adidas Edition

Your New Year’s Resolution is to get fit, right…? While you’re a bit late joining the fitness revolution, there’s always time! The dawn of smartwatches has made it much more interesting to get into, and the right device could help you begin to love exercise and get kicks out of tracking your progress in minute detail.

Fitbit are bringing out a collaboration with Adidas sometime next year, while the Apple Watch Series 3 is already out and comes with so many cool features, like daily goals and incentives to move more and sit less.

5. Magic Leap One Virtual Reality Headset

Immersive headsets have been around for gamers for a while now, but more and more affordable versions are being developed, as well as models that offer truly advanced interfaces.

The Magic Leap One headset is set to be a game-changer in 2018. Critics are praising the cool design and the compactness of the set as well; appreciating that it’s quite hard to design something that’s lightweight and attractive as well as loaded with ground-breaking tech. Magic Leap have been teasing this headset for two years now, so there are very high hopes for it – but safe to say, tech and gaming experts are very excited for this one.

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