Team 91mobiles gets to play with and try out the coolest gadgets and the hottest tech available out there, and while we’re really not supposed to have any favourites, there are some that leave a lasting impression. Every now and then (but not as often as we’d really like), we come across devices or technology that we find exciting, useful, or extremely interesting. Here’s what the team picked out as their favourites from 2022.
Deepak Dhingra: Nothing Phone (1)
I’m not one to buy into hype easily, but the Nothing Phone (1) manages to go above and beyond. When all the hype surrounding it is pushed aside, out comes a phone that has evolved into a compelling option, especially after the flurry of updates that ironed out the bugs reported by early users. Its headlining feature – the glyph interface – might not be to everyone’s taste, and I actually keep it turned off. But there’s no denying the fact that the Carl Pei-led, weirdly-named upstart has come up with an all-rounder that can hold its own in the face of strong competition from powerful rivals. Add to that the fact that it just looks refreshingly different and stands out from the crowd of similarly designed, similarly specced phones out there makes it a winner in my books. Calling it the gadget of the year might be a stretch, but the Nothing Phone (1) has piqued my interest to a level where I can’t wait to see what the brand has in the pipeline.
Worthy mentions
- Apple Watch Ultra
- ChatGPT
Saloni Tandon: iPhone 14 – Emergency SOS via satellite![]()
Much has been said about the iPhone 14 series not getting an aesthetic overhaul compared to its predecessor, but let’s move on from that. First, the mundane stuff – the cameras are brilliant (I cannot emphasise that enough), and they get even better with ProRAW. 4K on Cinematic mode, but that can get its own article. Bye bye notorious notch and welcome Dynamic Island – exciting considering it’s new, but I wouldn’t call it the phone’s USP. The performance remains true to the character of an iPhone. Nuff said. But let’s talk revolution here – this year, we heard of iPhones saving lives! Four months into their debut, and we’ve already had numerous instances of iPhone 14’s Emergency SOS via Satellite feature helping stranded users in canyons, victims of crashes on remote highways getting automatic help. It’s true satellite connectivity for plebeians is not a thing in India yet, but it may not be too far in the future considering the government has already hinted its keenness. Apple’s iPhone 14 paved the way, and I’m sure many OEMs would follow suit, and that’s a tech use case many wouldn’t have thought of before!
Worthy mentions
- ChatGPT
- Ultrahuman M1, Ring
Sai Krishna: Apple Watch Ultra
This has to be that one tech product that impressed me this year. While this doesn’t mean to say there weren’t any other exciting announcements, the tech that powers the Apple Watch Ultra makes it one of a kind in the wearable segment. For starters, the smartwatch promises to offer 36 hours of battery life and is built like a tank, with a 49mm titanium case and a flat sapphire front crystal. There is an 86-decibel siren with an emergency feature that will allow others to find you if you’re stuck or lost.
The Apple Watch Ultra is water-resistant thanks to the WR100 rating and is certified to EN 13319, which is an international diving standard. There is an orange Action button that lets users access exercises, compass waypoints, and more. All these are just a few among the tons of other features that make the Apple Watch Ultra a perfect companion for athletes.
Worthy mentions
- Sony WH-1000XM5
- Nothing Phone (1)
- Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 4
Sanket Vijayasarathy: Apple iPad Air M1
The 2022 iPad Air M1 is the best and only tech purchase I have made this year. I managed to get the tablet before the price hike, which made it a sweeter deal for me. The iPad Air is my go-to device for day-to-day activities like checking emails, streaming shows on the go, watching cooking videos on YouTube (yes, I’m learning how to cook), listening to podcasts, writing, and more. The Air’s lightweight design and attractive 11-inch display make it perfect to carry around practically anywhere I go, and its terrific battery life is the cherry on top. The M1 chip makes the tablet blazing fast and smooth, but it is overkill right now. It does, however, ensure the tablet remains powerful and ready for more challenging apps over the next few years. Overall, I feel the M1 iPad Air is the perfect middle ground between the entry-level iPad and the M2 iPad Pro. You get the best of both worlds at a somewhat reasonable price.
Worthy mentions
- Nothing Phone (1)
- Apple Watch Ultra
- AirPods Pro 2
Shrey Pacheco: Valve Steam Deck
When it comes to portable gaming, there’s only one name that rules the roost – Nintendo. The company has seen many pretenders try and lay claim to this throne. Sega Game Gear, Nokia N-Gage, Sony PlayStation Portable, and many more tried to usurp its throne only to be banished. Even today, the Nintendo Switch is easily the best portable console you can have. Now, Valve has taken it upon itself to dethrone Nintendo, and its weapon of choice is the Steam Deck. A portable console with enough performance to shame some laptops. But that’s (surprisingly) not going to be enough. After all, the portable consoles I mentioned earlier were more powerful than the respective Nintendo product they were up against. No, what really sets it apart is the fact that it will work with the player’s existing library of Steam titles that have been verified to run on the Steam Deck, and the list is growing. This means that PC gamers don’t have to worry about building a whole new library of games for their new console or even worry about a small launch library as thousands of games have already been verified. That gives PC players a very good incentive to pick up one for themselves. As Palpatine told young Anakin Skywalker, “We will watch your career with great interest!”Now if only they would launch it in India…
Worthy mentions
- New GPUs from Nvidia and AMD
- The Playdate console
Vivek: Google Pixel 7 Pro
Google phones are becoming increasingly popular, and Pixel devices have a strong track record of staying sharp for Android. Its recently launched Google Pixel 7 Pro is a perfect example of it. It is one of the most talked about flagship smartphones of the year. The phone is sleek, thin, and well-built and with a premium build and high-end specifications, it retains everything that made its predecessor so enticing while removing flaws to provide a powerful high-performance camera. The AI in the Pixel camera enables it to capture sharp pictures in low light, eliminate undesired objects from an image, and a lot more. The smartphone runs on a Tensor G2 chip, which is said to provide some modest improvements over its predecessors and houses a 5,000mAh battery. With a sharper display, better camera performance, a powerful chipset, and a massive battery, the Google Pixel 7 Pro looks like an attractive device that can quickly win over other brand admirers. It also costs less than the iPhone 14 Pro Max and the Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra.
Ronil: LG stretchable display
Although foldable smartphones have been out in the wild for a while now, they are still getting headlines in the tech world, and for sure, they still sound exciting. But the all-new LG’s stretchable screen — which the company calls “the World’s First High-Resolution Stretchable Display” — makes foldable displays look boring. LG made this free-form stretchable display with a highly resilient film-type substrate — the same material used to make contact lenses — that lets it stretch from 12 inches across to 14 inches as and when needed. While LG’s rollable smartphone didn’t see the light of the day because the company has sunset its smartphone division, it now hopes to be a trailblazer in the field of stretchable display space. However, LG’s not the only one with an exhilarating display concept; we also witnessed Motorola unveil a rollable smartphone concept this year that would make you want to ditch the traditional candy bar-style smartphone.Ashish Kumar: 5G
5G didn’t have much impact in India in 2022, but its possible use cases have me excited. While the next-gen cellular technology is expected to transform many sectors, as a techie, I’m more interested to see the role 5G will play in online games, smartphones, wearables, personal computers, online streaming, and the Internet of Things (IoT) devices. From what we have been told so far, the technology will bring real-time connectivity with low latency for devices to communicate more seamlessly than ever before. Additionally, it will create a ‘level playing field’ with a lag-free experience in e-sports for all users. 5G is also believed to reduce slowdowns during spike usage and offer multiple video streams, showing multiple camera angles at the same time, of the live content in ultra-high definition. Not sure about you, but I for one can’t wait to explore the real 5G use cases on consumer electronics.
Worthy mentions
- Emergency SOS via Satellite
- Jio Cinema app
Kshiteej Naik: Midjourney (AI art)
Artificial Intelligence-based tech has witnessed increasing usage, thanks to the rise of AI-powered art. AI art generators like Midjourney, Dall-E 2, and many others can generate spectacular artworks using text prompts. Since I have personally tried out Midjourney, I can say I was completely blown away. Once you get access to the beta, you can join Midjourney’s Discord channel and write prompts for its AI to generate. The AI delivers quick and fantastic results with multiple options, which you can enhance further with various upgrades and customisations as well as commands. The level of customisation and detail that you can achieve in your digital art with Midjourney is fantastic. You can specify which type of art styles you want or make it look like it’s painted by a famous artist. Midjourney’s community showcase and Discord server show off what people can do on the platform. At this pace, we can expect AI art becoming even better in the coming years. That being said, there is a lot of confusion regarding the ownership, copyright, and distribution rights of AI art. At least some of these concerns will most likely be addressed in the future.Worthy mentions
- Apple MacBook Pro 2022 with M2 chip
- Samsung Galaxy Z Fold4
- Meta Quest Pro
Keshav Khera: Fast-charging tech
The year started with the launch of the Xiaomi 11i Hypercharge which caused a stir in the smartphone industry with its 120w hypercharge technology. It was claimed that the phone charges from 0 to 100 in just 15 minutes. Although, in our tests, the charging time was a little different from the claims, we cannot dispute the fact that it was the fastest-charging smartphone at that time. That’s when all of the smartphone manufacturers began to debut their fast-charging devices in India. It was literally raining fast-charging smartphones. Realme GT Neo 3 and OnePlus 10R were launched with 150w charging speed, and iQOO introduced 120w charging technology with the launch of iQOO 9T. We are nearing the end of the year 2022, and technology is fast expanding. Smartphone manufacturers are currently competing to develop 200W charging devices. Infinix just introduced its flagship-level smartphone, the Zero Ultra, which features 200W charging tech, while Xiaomi’s Redmi Note 12 Pro+ Explorer Edition can charge at 210W speeds.
Kshitij Pujari: Ethereum 2.0: The Merge
It is hard to really comprehend how incredible it was to achieve the fabled Ethereum merge which has been in the works for more than 8 years. While the crypto market, in general, has seen a cataclysmic decline, the Merge is being looked at as somewhat of a saviour for so many of the projects that operate on the Ethereum blockchain. Very basically, through a set of complicated algorithms and software upgrades, in September of this year, the validation of Ethereum tokens transitioned from Proof-of-work (PoW) to Proof-of-stake (PoS). The concept is slightly hard to explain but in a broad sense, validators using PoS are not required to mine the blocks like traditional PoW blockchains (Bitcoin). What this means is that the energy cost of maintaining the ether blockchain has gone down by 99.9 percent. No expensive rigs are required and the validation of Ethereum has become more transparent. This is a major turning point for the future of a decentralised crypto market across the globe.
Worthy mentions
- ChatGPT
- Pixel 7
