2020 is over. A year that did not turn out as estimated. Major technology events were canceled, tech manufacturers faced significant production delays, and all major tech announcements were made through online meetings. Although it seemed like the world stood still this year, a lot has happened in the tech world. This is the best tech news of 2020.
Probably the biggest tech news this year is that all people with an office job came home to work. Home offices were set up and it was sometimes – especially with children at home – looking for a new rhythm. Without that daily train ride or traffic jam, without that coffee chat: despite the fact that work was ultimately not very different, life was nevertheless greatly disrupted.
That was quite a switch for IT departments: people no longer log in to the trusted company network, people who normally worked on a desktop suddenly had to use the laptop and so on. It was quite a challenge. Hackers saw this too, who tried more than ever to strike this year through phishing and other attacks. Precisely because people are at home, they are probably on a less secure network. And because they are at home, they sometimes forget the rules that apply at the office.
The growth of Zoom, Google Meet and Microsoft Teams
Probably the biggest tech news of this year is that collaboration tools grew that much. Microsoft Teams was practically in its infancy when the pandemic broke, but has increasingly proven itself. This was partly because Microsoft kept adding new features, such as the ability to see a group of people in a lecture hall setup, as well as more Trello-like options for creating to-do lists. Google Hangouts became Google Meet and is certainly the perfect way for all those millions of Gmail users to see each other virtually.
Although Zoom was not completely safe
Zoom is the odd one out. It wasn’t started by any of the greats (although its employees are from there), but at one time it was one of the most widely used tools for conducting online video conferencing. It costs nothing, you didn’t even have to log in and everyone with the link was welcome in the virtual meeting. The fact that really everyone could easily get in, ultimately caused a snowball of problems at Zoom. It was not secure, there was zoom bombing (a kind of hacking) and the CEO had to go through the dust to make it clear that the company would do something about the many security problems. That eventually happened: it now even has two-step verification.
The US continues to ban Huawei
Although the presidential baton now goes to Joe Biden, nothing has been said about the ban on trade between American companies and Huawei. The ban started much earlier than 2020, but in 2020 the news was often about it. Huawei filed lawsuits, the brand’s survival was hanging by a thread and although the brand is doing everything it can to make their phones as workable as possible for Westerners who are quite attached to Google, it is still difficult to regain trust . The hope of Huawei is probably partly in the hands of Biden, but of course he has other things to consider initially.
Google buys Fitbit
Chances are you currently have a wearable on your wrist. If so, chances are it’s a Fitbit too. Fitbit is one of the largest, most popular manufacturers of wristbands – and watches that can count your steps, measure your exercise activities and more. The big news for Fitbit this year is that it will be taken over by Google, if all authorities agree. After all, it will immediately make the mighty Google much more powerful. All that data about what people do, do we want Google to have insight into that too? Google does want to buy Fitbit for a considerable amount: 2.1 billion dollars is paid for it.
Facebook buys Giphy
There was more takeover news this year: Facebook has bought Giphy for $ 400 million. Although Facebook has also been said to be overpowering the company, the purchase of the GIFs platform is slightly less criticized. After all, it is a platform on which people mainly come without having to share any data. Facebook can use a far-reaching implementation of a gif platform, so users are probably happy with it. It is only hoped that Facebook doesn’t want to keep Giphy completely to itself.
Fast streaming service Quibi starts and stops within six months
People usually watch Netflix a lot on their smartphone. Just on the train an episode of Stranger Things, or in bed that last part of Drive to Survive. The new streaming service Quibi noticed that while streaming services do innovate in the fact that you can always watch and pause whenever you want, the episodes are of ‘old-fashioned’ television length. Quibi thought: people want much shorter formats. The streaming service didn’t even make it to Christmas after its launch before the summer: Whether it’s the pandemic or not, Quibi’s concept didn’t seem to work well.
The rollout of 5G meets with resistance
2020 was also the year of much talk of conspiracy theories. It was of course bursting with theories surrounding the corona virus, but 5G is also a subject about which many theories are circulating. Whether these are all conspiracies is debatable: after all, the authorities cannot say with certainty that 5G is completely safe in the long term. The arrival of 5G this year has set cell towers on fire. There is a lot of unrest around the faster network, but nevertheless the first frequencies went live this summer.
Arguing with Apple over its App Store policy
It all started with Epic introducing its own payment system in Fortnite, causing Apple to lose 30 percent of that revenue. His solution? Refuse the popular game from the App Store. It eventually turned into a big fight with more and more tech companies getting involved. It also went further than just those payments. Apple also doesn’t tolerate other game streaming services. Nowadays, but makers have to create a page in the Apple Store for each game. Microsoft and Facebook are not happy about it. Several companies have joined forces and are protesting against Apple’s strict policies. So far, however, the company is keeping its footing.
The small stock of Sony’s PlayStation 5
This year was extra special for gamers: the new consoles from Microsoft and Sony both appeared in November. While Microsoft’s Xbox Series X and S were readily available, Sony struggled to get enough PlayStation 5s in the virtual stores. It caused a lot of frustration for gamers, who always just missed out when web shops put their PlayStation 5 stock online out of nowhere. It is still unknown when PlayStation 5s will be in the shops again in 2021. That a lot of people are eagerly looking forward to it, that is clear from the many memes and other internet jokes about this problem.
HEMA, Kruidvat, Action and Lidl come with a smarthome
2020 was the year when people increasingly turned to smart home products. Logical, because when you are at home you see more and more things in the house that could use an upgrade. Where Philips first held sway with its Hue lamps, and then IKEA with Tradfri also became increasingly popular, suddenly many more providers were added in the second half of 2020. Providers from corners of which you would not expect them: HEMA, Kruidvat, Action and Lidl have all introduced their own smart home range. Some actually come from the same factory in China (Action and HEMA), but others offer their own platform (Lidl).
It is expected that in 2021 more attention will be paid to virtual reality and fold-out telephones; two trends that will undoubtedly get extra wings by having to be at home. After all, a VR experience can ensure that you can completely close yourself off and travel to the most beautiful destinations from your own sofa. Now that tablets are more popular again, because people are more at home, the chances that the flip phone will become a real fad now is more likely than a year ago. Of course, this is all coffee grounds, we are curious what 2021 will bring us all.
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