2017 was a year that witnessed mobile phone companies give it their all in their constant bids to upend competition. The results? Well, they’re for everyone to see. New trends were set (bezel-less displays and taller aspect ratios, face unlock and ID, the dual camera craze, etc) and performance and RAM sizes got bigger and better. Well, then it shouldn’t come as any shock that as many as four phones have made it to our pick of personal gadgets for the year. Rounding off the list are a laptop, a wearable, and for the audiophiles, a pair of good-old headphones (good-old only in looks though, the rest is as contemporary as it can get). Read on...

Apple iPhone X

Certainly, no confusion over the pronunciation anymore and definitely no doubts about Apple fans loving it. The phone was an instant success, with people queueing up despite it costing around a lakh of rupees. In fact, the buzz around the other new phones launched by Apple — the 8 and 8 Plus — took a hit because most loyalists waited to get their hands on the X. And this was understandable, given the departure from the long line of similar-looking iPhones that came out earlier.

But let’s talk about the phone. The face unlock was a trendsetter, with other phones coming up with their own versions of it later on. And users seemed quite happy with the way it worked, despite it being slower than the touch ID thanks to a swipe-up that has to precede the face ID unlocking. Apple also changed the way its users interact with their phones, by introducing gestures to go back and doing away with the home button.

The all glass and metal build, with a screen-only front apart from the ‘notch’ on the top that has divided opinion was another talking point, and together with other flagships that went bezel-less, set a new standard for smartphone design, this year. Other things that users could not stop raving about was the camera set, with portrait modes on both the primary and front cameras and studio lighting effects. The animojis that turned faces into talking emojis were another feature that people gushed over. And the best part? There is already speculation over what the next iPhone will be like.

Samsung Note 8

Apple and Samsung’s rivalry is already a part of smartphone folklore and 2017 was no different. This year, the Korean company went no-holds-barred, with two flagships — the S8 phones and the Note 8. And the way the Note 8 has managed to put the debacle of the Note 7 behind it is testimony to it being a great phone.

The big, beautiful 6.3-inch screen with minimal bezels and Samsung’s Infinity Display, and the proprietary S Pen, unique to the Note and with features like translation and writing on pictures were big pulls for customers. Of course, the Note series has always had a very dedicated fan base a la iPhone, too. The dual camera, which is one of the best smartphone cameras around right now and Samsung’s Bixby assistant at hand were other talking points.

Also, compared to the prices that other flagships command, the Note 8 at its price offers a host of features, all of which can be used by someone who wants to get into them and use them to the hilt. It’s something of a doer’s phone and Samsung seems to have hit success with it.

OnePlus 5

The third phone on our list had to be the OnePlus 5. Not the 5T, because it is a mid-cycle upgrade and it was really the OnePlus 5 that first brought super-premium specs and features to a phone that is substantially cheaper than the flagships.

The phone got a dual camera set that held its own against the flagships and OnePlus’ Oxygen OS, with its almost-stock Android feel. The Snapdragon 835 chipset, seen on flagships like the Samsung S8 and Note 8, and Google’s Pixel phones coupled with a whopping 6 GB/8 GB of RAM ensured that the phone performed without any glitches and was super fast.

Given these features, and at its price, the phone offered tremendous value for money and it was no wonder that it became a top-selling device in the country. With the 5T, the company has shown that it is constantly working to narrow the gap between its phones and the top flagships and is committed to offering premium features at lower prices.

Xiaomi Redmi Note 4

Undoubtedly, it was the Redmi Note 4 that played a large part in catapulting Xiaomi to market leader in India, right up there with Samsung. The phone built on the success of the Redmi Note 3 and users could not stop raving about its features and its value for money.

The 4,100 mAh battery that can last even up to two days, three RAM variants that catered to buyers with different budgets, and a capable camera were some of the draws that this phone provided. Along with the Note 4 came other budget Xiaomi devices such as the Redmi 4, 5A, etc, and to be honest they are all very similar. But it’s clearly a similarity that users seem to love, because they all sold like hot cakes.

HP Spectre x360

Long gone are the days when laptops were more about what was in than out. There’s an array of beautiful devices to choose from and this year, HP’s offering was right up there at the top in terms of looks. The charcoal grey Spectre x360 with copper highlights, with its 360-degree folding thanks to a flexible hinge, is as premium as they come.

The 16 GB RAM with Intel’s i7 processor ensures that this is quite a workhorse for those who need it too. The 4K screen, the dual utility when it doubles up as a tablet with a pen included and Bang & Olufsen speakers justify its pricing.

It also has a neat button with which the screen goes into privacy mode, making it difficult for those around you to view its contents.

Overall, this is quite a product from HP and like we said in our review last month, it gives professionals the “I’ve arrived” look.

Apple Watch 3

Despite the fact that the LTE-powered Apple Watch has not made it to India yet, which means you can’t make calls on it independent of your phone, the new generation makes it to our list for the focus on health.

While Apple is clear about it not being a diagnostic device, the latest generation of the Apple Watch has broadened its horizon so it can support many fitness activities, has a very accurate heart rate monitor, and has an altimeter so it can keep track of the steps you’ve climbed.

There were also rumours abound about the Apple Watch being able to monitor your blood sugar levels without needing to draw blood. Now, those haven’t exactly turned out true, but what Apple is doing in the diabetes-monitoring space is indeed interesting. The company’s tie-up with One Drop, a diabetes-monitoring app and glucometer, by which the sugar readings are available for view on the Apple Watch almost immediately after a tiny prick, is an example. While this isn’t available in India yet, it could well be here soon.

Sony WH-1000XM2 Headphones

Understated-yet-classy looks, touch controls, phenomenal battery life are just some of the features you get on these headphones from Sony. Noise cancellation is the USP and it seems made for those long haul flights where you want to drown out the engines and melt away into your own musical zone. With battery life stretching beyond 24 hours on a single charge, you should get through that flight with ease.

The headphones also have what is called Adaptive Control, by which they can sense your activity and adjust the noise cancellation accordingly. Not just this, the sound is also optimised based on altitude and pressure. Touches on the surface of the right earcup can take care of volume adjustment, changing tracks, etc.

The sound on them is lively and with the Headphones Connect app available for Android and iOS, you can tweak settings even further. Go fly!

The year gone by saw hardware design hit an almost-saturation point. Going forward, it’s difficult to predict new design innovations. Of course, we might just see a foldable phone, but that’s going to be in an astronomical price range, if it ever arrives. But everyone’s talking about how the innovations will now be software-driven, not just on mobiles, but on other devices too. Bring on the next year already.

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