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iPad, Apple Watch, and AirPods Named to Time Magazine's Best Gadgets of the Decade

TheFluffyDuck said:
iPad - 2010 - Only just scraping in this decade there :p But yes it has been pretty revolutionary. Although sales of tablets are now slowing.
Apple Watch- After a rocky start as a failed luxury fashion accessory. It finally found its place as a sports watch, not that revolutionary.
Airpods - Yeah they are pretty neat. But Not up there with iPhone and iPad. They are an evolution of headphones, not a revolution.


What about VR headsets? Honestly as for as gadgets going that is far more revolutionary than any of Apple offerings this decade (iPad excluded).
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OK I’ll bite. How did Apple Watch ever start as a luxury fashion item? The gold Apple Watch was rarely mentioned on stage or in press releases and certainly wasn’t marketed by Apple.
 
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I returned my Watch 5 (cellular) and the Air Pods because I was stuck between AT&T and Apple store employees for nearly 4 hours getting the watch to work.
In. The. Apple. Store. 4 hours. Apple blamed ATT, ATT blamed Apple. Both lost my business. I returned the Air pods as a further insult to poor customer service on Apple's part.
 
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Rogifan said:
OK I’ll bite. How did Apple Watch ever start as a luxury fashion item? The gold Apple Watch was rarely mentioned on stage or in press releases and certainly wasn’t marketed by Apple.
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That's quite funny. Following the Watch’s official launch, Apple made a bold move: for the first time in 40 years, it collaborated with a fashion house to design a product. The result was the Apple Watch Hermès.
 
DoctorTech said:
I often disagree with Time's "Best of Year / Best of Decade" lists but I would have to agree with those items being on the list. Each of them are best in their respective categories and in the case of iPad and Apple Watch, they have really defined the category.
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Airpods aswell, .. its no accident every brand went and apply the exact same execution-concept afterwards (little box that works as charger, and truly wireless "buds" that you can put in the charger/box opening a simple lid for a quick charge)

Headphones and earphones weren't new, just as smartphones (blackberry); but all of them (Mac, iPod, iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch and Airpods) were executed in a "massificable"-"best in class"-customer-experience-way, that all of them could be taken as clear new inventions.

All of them where ripped-of right afterwards; except those that had a patent/exclusivity deal involved (talking about iPod's small new-tech for HDD)

And also: decade ends december 31th 2020, what the hell

I love Apple because of facts.
 
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Rogifan said:
OK I’ll bite. How did Apple Watch ever start as a luxury fashion item? The gold Apple Watch was rarely mentioned on stage or in press releases and certainly wasn’t marketed by Apple.
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It was never intended to be a luxury item with ongoing/longterm sales. The gold watch, along with the few celebs that purchased them, was very successful in terms of snagging loads of free press and TV coverage putting Apple Watch in the news, getting regular people inside an Apple store and stoking sales of the aluminum and stainless versions. A brilliant move, in my opinion.
 
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Decade ends december 31th 2020, what the hell

All of them (Mac, iPod, iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch and Airpods) were executed in a "massificable"-"best in class"-customer-experience-way, that all of them could be taken as clear new inventions.

All of them where ripped-of right afterwards; except those that had a patent/exclusivity deal involved (talking about iPod's small new-tech for HDD)

I love Apple because of facts.
 
I actually agree with this list 100%.

Are some of those devices the best in category?

No, though most are. What they all are though, are paradigm shifting devices. Sure, for example there are better sounding earbuds out there. But none are as convenient from the time you unwrap them as the AirPods. iPad invented tablets. The Model S, as much as I dislike the company and find the cars boring, is the future of automobiles (self driving is trash however).
 
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There was no year zero. 2011 was the first year of the current decade. 2010 was the last year of the 2000’s. So two things, iPad was released in the last year of the previous decade, and Time is a year early to have there “of the decade” lists.
 
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Certainly makes a lot more sense than putting Greta Thongberg on the front of the mag. Sad thing is that the Hong Kong protesters actually received the most votes for it but of course we can't piss off China right? Oh and global warming!
 
citysnaps said:
For sure on that. Today, I see people wearing them all the time. Losing the cord with a device that just works is huge.

The real bonus for me is using AirPods for phone calls. What a superb experience!

Hat-tip to Mr. Cook and Apple's R&D and engineering groups for bringing them to market.
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The reason you see people wearing earbuds all the time is that they have no choice but to use decent bluetooth devices to go with their jackless iPhones. Their success might be deemed the result of the cynical, but profitable marketing decision by Apple to remove the headphone jack. Until the last few weeks, when my iPad Pro started exhibiting a non-responsive touch screen, I would have agreed that the iPad was Apple's best product of the decade. I have hopes that the latest iOS (iPad OS?) will fix the issue. Right now I can no longer trust it for use during music performances, when page turning via touch is critical.
 
I have used an ipad almost every single day of my life since the day the first one was released. So I guess I agree with that one thing.
 
macguru212 said:
I returned my Watch 5 (cellular) and the Air Pods because I was stuck between AT&T and Apple store employees for nearly 4 hours getting the watch to work.
In. The. Apple. Store. 4 hours. Apple blamed ATT, ATT blamed Apple. Both lost my business. I returned the Air pods as a further insult to poor customer service on Apple's part.
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You really showed them!
 
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For anyone looking for the first real conception of an iPad, look here.
Star Trek Deep Space 9, Season 3
Episode 16
31:00 mark, it's clear, this is where the idea of the iPad first came from.
Make no mistake about it. It's clear and obvious.
 
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The value of the iPad and Apple Watch is obvious. Even though Apple has struggled to find a clear definition and utility for the tablet the software ecosystem is fantastic. And the hardware is quite stellar (especially on the Pro models).

The AirPods seem like an insipid (best of the decade) choice at first... but what Apple did with the AirPods connectivity is truly revolutionary for a wireless (traditionally and still at its core) Bluetooth device.

The W1 and H1 chips used in the AirPods enabled connectivity across every device associated with your Apple ID that was simple and ubiquitous. No bs fooling around with Bluetooth pairing and so on. Just power them on near your device, wait for the prompt and begin using them.

Decades in the mobile/wireless tech industry I can assure you this process makes the difference between wide spread adoption and niche tech nerd enthusiasm.
 
AirPods is my pick - - no Apple device since the iPhone has surprised and delighted me as much!
 
HUGE Apple fanboy here, but there is nothing so special about AirPods that they belong on this list. As someone who has bought and used wireless earbuds for YEARS before Apple got around to them, I can honestly say that Apple did not produce the first nor the best wireless earbuds available.
 
RobertALewis said:
There was no year zero. 2011 was the first year of the current decade. 2010 was the last year of the 2000’s. So two things, iPad was released in the last year of the previous decade, and Time is a year early to have there “of the decade” lists.
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Can't believe I have to reply to this. But, the 2010's end on December 31st, 2019, not 2020. Decades end EVERY year, it just depends when you start counting. The confusion is that the 21st Century did not start until Jan. 1st, 2001. However, the 2000's started Jan. 1st, 2000.
 
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atomic.flip said:
The W1 and H1 chips used in the AirPods enabled connectivity across every device associated with your Apple ID that was simple and ubiquitous.
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That’s implemented on the operating systems and could easily be done with many non-W1/-H1 devices if Apple felt like it. (Not saying they should, for multiple reasons.)
 
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