Rounding the corner into 2025, I feel energized and enthusiastic about what’s to come. Tech has been in a lull for a long time. There have been incremental improvements. However, recent years have been calm compared to the late 1990s and early 2000s, when processing power continuously skyrocketed, MP3 players and Napster took the world by storm, the iPhone debuted, and social media burst onto the scene. It was starting to feel like we had hit a long plateau with no end. That changed in 2024, and 2025 will be even better.
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2024 was a pivotal year for technology. Artificial intelligence broke into the mainstream, found its way into many devices and apps, and offered users a ton of value. The year also proved that budget-friendly smartphones can provide great user experiences without breaking the bank. Meanwhile, foldable phones showed that form-factor innovation is far from dead. Health tech stepped up with promising advancements in apps, wearables, and personal data integration. Lastly, Android 15, the Pixel 9 Pro, and other excellent Android devices made sure Apple wasn’t the only conversation in tech. However, not everything was perfect. AR/VR and the Metaverse struggled to find their footing, and then there was the Sonos debacle.
Let’s dive into five ways tech became cool again in 2024.
5 AI hit the mainstream and kept moving fast
Chat, search, devices, and apps all got smarter
2024 was the year artificial intelligence hit the mainstream. It became a tangible presence in our daily lives. AI chatbots, such as Google Gemini, evolved into agentic assistants, capable of carrying out complex, multistep tasks. Google began incorporating AI into its search results, developed Gemini and NotebookLM, and advanced on-device AI with Nano. Smartphones like the Google Pixel 9, Samsung Galaxy S24, and other devices harnessed AI to optimize performance, enhance photos, and more. It felt like AI touched nearly everything in tech this year.
2024 brought a rapid pace of AI development. New Gemini models emerged weekly, often delivering significant new features with each iteration. AI proved its potential to automate tasks and unlocked new approaches to creativity and coding. Its ubiquity and rapid advancement fueled AI’s buzz and helped make tech cool again.
4 Budget smartphones found their sweet spot
Owning a budget smartphone was no longer a burden
For years, budget smartphones were synonymous with major trade-offs. In the past, many of these entry-level devices struggled to run the Android operating system smoothly. They were simply sub-par. But that’s changed with remarkably capable budget phones, such as the Samsung A15, A25, and Motorola Moto G series, available on the cheap.
Budget phone manufacturers found their sweet spot, delivering impressive features and performance without the hefty price tag. Processors became more efficient, displays got sharper, and many budget phones offered bells and whistles such as rapid charging. Even the cameras on entry-level smartphones got better, though they still don’t rival the best smartphones. Many of today’s budget-friendly devices challenge the notion that you must drop more than $1,000 to get a good daily driver. That’s great news for thrifty shoppers and those in emerging markets with less buying power. It’s the kind of democratization that is making tech cool again.
3 Foldable phones showcased new form factors
Experimentation did not die as some have feared
If you’ve been lamenting that every smartphone has the same form factor, you needn’t look any further than foldables to find the antidote to boring. The category has started to turn the tide on burdensome problems such as fragile hinges and sub-optimized app experiences. While there were still some snags, such as the notorious green line issue, Motorola and others released some excellent foldable smartphones at various price points.
The foldables category saw the most experimentation in smartphone hardware. Tri-fold devices that unfurl to become tablet-like were unveiled, horizontal, book-style foldables became more common, and bendable concepts were bandied about. The category caught my attention this year, and I might grab one in the near future. Breaking the form factor mold helped foldables earn their spot among the coolest tech of 2024.
2 Health tech illuminated the future of care
New apps, devices, and data integrations showed what’s possible
Integrating patient records into Google Health Connect was a significant health tech development in 2024. Having your entire medical history (from vaccinations and health conditions to lab results and doctor’s notes) readily available alongside your daily activity and sleep data could be valuable for preventive care, disease management, and diagnostics. Storing your complete history in one place and using AI to provide analysis and proactive recommendations is a game-changing app.
You’ll be able to integrate data from your smartwatch, ring, and other wearables into this complete dataset. This level of integration could bring about a new era of personalized healthcare. For example, someone with a family history of heart disease could track their activity levels, sleep patterns, and nutrition and correlate them with cholesterol readings from their medical records, within a single app.
On a societal level, this tech-driven revolution could have a massive impact by making more proactive and insightful care available to everyone. In 2024, health tech didn’t only make tech cool again. It showed potential for hugely positive social impact as we roll into the coming years.
1 Apple wasn’t the whole story in tech
A new Android OS, excellent smartphones, and AI leadership put Google front and center
While Apple continued to loom large in the premium smartphone market with the iPhone 16, 2024 was a reminder that the company has serious competition. While it was an incremental improvement, Android 15 further cemented Android as a viable alternative to iOS. The Pixel 9 Pro solidified its position as a top-tier flagship smartphone, boasting impressive camera capabilities and seamless integration with Google’s ecosystem. For those who rely on Workspace and Google’s AI apps, Apple’s walled garden looks more like a children’s playground.
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Google also asserted its leadership in AI with advancements in Gemini, the debut of NotebookLM, and its integration of AI across much of the Google ecosystem. While the iPhone 16 delivered incremental improvements, it didn’t have much of a wow factor. Apple played it safe with AI and was almost a year late to the party. Apple’s relatively low velocity allowed Google and other Android manufacturers to steal some of the spotlight. The refinement of Android OS, better devices, and the rise of AI-powered experiences created a more dynamic landscape. Competition is good for consumers. By shifting the conversation away from Apple, Google did its part to help make tech cool again in 2024.
It wasn’t all perfect: laggards and losers
Despite all the successes tech notched in 2024, there were a few bumps in the road. The AR/VR space continued to struggle. While well-received for its capabilities, Apple’s pricey Vision Pro headset scaled back production due to soft demand. Meanwhile, Meta stepped in, hoping to fill the void with a less-expensive alternative. In informal conversations with a Whatsapp group of about 100 people, I found that a handful of members who own AR/VR devices are enthusiastic about them. However, the Metaverse, in particular, feels like a Meta pet project rather than a solution to a real problem. Where this category goes in 2025 is anybody’s guess. My money is on continued sluggishness with a few bright spots.
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Then there was the Sonos debacle. The perennial innovator of distributed home audio solutions took a tumble with the disastrous rollout of its mobile app, released in May. Bugs, missing features, and performance issues alienated diehard fans and set internet chatter ablaze. Simply adjusting EQ settings and queuing songs became impossible with this huge gaffe. It wasn’t cheap either, with reports pegging the cost to rehabilitate the app between $20 and $30 million dollars.
As the company was already financially strapped, it shifted priorities and delayed product launches to focus on putting out fires. As a longtime Sonos fan, I hated to see this happen, but it earned Sonos a spot among the greatest tech disasters of 2024.
The second golden age of tech is upon us
2024 was a year of rebirth for the tech industry, a reminder that experimentation and innovation are still on the roadmap. With awesome new hardware, software, and AI solutions debuting in 2024, the potential for technology to have a positive impact on our lives was underscored. While there were missteps and challenges along the way, tech’s trajectory and velocity were better than they’ve been in years.
As we step into 2025, the momentum is palpable. The seeds planted in 2024 (the advancements in AI, the exploration of new form factors, and the focus on personalized health) will grow into more remarkable innovations in 2025 and beyond. I will plant the flag now: This is the second golden age of tech, and it’s just getting started.
