Tech trends in the consumer market
Mobile
The biggest headline is -- you guessed it -- the iPhone X. Since its unveiling in mid-September, the iPhone X has been the centre of many headlines, both for better and worse. While its bold price tag of almost 50,000 baht has caused quite a stir among users, the phone launched with a bevy of undeniably impressive features, including such gems as its much-touted FaceID feature and camera-related augmented-reality (AR) functions among other, more common innovations such as wireless charging and water-resistance. While sceptics were wary of these new facial-recognition features -- in no small part because FaceID failed to work at Apple's stage demo -- reviewers across the internet reported pleasing results, with the TrueDepth camera able to recognise their faces even when concealed with sunglasses or a scarf.
While the other AR functions of the smartphone remain more novel than actually useful to consumers, the iPhone X is still a bold -- though small -- step forward in terms of smartphone functionality and design, especially in a market saturated with products that pretty much look like the same rectangular slabs. While not exactly a big departure from that, its bezel-to-bezel touch-screen and face-recognition functions could be a harbinger for exciting developments in 2018, when competitors try to match its impressive camera functions, AR included.
Aside from the hullabaloo surrounding the iPhone X, however, it's been a relatively uneventful year as far as smartphones go. Samsung made a good show with its new Galaxy S8 flagship, deftly avoiding the mistakes of the past (mainly the explosions) and reclaiming its dignity as one of the greats. Meanwhile, Google's humble Pixel 2 is making waves in some circles thanks to its amazing 12MP camera, which some reviewers consider best-in-class, even over Samsung's usually impressive offerings. The phone also improved significantly over the original Pixel, which had issues with battery life making it impractical despite an impressive camera. All in all, it was a decent -- if uneventful -- year for smartphone brands across the board.
Gaming
It's certainly been an exciting year for gaming, with great developments for gamers of all kinds. Console gamers were blessed with the release of multiple platforms, namely the Nintendo Switch and the upgraded Xbox One X and S, while PC and e-sports gamers celebrated recognition of the international community.
Nintendo has been floundering for a while, ever since the lukewarm release of the Wii U in 2012. With the release of the Nintendo Switch in March, the venerable video game giant is back in players' good graces again, with its unique combination of both home console and portable gaming. While not as powerful as its competitors' machines, the Switch was still able to run many modern games respectably, with notable titles including 2011's Skyrim (albeit a "remastered" version) or last year's Doom. This isn't even counting Nintendo's own repertoire of titles, such as the phenomenally acclaimed The Legend Of Zelda: Breath Of The Wild or Mario Odyssey, already regarded as one of the best video games of all time.
Xbox owners also enjoyed a hefty upgrade, with the Xbox One X. More powerful in every way than last year's PS4 Pro, the Xbox One X promises to run every game in its library at a native 4K/60fps, something the PS4 Pro is still unable to do, offering only 30fps for 4K gaming for a large majority of cases, or even displaying sub-4K graphics with upscale technology. The Xbox One S, meanwhile, is closer to the PS4 Pro, though it still comes with the same 4K Blu-ray player as the One X, something that is still missing from the PS4 Pro. The PS4 remains the best-selling console as of November, though, and with news of an improved PSVR on its way, might still be the more tantalising console for many gamers.
For PC and e-sports gamers, news broke earlier this year that e-sports would become an event at the 2018 Asian Games in Indonesia, following the medium's immense popularity in Southeast Asia. With new games like the mobile Realm Of Valor (ROV) making a mark alongside older PC games like Overwatch and Dota, e-sports has never been closer to the mainstream than it is now. In Thailand, despite initially declining to send e-sports athletes to compete in the 2018 Asian Games, the Sports Authority of Thailand in late July made an official statement recognising them as a sport.
PCs and Laptops
With the new-found focus on e-sports among mainstream consumers, many computer brands are now focusing on their respective gaming PC product lines. Many gaming computers -- and even laptops -- are now coming out of the box with 4K and VR-ready capabilities, something that wouldn't have been possible even a year before.
The more interesting development has to be in the laptops. In the past, gaming laptops tended to suffer from issues of heat management and battery life, while also being extremely heavy to carry around. This year, with the arrival of the likes of the Asus ROG Zephyrus or the Razer Blade, gamers can truly enjoy with ease desktop-level gaming anywhere they go. Granted, many of the issues regarding heat management and battery life may remain, but that's a small price to pay for the sheer power and portability of such machines.
PC brands are also beginning to better understand the gamer segment of consumers, in that they are just normal people who still need to use their gaming computers for their day jobs. As such, they've done away with much of the obnoxious, garish design staples common to gaming computers, giving us something closer to what you'd expect a regular ultrabook laptop to look like for the thinner models. Hopefully, with better battery technology, we'll be carrying ultra-thin, 4K-capable laptops around with us everywhere this time next year.
Wearables
Again, Apple takes the lead when it comes to wearables, successfully introducing one that sounds like it could be something on its own instead of just an iPhone add-on. With the introduction of LTE connectivity, the Apple Watch 3 can now be used independently from your iPhone, provided you're willing to pay the extra data fees. While it's not the first smartwatch to support Wi-Fi connections, the Apple Watch 3 is certainly much better-recognised than its competitors. If it does well, this may be the beginning of a new smartwatch race among tech titans.
However, taken as a whole, the wearables market has seen many concessions this year, with companies like Jawbone being closed entirely. Fitbit's new Ionic smartwatch was released to many reports of a broken OS. The company has since updated the OS to fix reported issues, though that still doesn't bode well for the famous fitness-tracker brand.
Though not without its fair share of controversy, particularly concerning the continued issue of micro-transactions and downloadable content, the video game market has seen some pretty hefty releases this year. Here are some of those worth mentioning:
[1] The Legend Of Zelda: Breath Of The Wild (Nintendo Switch)
Released on March 3 alongside the Nintendo Switch, Breath Of The Wild is widely regarded as one of the best games of its generation, unanimously receiving perfect scores upon its release. It won Game of the Year at the Game Awards 2017, where it also won for best direction and best action-adventure game.
[2] Super Mario Odyssey (Nintendo Switch)
While not as highly praised as Breath Of The Wild, Super Mario Odyssey was one of the best-reviewed games of the year, receiving virtually universal praise. The 3D-platformer was released in October, and sold over 2 million copies within three days of its release. The game was also nominated for Game of the Year at the Game Awards, where it won best family game.
[3] Star Wars: Battlefront II (PC/PS4/XBOX)
Despite some strong controversy upon release, Star Wars: Battlefront II was praised by many critics as one of the most technically beautiful games of the year, offering a distinct Star Wars-like atmosphere and enjoyable multiplayer gameplay. The game even includes a single-player campaign this time around, an oversight that for its predecessor drew much criticism.
[4] Realm Of Valor (Mobile)
Known more commonly as ROV, Realm Of Valour is a mobile-based multiplayer online battle arena game, similar to Dota. Taking SEA players by storm since its release earlier this year, the game can be seen played at every café and street corner, every bar and office cafeteria. Its popularity has even made it a full-fledged e-sport in its own right, one of the few mobile games recognised as such.
[5] PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds (PC, XBOX)
Despite its rather crude exterior, PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds is one of the most popular games being played today, thanks in no small part to the countless hilarious YouTube videos it has spawned. Players join a session alongside dozens of others, before being let loose on an ever-contracting map to eliminate one another until only one person remains. The game even won for best multiplayer at the Game Awards, despite not technically being finished until Dec 20.
