The 14 tech gadgets on our wish lists this year
Becky Peterson, senior reporter: Dyson V8 vacuum, Bose QuietComfort headphones, a wireless charger, and a smartphone sanitizer.
- Dyson V8 vacuum — $330 from Amazon
- Bose QuietComfort headphones — $300 from Amazon
- Wireless iPhone charger — $22 from Amazon
- UV phone sanitizer — "I already own it, but it's my wish that everyone else starts using it." $99 from Amazon
Kif Leswing, senior reporter: "All I want for Christmas is AirPower."
Apple previewed AirPower last year, showing a flat pad the company said could wirelessly charge devices such as an Apple Watch, iPhone, and AirPods case all at once. Apple said the device would arrive in 2018.
But it's been more than a year since we got our first look at AirPower, and Apple hasn't mentioned it since. Bloomberg reported in June that engineers were struggling to stop the mats from overheating.
Ben Gilbert, senior correspondent: The "absurdly yellow" iPhone XR.
"Since I gave in earlier this year and bought the new MacBook Air, there's only one other piece of shiny new tech from Apple that I've got my eye on this holiday: the yellow iPhone XR, in all its stunning gaudiness.
That it can't plug into my new Apple laptop without an adapter is mind-boggling, but I'm a sucker for outrageous-looking tech. A bright yellow iPhone is about as outrageous as it gets."
$750 from Apple
Steven Tweedie, deputy editor: "LG's rollable OLED TV. I'm a big fan of technology being as invisible and unobtrusive as possible."
Earlier this year at the Consumer Electronics Show, LG showed off a rollable OLED TV prototype, which was among the most popular and sensational products at the show. With the press of a button, a large 65-inch TV display would emerge from a narrow rectangular box. With another press of a button, the TV display would lower itself back into its rectangular enclosure.
Now, according to Bloomberg, it will become a TV you can actually buy in 2019. No word yet on how much it will cost, but we're expecting it to be a lot.
Rob Price, news editor: Sony WH-1000XM3 wireless noise-cancelling headphones.
"Having used and been blown away by Sony's WH-1000XM2 wireless noise-cancelling headphones from 2017, I'd love to get my hands on the latest model — the WH-1000XM3, which is supposed to be another significant step up. Real pricey though."
$348 from Amazon
Alexei Oreskovic, global tech editor: A curved monitor.
Most televisions and computer screens purchased today are traditional widescreen displays, featuring a 16:9 aspect ratio. An ultrawide screen, however, extends that even further to 21:9, matching the ratio you'll see in most cinemas. The advantage is that displays like this can perfectly fit the screen's border around what you're watching, rather than having those black bars.
They're also great for productivity, allowing you to see multiple tabs and apps all at once, and the subtle curve makes the corners of the screen easier to read when you're sitting at a desk.
Companies like LG and Samsung make curved, ultra-wide monitors, and they can cost upwards of $1,100.
Dave Smith, senior correspondent: a Mac Pro, the ability for the Apple TV and iPhone to play 4K videos on YouTube, and a Gravity Blanket.
- "The Mac Pro that's finally coming in 2019 — and please say it can actually run games well (Mac computers tend to have bad GPUs historically, which aren't good for gaming)."
- "Less of a product, but more of a service: I want Apple to finally support Google's VP9 codec, which would allow the Apple TV and iPhone to play 4K videos on YouTube. Right now, those videos are capped at 1080p, because Apple refuses to support this technology. It's super annoying."
- "The Gravity Blanket. I hear amazing things, and sleep tech is underrated but super important" — $250 from Amazon
Tony Villas-Boas, senior reporter: Dell XPS 15.
"I want to replace my 2016 MacBook Pro with a Dell XPS 15 with an Intel 8th-gen Core i7 processor, 16 GB of RAM, and a 4K display.
I abandoned Windows when Windows 8 came out, but I think it's time to go back. I'm going through a phase where I want to go back to Windows for my main day-to-day and work computer. My first experiences with computers was on Windows, and it just feels like home to me.
I've never actually owned a Dell and I feel like I should at some point in my life. I highly rated the Huawei MateBook Pro X, but it has a 14-inch display, and I'm really after that extra screen real estate with the 15-inch display on the Dell."
$1,000 from Dell
Avery Hartmans, tech products editor: Either the iPhone XR or the Pixel 3.
"I really need to replace my iPhone 6S, and since October, I've been tormented by an internal struggle: do I buy the Pixel 3 or the iPhone XR?
Both phones have their merits. The Pixel 3 has an incredible camera; small, lightweight design; and futuristic features like wireless charging, USB-C, an OLED display, and a fast chip. But the iPhone XR has a nearly edge-to-edge display, Apple's A12 Bionic chip, and a great camera of its own. Plus, I already use an iPhone and several Apple products, and it's hard to beat that ecosystem.
So, my wish for the holiday season and beyond is to finally figure out which phone I'm going to buy."
iPhone XR in coral or black — $750 from Apple
Pixel 3 in "not pink," of course — $700 right now from Google
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