The year 2016 has some pretty big boots to fill after such a strong 2015.
We saw so many gadgets, apps, and services raising the bar that anything less simply will not do.
Here's our list of the most innovative tech that launched this year:
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The HTC Vive is the most impressive VR headset yet.
The HTC Vive virtual reality headset is the new standard for virtual reality and is the most amazing gadget we've tried in recent memory.
Normal virtual reality headsets can take you to weird and wonderful virtual places, but the Vive lets you physically move in them. When you take a step forward in real life, you also take a step forward in the virtual one.
It's even spurred virtual reality theme parks, which will redefine entertainment. And the possibilities for science, medicine, design, architecture, and pretty much everything else are virtually limitless.
Google Photos is the best app for storing your photos.
Google Photos lets you upload unlimited pictures up into Google's cloud for free.
It solves the problem of filling up your phone's storage with photos and lets you see photos you take from any device on any device.
That may sound pretty standard, but the real magic in Google Photos is search. The service can analyze your photos and let you easily search for them by image type, date, or location. For example, you can search "dog" and get every photo of a dog you've taken. Impressive.
Samsung Pay works almost everywhere.
If mobile payments are going to be a thing, they need to be as easy as using a credit card.
Samsung Pay is just that. It'll even work in places that don't accept Apple Pay.
That's because it sends a magnetic signal to trick credit card readers to think your Samsung phone is a regular credit card. It works in way more stores than Apple Pay, which is only compatible with newer terminals equipped with NFC readers.
There's one big caveat: Samsung Pay only works with the company's latest premium phones like the Galaxy S6 and Galaxy Note 5.
See the rest of the story at Business Insider