Technological progress is moving fast, and more and more companies start producing innovative "smart" gadgets. However, not all technological novelties should be purchased immediately after their appearance on the market, since there is a high probability of encountering technical or operational problems.
VR systems
Several largest companies including Google, Samsung, HTC, and Sony have developed unique projects of virtual reality devices. However, despite the massive growing interest in this technology, novelties enthusiasts should wait before buying VR headset or glasses. The reason is there is not enough VR-specific content. The list of games and applications developed for the VR headset is small enough, and your new gadget may be useless.
Smart appliances
Smart appliances have got the buyers' sympathy quite quickly. A lot of large companies, such as LG, Samsung, and Whirlpool, are all duking it out to create smart refrigerators, washing machines, and smart-home systems. While the cool factor on these products is extreme, shoppers should think twice before buying these products. The main drawback of "smart" home helpers is the need for frequent software updates. Therefore, it does not always make sense to change the traditional refrigerator which has already served a decent time to a more fashionable "smart" device with a software that is often needed to be updated.
4K televisions
4K TVs have higher screen resolutions than standard FullHD. 4K is the number of pixels along a horizontal row of the display, namely 4,000 pixels, which exceeds Full HD in terms of the number of pixels by almost 3,000. This gives a clearer image, but these TVs have their drawbacks: low refresh rate (only 60 Hz), lack of high-quality content with the required high resolution, and a high price that exceeds the HD-TV's one by 2-3 times.
Smart speakers
The main function of all smart speakers is to help their owner on a domestic basis: informing about weather and traffic jams, reminding about an important event, ordering goods or services, etc. However, do not rush to purchase such personal assistant: the device often does not recognize Russian language and some functions are not supported in many CIS countries. Moreover, many users complain about the internal problems of the gadget itself: software errors and issues with playing music are observed quite often.
iPhone X
The jubilee smartphone by Apple has gained frenzied popularity in many countries in a short time. However, many experts consider the cost of the iPhone X unjustifiably excessive due to some obvious drawbacks, such as the unstable operation of the innovative face recognition sensor, slow wireless charging, glass body, which is not resistant to impacts, and also lack of ability to protect themselves from surveillance by special services through the front-facing camera.
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This year has been pivotal for Bitcoin, the world's leading cryptocurrency. One of the key milestones was the approval of Bitcoin spot ETFs by the US Securities and Exchange Commission. In April 2024, Bitcoin also experienced a halving event, which is typically seen as a positive development for the digital asset. This year, the cryptocurrency is up 57%, and analysts remain optimistic about its future. However, they highlight four key factors that could influence Bitcoin's trajectory, both for better and for worse
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