There is no shortage of products whose creators when you start calling them “revolutionary” or “changes everything”. Undoubtedly, every company that creates something new, hopes that its innovative design and the chosen approaches will greatly change the perceptions about the technology. Sometimes it really happens.
Wired magazine have selected 10 examples of this kind in the period from 2010 to 2019. This products that after a bright appearance changed the market. Because they cover a variety of industries, their impact can’t be measured in the same scale. They will be placed is not of importance, but in chronological order.
The message service was launched a little earlier — in November 2009, but its influence on the following decade was quite significant.
In the first years of the co-founders Jan koum (Jan Koum) and Brian Acton (Brian Acton) charged an annual fee of $1 for use of the service, but this did not prevent the spread of WhatsApp, especially in developing countries like Brazil, Indonesia and South Africa. WhatsApp runs on almost any modern mobile device, giving users the ability to write posts without paying a fee. He also distributed end-to-end encryption, providing privacy to the huge number of users. By the time when WhatsApp appeared voice calls and video chats, it has become the standard for mobile communications across borders.
In early 2014, Facebook acquired WhatsApp for $19 billion. And this purchase is completely justified, as WhatsApp has increased its user base to 1.6 billion and has become one of the most important social platforms in the world (though WeChat still rules in China). The growth of WhatsApp, the company struggled with the dissemination of misinformation through its platform, which in some cases led to civil unrest and violence.
Apple iPad
When Steve jobs (Steve Jobs) first demonstrated the iPad in early 2010, many people wondered whether a marketable product, which is much larger than a smartphone but lighter and more limited than a laptop? And how to take pictures with this device? But the iPad is the culmination of years of efforts by Apple to launch the tablet, and Steve jobs could have foreseen that others have not imagined mobile products will really become the most important devices in your life, and the processors inside them will eventually surpass chips everyday laptop. Other manufacturers were quick to answer the call — some successfully, others not. But today, Apple’s iPad remains the standard in the field of tablets.
In 2013, the iPad Air has redefined what it means “thin and light”, and the iPad Pro in 2015 became the first Apple tablet that worked with a digital pen, connected to a continuously charging the “smart” keyboard and worked on a powerful 64-bit chip A9X. iPad is now not just a good tablet for reading magazines and watching videos is the computer of the future, as promised by its creators.
Uber and Lyft
Who would have thought that a few techies who have difficulties with taxi in San Francisco, will create one of the most influential technologies of the decade? UberCab was launched in June 2010 that allowed people to call a taxi by pressing the virtual buttons of smartphone. In the early days the service worked only in few cities, included big bonus and sent the luxury cars and limousines. The launch of the cheaper UberX service in 2012 changed that, and brought on the road more hybrid cars. The launch of Lyft in the same year, created for the Uber serious competitor.
Of course, with the expansion of Uber’s worldwide the company’s problems also increased. In a series of articles the New York Times in 2017 have been disclosed serious deficiencies in the internal culture. Co-founder Travis Kalanick (Travis Kalanick) ultimately left the post of Executive Director. The company’s relationship with drivers is ambiguous: she refuses to classify them as employees and at the same time criticized for savings on validation of drivers. But to find out how the collaborative economy is changing our world and people’s lives over the last decade, just ask the taxi driver how they feel about Uber?
In the beginning Instagram was completely tied to the filters. First, users will gladly put filters X-Pro II and Gotham on your square photos Instagr.am, which initially could only be obtained from the iPhone. But co-founders Kevin SISTROM (Kevin Systrom) and Mike Krieger (Mike Krieger) had a vision outside of hipster photo filters. Instagram not only secured the camera the status of the most important functions of a smartphone, but refused any extra attributes of social networks with their links and status updates. This has created a social network of a new type, a sort of digital glossy magazine, and ultimately became an extremely important platform for brands, businesses, celebrities and fans.
Instagram was absorbed by Facebook in 2012, just two years after launch. Now he has private messages, and time-bound history and IGTV. But essentially it remains the same as was intended years ago.
Apple iPhone 4S
The release of the original iPhone in 2007 was one of the most significant events of the modern era. But in the past decade, the iPhone 4S, introduced in October 2011, was a turning point in the Apple business. The newly redesigned device has got three new features that have identified a way of using personal technical devices in the foreseeable future: Siri, iCloud (in iOS 5) and a camera that can shoot 8-megapixel photos and high definition videos at 1080p.
In a short time these extremely advanced cameras in the pockets began to ruin the market for compact digital cameras, and in some cases to kill the competition directly (e.g., Flip). iCloud, MobileMe previously, can be seen as software that synchronize data between apps and devices. And Siri is still trying to find their way. At least people have realized how useful they can be virtual assistants.
Tesla Model S
This was not the first all-electric vehicle appeared on the mass market. Tesla Model S is perceived first because it captured the imagination of car owners. The long-awaited electric car was introduced in June 2012. Early reviewers noted that it was ahead of Roadster light year and called it a technological marvel. In 2013, recognized him as MotorTrend car of the year. And the popularity of Elon musk (Elon Musk) only added to the attractiveness of the car.
When Tesla introduced autopilot feature, she became the object of attention after a few accidents were fatal when the driver reportedly relied too heavily on her. Questions to the self-driving technology and its impact on drivers will now ask more often. Meanwhile, Tesla has stimulated a serious innovation on the market of electric vehicles.
Oculus Rift
Maybe VR will eventually fail. But its potential is undeniable, and Oculus was the first who really gave impetus to the mass market. The first demonstrations of Oculus Rift during CES 2013 in Las Vegas, you could see many smiling enthusiastic technical reviewers with a helmet on his head. The initial Kickstarter campaign for the Oculus Rift had a goal of $250 000; but had collected $2.5 million. Oculus took a long time to release Rift headset, and $600 was a pretty high price. But the company eventually withdrew to the market a standalone helmet Quest with 6 degrees of freedom for $400.
Of course, fans of virtual reality was not the only one inspired by Oculus. In early 2014, even before the Oculus Rift came on the mass market, CEO Facebook mark Zuckerberg (Mark Zuckerberg) has tested the Oculus Rift at the lab of human interaction with a computer at Stanford University. A few months later he bought the company for $2.3 billion.
Amazon Echo
One morning in November 2014, the smart column Echo just appeared on Amazon, and its a modest start might be misleading as to how influential will this product in the second half of the decade. It was not only a wireless speaker, but Alexa voice assistant, which initially proved to be more intuitive than Siri from Apple during its launch. The Alexa allowed us to give voice commands to turn off lights, control streaming music, add shopping cart on Amazon.
Would people use the intellectual speakers or displays with voice control (still not solved), but Amazon went ahead anyway and provided the opportunity. Almost every major manufacturer followed suit.
Google Pixel
For eight years prior to the release of the smartphone Pixel, Google has watched its hardware partners (HTC, Moto, LG) built the Android mobile operating system in their devices, which were quite good. But none of these smartphones have not risen to the high bar set iPhone. IOS devices have had the key performance advantage of smartphones because Apple was able to provide full control over hardware and software. If Google was going to compete, she had to stop relying on their partners and take on a hardware business.
First phone Pixel was a revelation to the world of Android. Elegant design, quality components and a fantastic camera — all of this running reference mobile OS from Google, not spoiled shell of a manufacturer or an application provider. Pixel captured a huge share of the Android market (and three years later did not), but showed how advanced can be the Android phone, and made a strong impact on the industry. In particular, camera technology, enhanced intelligence capabilities Google, has pushed device manufacturers to develop sensors and lenses.
SpaceX Falcon Heavy
It really was a “product launch” above other runs. At the beginning of February 2018, seven years after the first announcement of the project, SpaceX Elon musk successfully launched Trecastagni rocket, the Falcon Heavy with 27 engines in space. Able to lift of 63.5 tons of cargo to a lower orbit, it is now the most powerful booster in the world, and it is built only for part of the cost of NASA’s latest rocket. Successful test flight even included is another company Elon musk: a payload made the cherry red Tesla Roadster with a dummy Starman behind the wheel.
In addition to power, one of the most important innovations became SpaceX reusable rocket boosters. In February 2018, two exhaust side of the accelerator returned to Cape Canaveral, but the Central collapsed. A little over a year later, during a commercial rocket launch in April 2019, all three accelerator the Falcon Heavy has found its way home.
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