It was a bright and wonderful year in the world of consumer tech, increasingly dominated by AI technologies and innovations in that vein.
Microsoft launched its Copilot+ PC initiative in partnership with Qualcomm's Snapdragon X Elite processor, bringing fanless, battery-efficient laptops to the Windows party for the first time. AI companies like OpenAI expanded their toolkit, forcing competitors from the likes of Google, xAI, and Facebook to up the ante.
We had AR glasses from companies like XREAL enter the fray and start to proliferate into the mainstream. Other brands like ASUS iterated on innovation with dual-screen laptops, and we saw accessory makers of all shapes and sizes refine tried and tested winners.
That brings us to this year's Windows Central Tech Awards for 2024. In a wholly unscientific fashion, our small but passionate team of tech connoisseurs pooled together our nominations across various categories. Our favorite devices and features that either launched or saw a major update in 2024 were eligible for nomination, and then we'd pick the winners.
Below are the winners, our picks for the top tech, accessories, tools, software, and big innovators of 2024.
Tech Innovator of the Year
Microsoft Ecosystem Star of 2024
Best Processor of 2024
Best Overall Laptop of 2024
Best Keyboard of 2024
Best Pre-Built Gaming PC of 2024
Best Mini PC of 2024
Best Gaming Laptop of 2024
Best Gaming Headset of 2024
Best Tech Accessory of 2024
Best Monitor of 2024
Best Gaming Input of 2024
Best Gaming Hardware of 2024
Best Desktop All-in-One 2024
Best Budget Laptop of 2024
Best Business Laptop of 2024
Best Mobile App for Windows Users of 2024
Best Windows Feature of 2024
Best Mouse of 2024
Best Windows PC app of 2024
And that's a wrap!
As we head into 2025, it seems likely that we're going to get another year dominated by AI. Robotics and drone tech are getting scarily realistic, and coupled with whispers of AGI advanced machine intelligence, 2025 could potentially be a transformative year if singularity hype is to be believed. Cloud computing will continue to grow and expand alongside quantum computing enhancements. We could see the first shoots of 6G commercialization and who knows what else. Perhaps SpaceX will finally put someone on Mars.
For users of the Microsoft ecosystem, PC gaming handhelds should get particularly interesting next year. Microsoft may also begin to tease new Xbox hardware alongside new Surface iterations and Copilot features. Microsoft is the global leader in NVIDIA AI server tech acquisitions right now, and you have to assume they have something beyond faster AI meme image generation up their sleeves. It should prove to be an interesting year, regardless.
On behalf of all of us at Windows Central, have an epic 2025 and a huge round of applause to the teams that put together this year's big tech winners!
