Some new technologies can change our lives, others do not. We help you sort it out.
Advertisers are fond of the word "revolutionary", but when you test the products they boast, the dream is often changed into brews of wind. True big innovations are rare in the field of electronic objects: it can happen several years before a key technology appears and really changes our lives.
Here are the two main advances that have marked the field of electronic objects in 2018. We will add two technologies whose impact is questionable, but which made a lot of noise, then a technology that, it ... brings nothing, despite what advertised big budget advertising campaigns.
Undeniable progress
The hatching of the foldable smartphone
It's the Arlésienne electronic gadgets, the innovation that was no longer expected: the smartphone can unfold to turn it into a tablet. This fantasy object has just left the research laboratories of the Chinese Royole, whose FlexPai is available for purchase since November. A few days after its announcement, Samsung unveiled a competing model that will be marketed in 2019, if the Korean manufacturer keeps its promises.
Several electronics giants are working hard not to let Samsung alone on the track with Royole for too long. Because smartphones transformable tablets have the potential to change our digital habits. Thanks to their XXL screen, it becomes possible to read a magazine by zooming less, to browse an A4 document without squinting, to watch a video in large format, etc.
Will the foldable smartphone manage to seduce beyond technophile consumers? It will be necessary that these objects demonstrate their robustness, compactness and, above all, that they avoid the trap of elitist tariffs. The first estimates of Samsung's collapsible smartphone exceed 1,500 euros, according to the Korean research firm CGS-CIMB.
Read also: Samsung unveils foldable smartphone
The democratization of 4K projectors
This is the story of a small mirror that turns Full HD projectors into 4K models, almost by magic. By vibrating at high speed, this small mirror reflects the image four times, changing very slightly the projection angle, multiplying the number of pixels displayed by four.
The result is encouraging: it becomes possible to manufacture 4K projectors at an affordable price. Formerly perched at 5,000 euros, their price has passed this year under the bar of 2,000 euros, ViewSonic even offering a model to 1,000 euros quite convincing.
Thanks to this small mirror, movie enthusiasts can finally afford a 4K image on a very large screen at home. And for the eyes, the difference is striking: the image is more natural, the details are obvious, while usually on TVs, 4K images are so difficult to distinguish images Full HD.
Read also We tested ... a 4K projector at a price measured for moviegoers
Quite debatable progress
Smartphones with "screen without edge", or farewell to comfort in hand
In the field of mobiles, the year 2018 was the scene of a curious phenomenon sheep. Our smartphones, which had not changed much in recent years, have suddenly mutated. After marketing the Samsung S8 in 2017, all manufacturers have decided to plane the margins around the screen of their mobiles.
This coquetry indisputably improves visual comfort, but not everyone will see progress. These screens often progress only in height, not in width. But it is precisely the width that makes the characters more readable, increases the size of photos, videos, games, etc. Comfort side in hand, the regression is clear, the thumb is now unable to reach the buttons at the top of the screen. It becomes almost impossible to constantly manipulate these mobiles with one hand for most users.
The transition to frameless displays has been overwhelming, affecting most models released in 2018, to the point that it becomes difficult to find a conventional smart-screen smartphone, unless you go into the catalog of older models.
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