Three Apple products make 'Time' magazine's best gadgets of the decade list

Posted:
in General Discussion edited December 2019
"Time" magazine has selected what it calls the most significant ten gadgets that made their first appearance in the 2010s -- and Apple has three entries.

The original Apple iPad from 2010
The original Apple iPad from 2010


The devices in Time magazine's list of "the decade's most important and influential gadgets" include ones from all the major technology firms such as Apple, Google, and Microsoft. However, only Apple is listed more than once.

Time does not number its list, and it says the set isn't a ranked top ten, but instead is a collection of devices that all do one thing.

"[They] tell the story of a new way of thinking, a slow-moving paradigm shift set to change the way we approach the personal technology we interact with on a daily basis," says Time.

Such a device is the iPad, Apple's first entry on the list.

"Before the iPad's introduction in 2010, the idea of a 'tablet computer' was mostly relegated to slick science fiction movies and unwieldy laptop-adjacent monstrosities running terrible software," explains Time. "Apple's iPad -- like the iPhone before it -- resulted in a cultural shift for personal computing, and set the tone for the next decade of portable devices."

Time also says that competitors have had "ample time" to catch up, they haven't. The magazine makes the same point about Apple's next entry on the list, too.

"While many have tried, no one has been able to match the polish and performance of the Apple Watch, which set the standard for what a smartwatch could do."

While calling the original version a tool for "fashion-deficient nerds," Time says the Apple Watch has now become a "mainstream accessory."

Apple's AirPods
Apple's AirPods


There's no such qualification for Apple's third entry, as Time says AirPods "quickly became an icon in their own right."

"AirPods even carry social significance," the magazine continues, "transforming them into earbuds that double as a not-so-subtle status indicator."

Microsoft also gains a spot on the list for its Xbox Adaptive Controller.

"Unfamiliar with the Adaptive Controller?" asks Time. "That's OK! But the elegantly executed idea has opened up a world of delight for gamers with disabilities."

The other devices on Time's list range from the Tesla Model S car to the Raspberry Pi. Google's Chromecast gets a mention, as does Amazon's Echo and the Nintendo Switch.

Time magazine has previously included the iPhone X as one of the best inventions of 2017 and used iPhones to shoot magazine covers for its 'Firsts' documentary series.
MisterKit

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 15
    williamhwilliamh Posts: 1,033member
    Chromecast made the list? Is Roku on there?  The article ought to explain what Time Magazine is or was, now that we can no longer read it in doctors’ waiting rooms. 

    Correction: I bit the bullet and looked at “Time” “Magazine’s” list and also figured out when Roku appeared.  Roku came out in 2008 so it preceded the 2010’s theme of the list.  All the more reason why Chromecast  shouldnt be on it. 
    edited December 2019 StrangeDays
  • Reply 2 of 15
    DAalsethDAalseth Posts: 2,783member
    Not to be, okay yes I'm being nit-picky, but the decade doesn't end until the end of 2020. Also 2010 was the last year of the previous decade.
    steveau
  • Reply 3 of 15
    neilmneilm Posts: 987member
    DAalseth said:
    Not to be, okay yes I'm being nit-picky, but the decade doesn't end until the end of 2020. Also 2010 was the last year of the previous decade.
    That's a matter of debate, see this discussion: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/11/28/us/what-is-decade.html

    The conclusion:
    "Using a modified Julian date, the 2020s will begin on Jan. 1, 2021, Dr. Mac Low said.

    But that is out of sync with common usage. According to Emily Brewster, a senior editor at Merriam-Webster, a decade in popular culture is not defined by scientific convention. Because of this, the 2020s will begin on Jan. 1, 2020, and end on Dec. 31, 2029, Ms. Brewster said.

    “It is interesting that there is this arbitrariness,” she said. “It’s unconventional, like language.”

    This is one of those cases where common usage and understanding effectively overrule the logical alternative.  

    edited December 2019 StrangeDaysbaconstang
  • Reply 4 of 15
    bluefire1bluefire1 Posts: 1,302member
    At least Time got the best gadgets of the decade right, as opposed to their person of the year.
    edited December 2019 mobirdwilliamlondonwilliamh
  • Reply 5 of 15
    bluefire1 said:
    At least Time got the best gadgets of the decade right, as opposed to their person of the year.

    I live Time Person of the Year. So many people triggered by Greta. 
    StrangeDayslolliverRayz2016baconstangstanthemanOnPartyBusinessjony0steveau
  • Reply 6 of 15
    neilm said:
    DAalseth said:
    Not to be, okay yes I'm being nit-picky, but the decade doesn't end until the end of 2020. Also 2010 was the last year of the previous decade.
    That's a matter of debate, see this discussion: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/11/28/us/what-is-decade.html

    The conclusion:
    "Using a modified Julian date, the 2020s will begin on Jan. 1, 2021, Dr. Mac Low said.

    But that is out of sync with common usage. According to Emily Brewster, a senior editor at Merriam-Webster, a decade in popular culture is not defined by scientific convention. Because of this, the 2020s will begin on Jan. 1, 2020, and end on Dec. 31, 2029, Ms. Brewster said.

    “It is interesting that there is this arbitrariness,” she said. “It’s unconventional, like language.”

    This is one of those cases where common usage and understanding effectively overrule the logical alternative.  

    Even this article is conflating two different things:  the notion of a "decade" and the notion of the "2020s".  The 2020s absolutely begin in 2020, because that is our definition of numbers.  To say otherwise is merely to imply that next year should actually be called 2019 and not 2020.  The unrelated argument of when did the "decade" begin is quite different than "when do the 2020s start" - that goes back to the point that since there was no year zero, the first "decade" was only 9 years long.  Given all the time shifts the calendar has seen throughout the ages, I think we can all get over a single lost year. :)
    StrangeDays
  • Reply 7 of 15
    williamh said:
    Chromecast made the list? Is Roku on there?  The article ought to explain what Time Magazine is or was, now that we can no longer read it in doctors’ waiting rooms. 
    Did it really? LOL, that's absurd. Talk about a niche device for techies.
    lolliver
  • Reply 8 of 15
    calling the original version a tool for "fashion-deficient nerds," Time says the Apple Watch has now become a "mainstream accessory."

    ...uh, the AW5 looks almost identical to the 0, so Time claiming the original is for fashion-deficients is absurd.
    lolliverRayz2016
  • Reply 9 of 15

    bluefire1 said:
    At least Time got the best gadgets of the decade right, as opposed to their person of the year.
    Uh no. Sorry, but a petulant man-child caked in so much makeup and comb-overs that he looks like a monster on par with his IQ and poor understanding of the world, and now makes fun of women, children, and the disabled, will never be person of the year. 
    lolliverRayz2016baconstangstanthemanOnPartyBusinessjony0
  • Reply 10 of 15
    k2kwk2kw Posts: 2,075member
    bluefire1 said:
    At least Time got the best gadgets of the decade right, as opposed to their person of the year.
    Person of the Decade should be Elon Musk.
    probably next decade too when man gets to mars.
    williamlondonlolliver
  • Reply 11 of 15
    Speaking as an owner of all three, iPad revolutionized my entire workflow for printed music. 

    Now, during a gig, I choose a title on my tablet, and not only is the sheet available instantly, the app also calls up the correct patches on my keyboards (yes, wirelessly).  Footswitch page changes are just as significant, too.

    I could NEVER go back.  Well, perhaps kicking and screaming.
    lolliverjony0
  • Reply 12 of 15
    k2kw said:
    bluefire1 said:
    At least Time got the best gadgets of the decade right, as opposed to their person of the year.
    Person of the Decade should be Elon Musk.
    probably next decade too when man gets to mars.
    For what reason? Going to Mars is just vaporware right now, right next to the "hyper loop" which is now downgraded to just a tunnel for cars. Vertical landing rockets existed decades before the SpaceX models. The Teslas just use big lithium ion batteries and haven’t been making a profit until recently, but even that isn’t what makes a person worthy of such an honor. And his “transparent metal” windows are just glass and shattered like glass.

    So far, we have no new amazing tech. 

    On vertical rockets like the DC-X:



    On the inherent problem of energy density from lithium ion batteries (skip to 13:40 if you want the short version):



    On the hyper loop car tunnel:



    Why Musk Mars's is just vaporware, achieving what Apollo did fifty years ago and running into the same challenges as everyone else these past fifty years:


    edited December 2019 williamlondonstantheman
  • Reply 13 of 15
    williamhwilliamh Posts: 1,033member

    bluefire1 said:
    At least Time got the best gadgets of the decade right, as opposed to their person of the year.
    Uh no. Sorry, but a petulant man-child caked in so much makeup and comb-overs that he looks like a monster on par with his IQ and poor understanding of the world, and now makes fun of women, children, and the disabled, will never be person of the year. 
    Sorry, but he was Person of the Year in 2016. 
  • Reply 14 of 15
    williamh said:
    Sorry, but he was Person of the Year in 2016. 
    Me too!
    OnPartyBusiness
  • Reply 15 of 15
    k2kw said:
    bluefire1 said:
    At least Time got the best gadgets of the decade right, as opposed to their person of the year.
    Person of the Decade should be Elon Musk.
    probably next decade too when man gets to mars.
    I love Elon for landing rockets like they should land, but he's going to Mars because he has given up on Planet Earth surviving. Therefore, I think that Greta is the better choice for person of the year, because she's still out there fighting for you and me, and our children.
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