POKEMON GO

Pokémon Go, the game on the app store that caught both publicity and popularity faster than a wild fire spreads. The description for it on the Play Store is “Step outside and catch Pokémon in the real world! Collect & battle with others”. The app has over 100 million downloads and was very popular around the whole world from here in the U.S. to Asia and Europe but when news came out about people putting an in game item called a lure on Poké stops and then when people would come to the Poké stop they would be robbed of their personal belongings a lot of people were skeptical about playing the game anymore. People of all ages played Pokémon Go and didn’t see a down side to it, the app got people to be active and interact with others out in the world but then almost over night everyone stopped playing and talking about the game. Pokémon Go came and went almost in the same month but that’s about the longest people care about and remember things these days.

Samsung Galaxy Note 7 Recall

In August of 2016 Samsung Galaxy Note 7 was released. Due to issues with the phone’s battery devices were overheating causing fires and explosions. A new software update issued December, 19th which will prevent the battery from being able to charge, and function as a cellular device. TSA banned the Samsung Galaxy Note 7 from flights for safety purposes. The early ending of the Samsung Galaxy is estimated to have costed Samsung up to $17 million USD. The Samsung Galaxy was designed to compete with the Iphone 7 when it premiered in August, 2016. With no significant changes made to Apple’s top selling device it the rivalry between the two companies was looking one sided. Samsung is urging anyone who hasn’t turned in their device to turn it off immediately and contact their carrier to receive a refund or exchange.

iPhone 7

The iPhone 7 was a very controversial topic this year. With no major upgrades from the last outing of Apple phone, only with just small upgrades such as “longer battery life” and most importantly, ” the most pixels to ever be on an Apple phone.” What made people get up in arms though, was no headphone jack was added to this iPhone. Why? To make the phone thinner. Included was a pair of wireless headphones that could be plugged in to a small case to recharge. The phone and wireless headphones became a meme almost instantly, with many making fun of the fact that the headphones will get lost as soon as they get the phone and others making fun of how Apple is staight up taking away features of the previous phones.

Apple VS. F.B.I.

The biggest thing Apple did this year wasn’t a product launch — it was going head to head with the F.B.I. themselves to protect iPhone privacy. When the F.B.I. told Apple to hack an iPhone owned by a former terrorist, Tim Cook refused swiftly and clearly, saying “any attempt to do so would be akin to opening a “Pandora’s box””. In the end, the F.B.I. backed down saying it apparently found another way to cracking the controversial iPhone but not before the debate had CEOs, law enforcement, privacy advocates and even presidential candidates taking sides. This story had people questioning what was the right thing to do, with technology becoming a bigger part of life itself and a constant worry of privacy, it hit home for many people and is still a very serious issue being talked about today.