My Tech Favourites of 2020

Hey, everyone!

Usually, I would post a review of the year and draw on the experiences it brought but with 2020, I wouldn’t even know where to start. Instead, I am going to focus on the positives and what I found joy in during the year. Being at home more this past year has given me the time to rekindle many hobbies and passions, and that is why I am going to be talking about my tech favourites of 2020!

It has been a very good year for me tech wise, and I feel extremely lucky. I am a huge tech head so I have been loving every minute of playing with it all and to be honest, it’s probably going to be a while before it’s that good again.

Let’s dive in 😍

MacBook Pro

I HAD to start with this – 2020 was the year I finally got a brand new MacBook of my own.

For years, it has been my dream to be in the possession of a Mac. My first experience of an Apple computer goes way back to when I was 7 years old and I’ve always known iMacs & MacBooks to be the most capable of fast paced tasks and creative work. So, when my old Toshiba decided to call it a day (I couldn’t even take a video call without it crashing) it was or never! I had the hard earned savings to spend so I bit the bullet and ordered my first MacBook Pro. Plus, 2020 was s**t and it’s not like I was going to spend the money on holidays or clothes just not to wear them so I treated myself.

This MacBook Pro has been my main computer since late November now and I love it. I tested what it’s like to edit photo/video, I have been typing up assignments and taking regular Microsoft Teams meetings like an absolute breeze. I don’t know myself these days, work is such much faster & smoother all because of this beauty. The gorgeous and vibrant 16 inch screen makes streaming every TV show and movie a brand new experience and the speakers are almost studio quality. The graphics across Apple Arcade also look stunning and the games run so well. As I’ve hardly had the MacBook 2 months I know there is so much more it is capable of and I’m excited to see what that entails. In terms of the hardware, I went for the sliver, which, to me is such a classic shade – and I’m so glad I did because it’s so pretty!

Specs

• 16 inch MacBook Pro (Silver)
• AMD Radeon Pro 5500M
• 32GB 2666MHz DDR4 memory
• 1TB SSD storage

Airpods

I am starting to look like an absolute Apple fan-girl here but I actually got these AirPods for free, yes… FREE. It’s probably the best bargain I will ever get and it was all because of an AirPod offer with MacBooks bought through the education store at the exact time I was buying mine. It was a “right time, right place” kind of moment for sure!

Airpods and all brands of true wireless earphones have been a staple for many but I honestly didn’t release how much of a difference they make. It is a pleasure to be able to leave my phone down and take my music or podcasts around with me and I am NEVER getting tangled up in wires when I have a bop around the house anymore 😂 I do think the sound quality is clearer than the wired Apple earphones (I guess they would want to be for the original pricing!) and they are great for taking calls too. The touch sensitive controls on the earphones themselves are super smooth and can be changed to options that suit you like volume control or previous/next song. Of course, like most Apple products the design of both the earphones and charging case are super sleek and yes, I did get them personalised with my initials… I’m just extra like that. Haha.

Amazon Echo Dot (Alexa)

At Christmas I was gifted with an Amazon Echo Dot from my sister (thank you❤️) and I was so excited to see it emerge from the wrapping paper. A bit like the AirPods, I am little late to the party when it comes to Alexa but I have wanted to get one for ages and now I am glad I didn’t as it would have ruined the surprise! I am afraid Siri has kind of gotten shoved to the side because Alexa can access SO much. Music, podcasts, making lists, beating your high score in the Music quiz? You name it, Alexa can do it! The volume is pretty decent from this bitesized speaker too and I just love the pink/plum fabric housing and white buttons, it definitely fits my aesthetic!

Mario 35th Anniversary – Game & Watch

This might not be the most high tech device on the list but it certainly is one of my favourites. On Mario’s 35th anniversary, Nintendo decided to bring back the Game & Watch. It features both the original Super Mario Bros. and Super Mario Bros. 2/The Lost Levels, a Mario version of Ball – the original Game & Watch game – and of course, a Mario themed clock setting! I remember pre-ordering this as soon as it was announced before they started selling out and going for €100’s elsewhere online – which they evidently did – because this was the only piece of Mario 35th memorabilia I wanted and I wasn’t going to let it go. To see the full playable games run on the pocket sized LCD screen is just the coolest thing. Even more so because having a little gaming device like this in your hands is very reminiscent of the GameBoy days. Sure it’s a nice piece of merch, but it’s also SO much fun to play. If you pause the game and turn off the system, the level you were on will resume but if you lose all lives it’s back to it’s 80’s gameplay of re-starting the first level of the first world. This can be frustrating when you’re as used to saving gameplay as I am but it makes it way more challenging which in turn, keeps you coming back for more! I know there are cheat codes out there to give you unlimited lives but that would just take the fun out of it for me. So yeah, I love this little piece of gaming nostalgia.

Sandisk Card Reader

Since I switched from a Windows laptop to Apple, I am also getting to grips with USB-C ports. So far I am happy enough with that change but I did have to get a few (well, only 2) adapters to help me along, and that’s where this nifty little device comes in! I regularly use a DSLR for photo content, and with that, memory cards to store and transfer photographs but without a card slot on my MacBook, I needed a quick fix, after a little Google searching I came across this Sandisk card reader and OH-MY-GOD has it made a difference. My old laptop took forever to transfer photographs directly from the card slot, let alone load them, but this reader transfers the photos to my Mac in an instant. It makes uploading and editing photo/video content a dream!

Is there a piece of tech you have been loving in recent times? Let me know in the comments below 🙂

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