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8 things that didn’t suck in 2022

8 things that didn't suck in 2020

8 things that didn't suck in 2020
(Image credit: Nintendo, Apple, Disney)

Overall 2020 has not been a good year for a lot of people. With COVID, natural disasters, murder hornets, politics and all the other crappy stuff that'south happened over the past 12 months, it's been the calendar equivalent of a dumpster fire. While we all the same don't know what 2021 is going to bring, nosotros can all firmly say that 2020 is done. Information technology's over. Dead in the clay. And we tin't say nosotros're going to miss it at all.

But as crappy as it'due south been, stuck at home and gnawing our fingers down to stubs whenever the news is on, 2020 hasn't been a complete nightmare. Don't get united states of america wrong, it'south been pretty horrendous, but there have been things that didn't completely suck. From adorable little green men to the reinvention of the MacBook, here are eight things from 2020 that were actually quite good.

A great year for streaming

COVID has put a damper on a lot this yr, and that's particularly affected Hollywood. With the movie theaters airtight, studios accept had to find new ways to make money from their movies. Some movies take been perpetually delayed, but others went to the next all-time thing: streaming.

Wonder Woman 1984

(Paradigm credit: DC Entertainment/Warner Bros.)

Whether they were bundled into an existing service like Wonder Woman 1984 on HBO Max, available on premium VoD similar Trolls: Earth Tour, or a weird mishmash of the two like Mulan, 2020 was the yr studios finally realised in that location's another mode. A way that didn't involve movie theatre screenings to successfully distribute their latest blockbuster releases. And so much so that some major studios announced plans to carry on into 2021, and seriously pissed off the theater chains in the process.

Simply even on a smaller calibration, 2020 has been an incredible twelvemonth for traditional streaming Goggle box as well. From Tiger King to The Mandalorian, there accept been plenty of shows that have got people talking. Subsequently all there's not much else to do when you're stuck within. And with WB releasing the next 12 month's worth of blockbusters to HBO Max, plus all the other big serial coming, it'south just going to become ameliorate in 2021. — Tom Pritchard

Apple M1 showed how to exercise ARM chips right

Intel has long been the king of the loma when it'south come up to making chips for laptops, but in 2020 Apple may have set the ball rolling to knock Chipzilla off its lofty perch.

Tom's Guide's favorite tech of 2020

(Image credit: Tom's Guide)

When nosotros first heard Apple say it was going to brand its ain ARM-based chips to power Mac machines, with the idea to move away from a reliance on Intel fries the next couple of years, we were skeptical. We've seen Microsoft try that with the Surface Pro 10 and miss the mark considering Windows 10 doesn't play that well with ARM-based silicon. Merely the Apple tree M1 chip proved that clever applied science and emulation can deliver stunning laptop performance from processor architecture you'd unremarkably observe at the heart of a smartphone. In fact, the M1 chip outperforms Intel chips at a lot of the same tasks.

With the M1 flake Apple has proven it's a company to be reckoned with. And the M1 could exist the tip of the spear that  pierces Intel'due south bubble of laptop chip dominance and brings usa more laptops that no longer need Cadre processors at their….cores. — Roland Moore-Colyer

Babe Yoda returned, and reminded united states it's not all bad

The Mandalorian's sophomore flavour is now over, and boy what a season it was. Especially that finale, which I won't spoil for anyone who still hasn't seen it however. Despite the quality of the show itself, the biggest describe continues to exist the adorable dark-green gremlin nosotros all know as Infant Yoda. He may have a name now, but since that sounds very much like the infinite-version of "Greg", I'1000 sticking with the nickname the internet bestowed upon him.

Baby Yoda

(Image credit: Lucasfilm)

2020 has been bad for everyone, but Baby Yoda has been a bright spot among all the hell that's been going on. Considering he's just so god damn cute. Sure he may just be a hybrid of Yoda and Gizmo from Gremlins, and he has a nasty habit of eating things he shouldn't, but merely expect at his face up? Information technology's impossible to not autumn in honey with him. Especially now you tin can finally pick upwardly multiple versions, both plush and plastic, to proceed in your ain abode.

Whether you like Star Wars or not, nosotros tin can all agree Baby Yoda is the best and there better be more of him on the way. — Tom Pritchard

A swell year for gaming

It seems almost churlish to point out that 2020 was peachy for a luxury leisure activity, merely it'due south truthful. Gamers had a lot to celebrate in 2020, in terms of both software and hardware.

March alone gave us Brute Crossing: New Horizons, Doom Eternal, One-half-Life: Alyx, Ori and the Will of the Wisps, and Persona five Purple.Since then, we've had the Final Fantasy VII Remake, The Last of Us Role Two, Ghost of Tsushima, Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout, Hades, Assassin's Creed Valhalla, Spider-Man: Miles Morales — and that's nearly equally many every bit I can rattle off without turning this whole slice into a "all-time games of 2020" list.

PS5 Miles Morales

(Image credit: Marvel/PlayStation)

On the console front, we got not ii, but three new consoles: the PS5, the Xbox Series 10 and the Xbox Serial South. Each one of them is first-class, and while they're non piece of cake to find, we think they'll provide beautiful, ambitious games for years to come.

PC gamers had a lot to celebrate, too, with the release of Nvidia'due south incredibly powerful RTX 3000 series of GPUs, and AMD'due south competing Big Navi series. Which is to say nada of 2020's slew of fantastic PC-only titles, from Age of Empires III: Definitive Edition to Microsoft Flight Simulator (the latter of which is also coming to Xbox — yet more good news).

Video games might exist cold comfort, since we're all stuck within anyway, and what else are nosotros going to do? But at least we can go somewhere fun in the digital world. — Marshall Honorof

 Affordable smart TVs got actually good

A lot of united states have got much better-acquainted with our living rooms this twelvemonth, with smart TV and streaming utilise way upward every bit lockdowns and social distancing have largely kept people at home all year. Which makes information technology especially nice that 2020 saw affordable TVs get amend in almost every way.

Hisense H9G Quantum Android TV (55H9G)

(Image credit: Hisense)

Nosotros've seen super-affordable smart TVs, like the Insignia 55-inch 4K Ultra HD Fire Tv set Edition NS-55DF710NA21, which sells for less than $500 (and less than that when sales events curl effectually), offering a solid 4K Idiot box with bones HDR back up and built-in Amazon Alexa, all for very little money. The Hisense H9G Quantum Android Goggle box was office of a wave of QLED TVs from makers other than Samsung, and they all benefited greatly from the additional color and effulgence quantum dot brings.

But the best value of all was the TCL 6-Series Roku Idiot box (R635), which not just had QLED, it also introduced miniLED backlighting at a seriously affordable price bespeak, offering premium picture quality for well under $1,000. It's been pretty amazing to see how well these TVs performed, given their prices, and it couldn't have come at a better time. — Brian Westover

Google returned to its smartphone roots

Google'south smartphone division has produced some stellar Pixel handsets, but they've besides been following the wider trend of assuasive flagship prices to creep upwards. Seeing the Pixel 4 launch at $799 brought back what are now bittersweet memories of the $499 Nexus 6P, a bonafide high-finish phone which Google all the same sold for considerably less than its contemporaries.

Google Pixel 4a review

(Image credit: Tom's Guide)

This year, however, the Pixel 4a and Pixel 4a 5G reversed class. By forgoing the more outlandish luxuries of rival handsets, Google re-adopted the Nexus mode of but making solid, reliable smartphones at prices more of usa could afford. To some extent the same is also true of the Pixel 5, but even with the lower $699 price tag information technology's not the same killer bargain as the Pixel 4a. You only won't find a better smartphone camera for less money, and a big office of that is Google returning to what fabricated them a large smartphone player in the kickoff  identify. — James Archer

Ted Lasso is striking everyone — including Apple — needed

The success of ane Theodore "Ted" Lasso doesn't make sense in the show, or as a show, simply it managed to be one of the best shows of 2020 — and gave Apple tree TV Plus its kickoff big win. For starters, it's a show based on a commercial promoting NBC Sports' Premier League soccer, which comes from Warner Bros. and NBCUniversal, both of which have their ain streaming services, HBO Max and Peacock. Simply instead Apple, which hadn't had a large hit, wound up with it instead.

Ted Lasso

(Prototype credit: Apple TV Plus)

Only then once you watch the first episode of Ted Lasso, you'll come across why "The Lasso Way" is as engrossing as whatsoever other show of 2020. Jason Suidekis is amazing in the pb function, as the titular American football coach who's taken a job coaching the other kind of football game — a sport he knows zip well-nigh, but brings an incredibly positive spirit to.

In a twelvemonth filled with negativity, Lasso's wholesome joy was entirely needed, and it's hilarious to watch every bit he faces negativity from every corner of the AFC Richmond office and fans. Add on a stellar supporting bandage, and a ten episode arc that sends Coach Lasso through joy, pride, sadness and an awkward ane-nighttime-stand up, you end up with a series y'all can binge in a day. The simply upshot is you'll want more, but  thankfully Apple has already greenlit Ted Lasso seasons two and 3. — Henry T. Casey

The yr of cheaper Apple products, with one exception

Apple has a reputation for premium priced products, but this year information technology delivered some pretty amazing values across several categories. The $399 iPhone SE remains the fastest and nigh capable phone for the coin, thanks to its A13 Bionic chip, and the Apple Watch SE gives you pretty much everything you need in a smartwatch for simply $279. Apple tree also unveiled the iPhone 12 mini for $699, which is a fantastic 5G telephone for the money, with one of the all-time smartphone cameras around.

iPhone SE 2020

(Image credit: Tom'due south Guide)

Even though the price for the new MacBook Air with M1 stayed the same, y'all could also brand the example that it delivers Pro performance for less coin. Yes, Apple however sells some very expensive hardware, and the $549 AirPods Max is the quintessential instance. The headphones are designed to deliver supreme comfort along with unmatched dissonance cancelling and audio performance, hence the big number, but overall Apple still did an excellent job reading the room in 2020. — Marker Spoonauer

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