There are no shortage of technology releases set to be seen in 2015, regardless of whether you love music, gaming, new gadgets or even sports there is sure to be something appearing this year that is worth getting excited about. But just what can we hope to see? When should we expect to see it?

We have a selection of guesstimate release dates announced by the companies we’re all watching with eager anticipation, but of course not all of these are completely accurate and will be subject to change – there is a whole year ahead of us after all. First of all it is worth noting that over the next brief period we will be seeing the announcements and previews from CES 2015.

Personally I find it hard to decide what I should be more excited about; with so much that we can expect to see throughout the next year.

First of all – there is Earin; compact, completely wireless Bluetooth earphones that have been specifically developed to seamlessly play music without any wires or cables to get in the way. All these were actually released for pre-order very recently – with a limited number of the products available during a limited time period and costing those who chose to pre-order just under £200. Demand during that brief time was so high that the Earin website was unable to handle the strain and within just a few minutes it crashed, causing the pre-order process to be set back until a later date.  All these are a fantastic and innovative new option for earphone technology, providing a more compact and advanced solution than we have ever seen before. It’s pretty exciting, and they are expected to hit the shelves in early 2015, which shouldn’t be too surprising given how popular they are already. Though they are likely to cost a little over £200 when they are released to the public.

Second – the Apple Watch, though all we can really say about this is that it might be released this year, but no promises. The latest is that the release is expected in Sprint, and it will need to be fairly soon because their competition is looking rather tempting. I was actually quite interested in this, until I traded in my iPhone for a Nokia 1020 (for the camera of course) and as we all know Apple doesn’t play well with other operating systems, so the chances of encouraging an Apple Watch to play nicely with my Windows phone seems slim, but I would certainly be interested in seeing how these work. They have some interesting features to offer; including an interesting twist on the traditional watch controls, the ability to send drawing and taps to other Apple Watch users, & even the ability to share your heart rate with them with a sort of live stream, though I’ve yet to think of any reason why you would want to.

In general it certainly does look like wearable tech will continue to be a driving force through the next year, and quite possibly into the future as technology continues to become a part of fashion as much as anything else.

Third – Project Ara. I’ve been following this one for a considerable while now and would happily trade in my Nokia for an Ara if the opportunity arose. Of course there is limited information available for the release of this particular product I am more than happy to wait, and I’m sure the others who are watching the device feel the same. The main thing we love about this is that it is a modular phone, you can build it up as you need with all the parts you want so that your phone suits you perfectly. Swap modules with friends and family, upgrade individual modules, replace them, mix and match them depending on what you’re doing at that time – regardless of what is important to you the Ara allows you to build your new mobile device around that.

Fourth – Oculus Rift is the single greatest thing to happen in virtual reality since the concept was first developed in science fiction. Not only that, but it is an affordable and reliable solution to completely immersive gaming, watching and even listening; I can hardly explain the excitement I feel every time we get an update on Rift. First of all this is expected to be launched big style between September and December – so the plan is that it will be out in time for Christmas, and not only that but it will be affordable. The development kits are already available in the region of £400, and the recent rumour was that the device will cost users just £200 when launched (that’s less than a lot of new phones). Rift as a device itself isn’t the most impressive thing; however it is the start of something much more impressive – these are the first option for virtual reality that are commercially available, & even the release option with provide an excellent upgrade on the prototype that brings us steadily closer to attainable, effective and exceptional options for virtual reality and eventually immersive gaming.

Next up; Google Glass. There are no shortage of things to love about Google Glass, but the price isn’t one; actually it’s already available to buy but will set you back £1000 and that’s not even the final version. There are a number of things we live about Google Glass, it’s not the only one of its kind on the market, but it does have a considerably larger budget and a fantastic team working on it, which gives it that little bit of a boost over the competitors. There are plenty of things we like about Google Glass, though the aspect I would be most tempted by is actually the amount of time that has gone into the development of the devices. The development kits have been around for a considerable while now, and more than a few were picked up, which means that when Glass is released to the public later this year in its latest, and hopefully cheaper, version it will have plenty of cool apps for us to play with.

Image Credit : popsci

Another, similar concept that I am absolutely in love with is the Avegant ‘Glyph’; if you haven’t seen this one you should definitely check it out. It’s a similar concept to the Oculus Rift, but instead of putting a screen in front of your eyes that even allows you to see the pixels, the Glyph projects the images onto the back of your retina; which is already the way your eyes see the world around you, which means that everything looks more real, seamless and fast than any screen you’ve seen before. Regardless of whether you use it for gaming, video or even just music this is an absolutely fantastic piece of technology. All I can say is – I want one. These are expected to start shipping out in autumn this year, and the pre-orders are still available for just short of $500, plus shipping. Which would give you the opportunity to be among the very first to get your hands on one. There is no official work as of yet as to when this will be released in stores, however it is suspected that it will be out in time for Christmas.

Last, but by no means least, is the steam machine. If you like gaming but don’t want to pay a lot for a decent gaming computer or one of the new generation consoles then the steam machine could be the solution for you; they’re an interesting, somewhat unique look at gaming and give you the functionality to play any and every steam game on one box. Of course a combination of computer and console, with most consoles being able to install a Steam app and play Steam games, probably could have accomplished this anyway, but the point of the Steam Machine is that it is simple and affordable. The release of the machines, originally planned for mid / late 2014, has been delayed and it is suggested that this may not be seen until the tail end of 2015, but there is still a chance to get your hands on one sooner; as Steam are accepting Beta testers who will receive a free Steam Machine and be asked to use it in order to see how it fares with everyday use.

Author Bio

Kate Critchlow is an enthusiastic young writer covering a range of topics, from the latest and greatest in technology to mobile phone cases.

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