Yearender 2018: Top 10 tech products for gadget lovers in pics

The year 2018 was high on gadget launches. Smartphone lovers who are on a constant hunt to buy the best smartphone at a reasonable price had some reason to cheer as many mid-range handsets were launched. The mid-range price section is one of the most popular and hotly contested segments of today's smartphone market. There were some promising advances on the hardware front, too. Dozens of smartphones announced in the year embraced the display cut-out in one form or another - wide, deep and waterdrop. Smartphones had immersive viewing experience though the companies left the 5G technology and foldable design for the upcoming year. So, as we look forward to the next year, here is a look back at the top 10 gadgets launched in 2018:

Apple iPhone XS smartphone was launched in September 2018. The phone comes with a 5.80-inch touchscreen display with a resolution of 1125 pixels by 2436 pixels at a PPI of 458 pixels per inch. It measures 143.60 x 70.90 x 7.70 (height x width x thickness) and weighs 177.00 grams. The Apple iPhone XS is a Dual-SIM (GSM and GSM) smartphone that accepts Nano-SIM and eSIM. Connectivity options include Wi-Fi, GPS, Bluetooth, NFC, Lightning, Active 4G on both SIM cards, 3G and 4G (with support for Band 40 used by some LTE networks in India). The iPhone XS comes at a base price of Rs 99,900.

Apple Watch Series 4 GPS price in India has been set at Rs 40,900 for the 40mm variant, while its 44mm version will be priced at Rs 43,900. Apple Watch Series 4 comes in 40mm and 44mm display sizes and is powered by the Apple S4 SoC that has a 64-bit dual-core processor and a new GPU. The new SoC is claimed to deliver up to two times faster performance over last year's Apple Watch Series 3. The back panel of the Apple Watch Series 4 has a black ceramic and sapphire crystal.

Xiaomi launched its 55inch smart TV in India. Xiaomi's Mi TV 4S features premium design and has a super-slim aerospace grade aluminium body with almost no bezels around it. It has a 4K LCD display panel with HDR support and it is powered by the AmLogic53 quad-core 64-bit processor, paired with 2GB RAM and 8GB internal storage. The TV has Bluetooth and Wi-Fi connectivity options and DTS-HD and Dolby audio to provide an immersive experience to the viewers.

Huawei has taken the laptop market by storm in recent years by reducing screen bezels and experimenting with new webcam placement. Huawei has severely cut bezels on the hardware and should be commended for delivering a product with a 91 per cent screen-to-body ratio. The MateBook X Pro's screen also has a density of 260 pixels-per-inch. Huawei claims the hardware measures up at 1.46-centimetres thick, a figure that slightly edges out the 1.49-centimetre and 1.56-centimetre offered by the MacBook Pro and MacBook Air respectively.

Asus has finally bought its flagship Asus Republic of Gamers (ROG) phone to the Indian market. The completely gaming-oriented smartphone from ASUS offers some high-end specifications and is being sold at a price of Rs 69,999. Key highlights on the Asus ROG include Snapdragon 845 SoC, a 90Hz display and ultrasonic AirTrigger touch sensors. On the camera front, the handset features a dual rear camera setup with 12-megapixel (Sony IMX363 sensor, f/1.7 aperture) and 8-megapixel (120-degree wide angle) cameras.

The Nikon Z6 features a 0.5-inch 3.6 million dot Quad-VGA electronic viewfinder (EVF) with an impressive magnification of 0.80x, which edges out the Sony Alpha A7 III's 2.36-million dot and 0.78x display. The Z6 also uses Nikon's own optics, which are claimed to deliver even greater clarity, while the EVF has a fast display rate of up to 60p. Z6 uses a low-energy Bluetooth connection between the camera and your smart device (via the free app), with images downscaled to 2MP and transferred from camera to device as you shoot.

Mi Security camera 360° boasts full HD 1080p home surveillance video recording capability and as the name suggests, it covers all angles of the house. Users can operate the camera remotely, set preferred recording times, and view historic recordings on the app. It also comes equipped with night vision, intelligent motion detection, real-time two-way talk.

LG Electronics on October 1 launched its new line-up of speakers with Artificial Intelligence (AI) and "Meridian Audio". The cylindrical LG "XBOOM AI ThinQ WK7" comes with grille wraps around the body with a seamless finish. The speaker is one of the first products with Google's new "Android Things" platform built-in, with which users would be able to get information, get reports on the weather, check the calendar, make calls and control a whole range of smart home devices.

Samsung launched its new smartphone Samsung Galaxy A7 in India. Samsung Galaxy A7 has a 24MP primary camera with f/1.7 aperture and autofocus along with a depth-sensing 5MP secondary camera with a fixed focal length and f/2.2 aperture. The third camera has an ultra-wide lens with a field-of-view of 120° and f/2.4 aperture. On front, there is a 24MP selfie camera with f/2.0 aperture. Samsung Galaxy A7 display is a 6-inch Super AMOLED Infinity type with Full HD+ screen resolution and 18.5:9 aspect ratio, with thin but full bezels ditching the notch trend. The body will comprise of a curved glass on both the front and rear side.

Samsung announced the launch of the new Galaxy Watch that pushes the envelope on the smartwatch experience, delivering a timeless, analog watch design crafted into 3 new variants – Silver, Midnight Black and Rose Gold. Galaxy Watch helps users accomplish more with a battery that lasts days on a single charge, something unheard of in Smartwatch circles. This allows users to stay seamlessly connected and in the groove day in-day out with new lifestyle functions like stress and sleep monitoring capabilities.