The 50 greatest innovations of 2024

In 1988, we launched the Best of What's New Awards. The original list highlighted "the very things that make our lives more comfortable, more rewarding, more exciting, and more fun," to quote then-Publisher Grant A. Burnett. Now, in 2024, we continue our decades-old tradition of honoring big ideas. We even see hints of our original honorees in this year's list: Sea-Doo and Ford made both lists, 36 years apart. We're proud to bring you promising innovations--from things that make life at home easier to literal out-of-this-world explorations. This is the Best of What's New 2024. Had you asked me at the beginning of 2024 what our best gadgets list would look like, I'd have guessed it would be filled with quirky AI-driven devices like the rabbit R1 or the Humane Ai Pin. "Now with AI" is a phrase that has dominated consumer electronics in the 2020s. These devices promised unadulterated access to the power of neural networks in ways that would seamlessly integrate into our lives without relying on phones or smart fridges. Then, the devices came out. The software is slow and buggy, and the hardware is clunky. Maybe the stand-alone AI device will still have its year, and we'll look back and chuckle at these humble beginnings. In reality, 2024's big breakthrough came from Apple in the form of its long-rumored Vision Pro headset. The device has its own hurdles to clear, but after just a few minutes of using it, it was clear that it's something different, important, and honestly pretty amazing. The list also includes Sony's innovative pro-grade camera, the most accessible drone we've ever used, and a no-fun phone--no fun in a good way, of course. Credible rumors of Apple's VR bounced around the gadget blogs and tech sites for nearly a decade. It was consumer tech's sasquatch in that people claimed to have seen it, but no one knew if it even existed. Then, the Vision Pro emerged from the proverbial forest in February with a surprising design and a massive 3,500 price tag. It also came toting a new R-series chip and a dedicated OS meant for spatial computing.