It is almost another full revolution around the Sun for the year 2024, and there have been massive developments in the world of technology, science, and more that Tech Times have covered, making this the best time to look back before 2025 shows up on the horizon. From groundbreaking stories down to world-changing ideas that helped improve everyone’s lives using tech, here’s a look at what this year gave to all.
Apple faced a massive patent infringement lawsuit with health tech firm Masimo and lost as the judge ruled out that the Cupertino tech giant infringed on the technology, highly affecting the Apple Watch Series 9 and Ultra 2. As a result, the succeeding Apple Watch models will no longer feature a blood oxygen sensor. Still, Masimo is not wasting the technology away for foldables as it has partnered with Google and Qualcomm.
To date, only those who own the Apple Watch Series 6 to 9 and the Ultra versions have access to the blood oxygen monitoring feature, but from Apple Watch Series 10 and later, it will no longer be available.
AI in CCTV technology has been frowned upon by several countries, but not Korea. This is because the South Korean Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute (ETRI) introduced “Dejaview,” which can help predict crimes and catch them in real-time using the data it studied from previous criminal data.
Dejaview features the “change-based approach,” which features time/space-oriented crime prediction and individual-centered recidivism prediction technology that law enforcement can use to catch the crimes before they are committed.
Hypersonic Launch Systems, in partnership with Southern Launch, debuted the DART hypersonic spaceplane, which promises speedier travel five times faster than sound, and it will soon take off by 2025. The hypersonic spaceplane will take off from two locations on its future initial operations from two of Southern Launch’s spaceport sites in the Eyre Peninsula or the Koonibba Test Range on Australia’s southern coast.
The DART hypersonic spaceplane can fly from Sydney to London in only two hours, and it could help expand hypersonic weapons and systems, now with a £1 billion deal with the UK Ministry of Defence.
Cox Media Group revealed to investors that their technology, known as “Active Listening” software, can spy on user conversations, and they have been exposed by 404 Media, which detailed their massive access to private convos. The company’s collected data across 470 sources are later given to their artificial intelligence to analyze the information, but it was not revealed how many people were affected by this.
It is known that Cox Media Group has Big Tech clients, including Meta, Google, and more, using its technology.
Chinese researchers have used Starlink satellites as a way to detect stealth aircraft, which are supposedly hard to trace without the proper systems. Researchers revealed that they used the reflected signals of both the satellites and ground-based infrastructure to detect the shadow of aircraft, including stealth ones.
That being said, the researchers revealed that this capability is “not yet ready” for militarization, with the radar antenna used by the team only as big as a frying pan. However, it is a possible tech to use in the future.
One of the biggest updates for Mac computers is here, with macOS 15 Sequoia’s release bringing forth the iPhone Mirroring feature that is available for all eligible devices to bring their smartphone’s function directly to their computers. The iPhone Mirroring offers a way to access your smartphone right from the Mac, and it only requires the macOS 15 version and the iOS 18 for iPhones to work.
This is helpful for those who do not want to take their hands off their computers to access something on their handset devices, which are available for free.
Google made its significant foray into the world of smartwatch wearables when the company introduced the Pixel Watch. However, it was more than a one-time release as the Mountain View tech giant previously claimed that it would focus on its smartwatch under the Pixel brand starting this year, leaving behind its other wearable brand, Fitbit, to dust.
Many people asked for the Fitbit Versa 5 or the Sense 3, but unfortunately, they did not arrive this year to deliver the latest updates.
During the Fall season of this year, users were given iOS 18 as the latest operating system for iPhones and iPads to deliver the latest features and capabilities for smart devices. However, for those who were automatically updated to iOS 18 and wanted to sit out the releases until more versions arrived, iOS 17.7 is still available to run on devices, and it still offers security and stability.
As part of “Fortnite” and Disney’s partnership, more Marvel skins, including “Ghost Rider,” were made available on the platform. However, one more skin was up for grabs for users with the “Ghost Ri-Durrr” bundle and a leaked Spider-Man and Venom crossover with the game.
Chrome users were at risk earlier this year when malware appeared as an extension asking users to give their Google account passwords to stop bugging them with pop-up messages and notifications. This is called the “StealC” malware, which was discovered by researchers from Open Analysis Lab. It says that Chrome users are in kiosk mode, and this prevents users from closing the screen until a login is made.
