Apple buys Beats; Announces iPhone 6, iPad Air 2, iPad Mini 3, and Apple Watch

Apple had quite the year in 2014 as they announced and released a number of new mobile products, which, of course, includes new iPhones and iPads.

After several years of its fans clamoring for a larger iPhone, Apple finally revealed both the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus to feature larger screens than previous iterations of the smartphone. The iPhone 6 features a 4.7-inch display, while the iPhone 6 Plus is Apple’s first foray into the phablet market as its screen measures in at 5.5 inches. Both phones include a number of improvements, such as new processors. an improved camera, and improved displays, making these possibly the latest and greatest iPhones Apple has ever created.

Apple also announced new iPads: the iPad Air 2 and the iPad Mini 3. The iPad Air 2 is even thinner than the previous iteration as it measures at 6.1mm thick, which is thinner than the width of a standard pencil. The tablet features a new A8X processor, new 8MP iSight camera, and Touch ID. The iPad Mini 3 improves on Apple’s popular smaller tablet line by including a 7.9-inch Retina display, a new 5MP iSight camera, and Touch ID.

After years of rumors, Apple finally announced its Apple Watch this year. Similar to Google’s Android Wear, the Apple Watch is able to send a number of notifications to your wrist. This includes messages, Facebook updates, and even some simplified versions of your apps. The watch also allows its wearer to call upon Siri when necessary, start conversations with friends with a simple push of a button, and its digital crown allows you to perform pinch-and-zoom touchscreen mechanics without touching the screen itself.

Apple just didn’t announce and release new products this year as the company also acquired Beats for $3.2B in both cash and stock. The deal was made final back in August and added co-founders Jimmy Iovine and Dr. Dre as Apple employees, which the company believes both will help build up its links within the music industry. Since its acquisition, Beats hasn’t made any notable moves outside of offering some new headphones, although all eyes will be on both Apple and Beats in the coming year to see what comes out of this deal.

Oculus VR acquired by Facebook

Facebook is known to make some big acquisitions, but none was more interesting for us this year than their acquisition of Oculus VR for $2 billion earlier this year. The sale includes $400M in cash, $1.6 billion in Facebook stock, and an additional $300M for incentives.

Facebook acquired Oculus as the company seeks to use their technology into new realms of communications, media, entertainment, education, and, of course, gaming. "After games, we're going to make Oculus a platform for many other experiences," Zuckerberg added. "Imagine enjoying a court side seat at a game, studying in a classroom of students and teachers all over the world or consulting with a doctor face-to-face--just by putting on goggles in your home."

Oculus has been receiving some serious attention among the gaming community for several years, but now that Facebook has acquired Oculus VR, we're hoping that could be the catalyst that brings not only the Oculus Rift to the mainstream, but to also encourage other companies to offer their own VR headsets.

The Rise of the Smartwatch

Prior to this year, smartwatch manufacturers had to create their own OS that would communicate with a user’s smartphone. Samsung took a notable step forward with its Gear devices, but with Google’s announcement of Android Wear earlier this year, Android users have now been given a taste of the future on their wrists.

Android Wear allows users with a compatible Android device to be able to view a number of notifications on their wrist at any time, allowing the user to decide whether or not a notification is important enough to actually pick up their phone for. Android Wear goes beyond just pushing notifications to your watch as you’re able to access a number of Google Now commands that can set a reminder, call a contact, and even know what the temperature is outside.

Currently, there are only a handful of Android Wear compatible watches currently available, which includes the LG G Watch, Samsung Gear Live, and, my personal favorite, the Moto 360, which is the slickest looking watch out of what’s currently available. Android Wear has certainly impressed us this year and we're looking forward to what new devices and additional support the platform will receive in the coming year.