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Android Authority’s favorite non-phone tech that got us through 2020
June 04, 2025
Over the past few weeks, we’ve posted a lot of “best of” lists to summarize the year. Most of those lists obviously revolve around smartphones. If you want to know what we really think is the best phone of the year,here you go. But what about our favorite tech of the year that wasn’t a phone?
That’s what this list is all about! Here, you’ll find a selection of tech products that became favorites of people who work here atAndroid Authority. In a very dark year, these were the bright lights that helped us get through the chaos.
See also:Seven smartphone trends that really should stop in 2021
The only hard-and-fast rule for this list is that no phones were allowed. Other than that, all products were fair game. The product doesn’t even need to have been launched in 2020. It just needs to have been an indispensable piece of tech that we fell in love with more than any other during the year.
Without further ado, let’s get to the products! If you’re feeling talkative, we’d love to hear all about the tech that got you through 2020. Just head to the comments and let us know.
Nintendo Switch — Jimmy Westenberg
Although it’s been very difficult to get a Nintendo Switch this year, those who were able to snag one have been very happy with it. Ina recentAApoll, we found that 87% of our readers are at the very least content with their ownership of a Switch in 2020.
Related:Nintendo Switch buyer’s guide: Everything you need to know
You can now add our Managing EditorJimmy Westenbergto the list. Here’s what he had to say about his favorite tech of 2020:
G-Shock watch — Adam Molina
We lovesmartwatcheshere atAndroid Authority. However, not everyone needs a watch that’s connected to their phone. Not everyone wants notifications on their wrists or battery life that only goes for a few days at the max. Also, not everyone wants to spend hundreds of dollars on their watch.
Adam Molinafrom our sister siteSound Guysis happy with his G-Shock GA2110ET-8A for all those reasons and more. Here’s what he had to say about his favorite tech of 2020:
ECOVACS Deebot T8 — C. Scott Brown
My apartment is all hardwood floors with zero carpeting. I also have two cats. If you do the math, you’ll understand why a robot vacuum is essential in my home.
For years, I depended on theiRobot Roomba 690. It never was a top-of-the-line model and didn’t age well at all. I decided to go with the ECOVACS Deebot T8 after our own Kris Carlon wrotea glowing reviewon it forAndroid Authority.
Related:How do robot vacuums work and which should you buy?
What can I say except that Kris was totally right? The Deebot absolutely destroys the Roomba by pretty much every metric. It’s faster, quieter, more efficient, and even mops while it vacuums. You can tell it to clean one section of the house and you never need to put down physical laser barriers to prevent it from falling down the stairs. I love this gadget and probably won’t ever go back to iRobot again.
ASUS ZenBook Pro Duo — David Imel
A laptop is a laptop, right? Although they come in all shapes and sizes and colors,most laptops all do the same thing.
Not so with the ASUS ZenBook Pro Duo. The novel device features a second smaller screen at the top of the keyboard. It’s kind of like what Apple tried to do with the much-loathed MacBook Touch Bar but taken to a degree in which it actually becomes useful.
Related:David’s original ASUS ZenBook Pro Duo hands-on
Our own YouTube guruDavid Imelfinds that secondary screen to now be indispensable to his workflow. Here’s why the ZenBook Pro Duo became his favorite tech in 2020:
Sony PlayStation 4 — Joe Hindy
Although theSony PlayStation 5is all anyone talked about this year, it certainly wouldn’t have helped anyone get through 2020. Even if you did get your hands on one for release day, you’ve only had about a month-and-a-half to use it.
That’s one of the reasons why our app guruJoe Hindychose the PlayStation 4 as his favorite tech of the year. Here’s what he had to say:
Sonos One (Gen 2) — Luka Mlinar
If you’re a big music fan, a quality smart speaker is absolutely essential. Not only does it give you easy voice access to yoursmart home gadgets, but it also will allow you to pump up the jams and drown out the insanity of the world.
Related:What’s the best smart speaker you can buy?
With that in mind, it’s no wonder our social and SEO expert Luka Mlinar chose the Sonos One (2nd Gen) as his favorite tech of 2020. Sonos speakers are highly regarded for their audio quality, usability, and design aesthetic. Yes, they’re expensive, but sometimes that extra money is worth it.
Here’s what Luka had to say about it:
Shure Aonic 50 — Lily Katz
Speaking of audio, maybe you are more interested in headphones than smart speakers.Sound GuysSenior Editor andAndroid AuthorityAudio Editor Lily Katz knows quite a bit about headphones, and she has been using the Shure Aonic 50 as her headset of choice during 2020.
Related:Best noise-canceling headphones you may buy right now
This is an interesting choice as one would expect her to be rocking the more mainstreamSony WH-1000XM4or theBose Noise-Canceling 700 series. However, Lily will let you know exactly why she prefers this model as her favorite tech of 2020 over those other popular choices:
Apple MacBook Air with M1 chip — Tristan Rayner
One of the biggest things to happen in the world of computing (and the tech industry in general) in 2020 was the launch ofthe Apple M1 chip. Based on the same Arm architecture as iPhones and iPads, the M1 chip represents a seismic shift for Apple as it moves away from reliance on Intel.
Elgato Stream Deck — Jonathan Feist
Last but not least, we have the favorite tech device of Jonathan Feist, who runs our sister siteDroneRush. Feisty’s choice is a unique product that allows you to hit hardware buttons to perform software shortcuts on your computer. Here’s what he has to say:
That’s it for what got us through 2020. What got you through the year?
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