XDA’s Best of 2024: The year of the best in technology

Just concluded, 2024 was a tumultuous year for the technology industry. Intel’s stellar Arc B-series launch has only made it stronger. Along with the release of some amazing products, such as numerous AI desktop and laptop pieces, Apple finally updated its dependable Mac Mini, and there has been a persistent push for home lab and network-attached storage (NAS) solutions.

The year wasn’t a wash, fortunately, and we’ve compiled a list of some of our top picks for 2024. Our shortlisting process has been fairly selective, and everything from laptops and mini PCs to CPUs and SBCs has been recognized with an award.

HP OmniBook Ultra Flip is the best laptop.

HP may have completely rebranded this year, but that didn’t affect its capacity to produce the best laptops available. The OmniBook Ultra Flipin 2024 was the company’s second attempt to win our hearts after the Spectre x360 14 last year.

With one of the greatest designs available in a high-end laptop, especially one that already has the newest hardware, the OmniBook Ultra Flip, powered by Intel’s Lunar Lake processors, offers amazing performance and battery life. It also features an amazing keyboard and touchpad, a stunning OLED display with a refresh rate of 120 Hz, and a 9MP webcam that is still unrivaled by any other laptop brand. Despite HP’s recent efforts to simplify its laptop designs, the OmniBook Ultra Flip’s curved edges and sharply defined corners continue to make it a distinctive and instantly identifiable device.

We truly believe that “literally everyone should buy this”—the HP OmniBook Ultra Flip is the best available. João Carrasqueira, the top Windows editor.

Notable is the Lenovo Yoga Slim 7x.

Lenovo isn’t far behind HP as the year’s top laptop manufacturer with the amazing Yoga Slim 7x. The Lenovo Yoga Slim 7x is a device that was one of the first to use the Qualcomm Snapdragon X Elite. It is very similar to the OmniBook Ultra Flip in terms of performance and battery life.

It also performs exceptionally well in every other area. The 3K OLED display is the default option, so you don’t have to compromise for a lower price point. It looks amazing and has a refresh rate of 90 Hz. In addition, it has an excellent keyboard and three full USB4 ports, which is a nice feature. Speaking of appearance, the Yoga Slim 7x is a fantastic laptop to flaunt at school or on the go thanks to its stunning Cosmic Blue chassis, which is also very aesthetically pleasing.

You can never go wrong with the Yoga Slim 7x, but it does miss out on a few things from the best laptop of the year. — Lead Windows Editor, João Carrasqueira.

The Surface Laptop 7 is the best clamshell laptop.

Nevertheless, we couldn’t discuss the top laptops of 2024 without bringing up the Surface Laptop 7. This is yet another fantastic machine that serves as a showcase for the Snapdragon X Elite (and X Plus). Compared to the Lenovo laptop, it has a higher tier of the Snapdragon X Elite, which means that overall performance is even better while maintaining the same amazing battery life.

This version of the Surface Laptop marks Microsoft’s final redesign of the device, which features a completely new design with smaller bezels, a more rounded appearance (including rounded corners for the display), and one of the best port choices for a laptop of this type. Additionally, the display at last corrects the awful reflectivity of earlier versions, making this a visual delight in practically any setting. Despite not being OLED, this screen still has a fantastic appearance.

With two size options, the best keyboard and touchpad, and the most color options available on a Windows laptop (including the gorgeous new Sapphire blue), it’s easy to see why this receives an award from us. — Lead Windows Editor, João Carrasqueira.

Tablet of the year: Surface Pro 11.

This year, Microsoft delivered a double-whammy of excellence with the Surface Pro 11, which was not only the best tablet available for Windows, but also the best tablet overall. The Snapdragon X Elite and X Plus chips from Qualcomm addressed the Surface Pro line’s longstanding issue with inadequate tablet battery life while providing some of the best performance we’ve ever seen in a Surface Pro.

In addition to making the glass less reflective, Microsoft has finally added a stunning OLED display to the Surface Pro 11, making it a truly fantastic device for media consumption and traveling—something the company hasn’t been able to claim in a long time.

Naturally, it is available in the same stunning colors as the Surface Laptop 7, and if you want to use it as a laptop, the new Surface Pro Flex Keyboard adds some features we haven’t seen before, like the ability to use the keyboard via Bluetooth so it’s not always connected to the screen (though it costs a lot more, this is a significant improvement).

There aren’t many Windows tablets, but that doesn’t mean the Surface Pro 11 isn’t the best—it has amazing hardware in every aspect. João Carrasqueira, the top Windows editor.

Snapdragon X Elite is the superior mobile CPU.

Among the top CPU releases of 2024 was the powerful Snapdragon X Elite. Similar to Apple’s move to its own Arm processors, Windows on Arm has advanced significantly since 2016, but this mobile processor is poised to lead the charge with amazing battery life and performance. The Snapdragon X Elite is a fascinating processor that competes on several fronts. It powers some amazing devices, like the Surface Laptop 7.

Qualcomm is competing in the PC market against AMD and Intel. To get Mac owners to switch to Windows, the company is also aiming at Apple. Although there is still room for improvement in terms of Arm support, the software is generally very good and has enough cooling. Rich Woods, our Editor-in-Chief, praised the CPU in his glowing review of the Surface Laptop 7, saying, “Emulation is solid too, but performance is phenomenal, especially when using native applications.”. Lead Editor of PC Hardware, Richard Pinnock-Edmonds.

Also, the Intel Lunar Lake is the best mobile CPU.

With the lackluster Arrow Lake launch, Intel needed a significant victory for 2024. Fortunately, Lunar Lake was not too bad. Indeed, this line of portable processors was excellent. Intel was able to dispel the myth that Arm CPUs are more effective overall, but the x86 behemoth doesn’t seem to be doing well under more demanding workloads. Intel is undoubtedly overtaking Arm and its associates and providing a competitive mobile option.

Even though Intel has a ways to go in positioning itself against the upcoming Arm-based processors with Lunar Lake, the company is at least making progress in the mobile market. Along with some of Intel’s Lunar Lake products, the Snapdragon X Elite is an amazing CPU. — Lead Editor of PC Hardware, Richard Pinnock-Edmonds.

AMD’s Ryzen 7 9800X3D is the best desktop processor.

Amidst Intel’s apparent failures on multiple occasions, the AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D is a welcome change. It has been an immediate sales success, and with good reason—the performance it can achieve is simply amazing. The 3D V-Cache is able to significantly increase 99 percent and 99.9 percent lows for players competing in games like Counter-Strike 2 and Valorant, making them nearly as consistent as your average frame rate.

This CPU’s main drawback is that, due to its popularity, it can be difficult to obtain, though supply problems are reportedly getting better. AMD has definitely earned a place on our list for this year if you’re searching for a new gaming CPU and are thinking about getting a Team Red option. — Lead Technical Editor Adam Conway.

Intel Arc B580 is the best GPU.

Nvidia and AMD are effectively a duopoly in the world of GPUs, so it’s wonderful to see a new player. At just $249, the AMD Radeon RX 7600 and Nvidia GeForce RTX 4060 are rivals of the Intel Arc B580. Compared to the RTX 4060, it is less expensive and has a faster memory bus with more bandwidth, a faster boost clock speed, and 4GB more video RAM. This is a fantastic deal, and you should give it some thought if you’re searching for a GPU that is actually reasonably priced.

To give you an idea of how well it performs, the Intel Arc B580 was able to run Cyberpunk 2077 at 4K at RT Ultra at 40 frames per second, which is very remarkable for a mid-range card that costs significantly less than the competition. Conway, Adam, Lead Technical Editor.

Thermaltake Tower 300 is the coolest PC case.

From beige towers to intriguing and distinctive designs, PC cases have changed over the years. Tower 300 by Thermaltake is one example from 2024 that focuses on cooling and design. Being a Micro-ATX chassis, it can accommodate radiators up to 420 mm in length, making it one of the more unique small cases available. Installing eight 120 mm or 140 mm fans will ensure that even the most demanding PC components are adequately cooled.

Because the PC is octagonal in shape, visitors can see the interior from a broad perspective, effectively showcasing your system. It was an absolute blast to build a PC inside the larger Thermaltake Tower 900, a massive slab of metal. Having a compatible motherboard makes the Tower 300 much easier to handle. The Tower 300 can even be positioned horizontally if you purchase the optional stand kit. The Lead PC Hardware Editor is Richard Pinnock-Edmonds.

The best handheld gaming device is the Asus ROG Ally X.

It’s a great time to be a fan of handheld gaming in a year full of gorgeous retro gaming handhelds from companies like Analogue, Miyoo, Anbernic, and ModRetro. However, the ROG Ally X is the best handheld device we’ve seen this year. It’s quite an accomplishment that it does this in spite of its operating system, which only serves to highlight how well-made the Asus hardware is.

Only the Ally X has 24GB of 7,500MT/s LPDDR5 RAM, which is sufficient to divide CPU and GPU tasks, despite the AMD Z1 Extreme SoC being used by many PC gaming handhelds. FreeSync allows the 16:9 FHD screen to run at 120 Hz, which is ideal for this form factor. Furthermore, Asus used a standard 2280-style SSD in the Ally X so that it could contain up to 8TB of NVMe goodness, whereas many other handhelds used tiny, space-constrained SSDs. Reviewer of products Joe Rice-Jones.

The best mini PC is the Mac Mini.

Although the Mac Mini has long been the most widely used mini PC, Apple made the decision to give us a reason this year. Around the end of the year, the M4 Mac Mini made its debut with a much-needed redesign that finally made it a truly small PC with the kind of power that other PCs in this class can only imagine.

The Mac Mini is a no-brainer because of the Apple M4, especially considering its $599 base price. There is no doubt in your mind that you cannot find a PC this good at this price. The Apple M4 has outperformed both Intel and Qualcomm in terms of performance, and in terms of efficiency, I can say that this is the quietest computer I’ve ever used because it hardly ever gets warm. However, we can’t measure battery life on a desktop PC.

Is the location of the power button foolish? Definitely. It certainly doesn’t detract from this computer’s stellar performance. As someone who has always used Windows and has never owned an Apple product, the Mac Mini has taken over as my main computer. — Lead Windows Editor, João Carrasqueira.

The Vaxee XE-S is the best mouse.

Although Vaxee is likely unknown to most people, the company is closely associated with Zowie. The company’s founders were the original Zowie founders who departed after BenQ purchased it, so Vaxee has a true understanding of what gamers desire. It’s a very basic mouse that succeeds in mastering the fundamentals, featuring lift-off distance, polling rate, and DPI controls on the underside. Professional players of games like Counter-Strike and Valorant are beginning to switch to Vaxee, which is already showing some traction among gamers.

Although it isn’t the most ostentatious mouse available, the Vaxee XE-S excels at being a versatile and user-friendly mouse. The battery lasts for a very long time, there are no drivers to install, and I haven’t experienced any issues with the wireless connection. I can’t say enough good things about this mouse if you want to play first-person shooters. Considering I owned two of that specific mouse, it was the last thing that convinced me to give up the Logitech G Pro Wireless.

Adam Conway, the chief technical editor.

Best SBC: Radxa X4.

Budget-friendly ARM systems continue to dominate the SBC market despite the many advancements over the years. But the Radxa X4 could be the secret to shifting the balance in favor of x86 chips. From running emulators to self-hosting necessary Docker containers, the X4’s Intel N100 processor and up to 16GB LPDDR5 memory allow it to perform well in the majority of do-it-yourself tasks. The Radxa X4’s features include Wi-Fi 6 connectivity, a 2.5GbE RJ45 port, and a dedicated M.2 M-key slot for a high-speed SSD.

Because of its x86 processor, the Radxa X4 is compatible with almost all operating systems in the computing ecosystem, such as Debian, OpenMediavault, Home Assistant, and many more. The SBC has enough power to run Windows 11, and with the correct drivers from Radxa’s website, it can even function as a low-end Windows PC. It also has an RP2040 microcontroller, and you can use MicroPython codes to control the devices that are connected to its GPIO pins. Most importantly, this incredible SBC is only $60! — Senior PC Hardware Author Ayush Pande.

The TerraMaster F4-424 Max is the best NAS.

TerraMaster’s F4-424 Max is proof that Network-Attached Storage devices have significantly increased in power over time. 8GB DDR5 RAM and a 10-core, 12-thread Intel Core i5-1235U processor are housed inside its modest chassis; if your workloads require more memory, you can increase the latter to 64GB. Together with the four drive bays, the F4-424 Max has two M.2 SSD slots where you can configure Hyper Cache and install TOS 6 for a faster system.

Speaking of TOS 6, the most recent iteration of TerraMaster’s proprietary operating system includes a wide range of practical home server and NAS applications within an intuitive user interface. In addition to the standard media-sharing, backup, and storage applications, TOS 6 also enables the use of Docker Engine and phpVirtualBox. You have a dedicated home server that can easily run a few virtual machines and containers when you combine these apps with the i5-1235U’s substantial core count. For added bandwidth and strong port failover features, this high-end NAS also comes with two 10 Gigabit Ethernet ports, which you can configure for link aggregation. You won’t be let down by the TerraMaster F4-424 Max, whether you’re searching for a high-performance device that can also serve as a home server or a dependable pre-built NAS. Senior Author of PC Hardware, Ayush Pande.

The Lenovo ThinkBook Plus Gen 5 Hybrid is the most insane idea that was ever sold.

Lenovo is no stranger to producing some of the most bizarre laptops you can purchase for fun, but frequently they are little more than a novelty. How do you even start to discuss a device like this? When I reviewed the ThinkBook Plus Gen 5 Hybrid, however, all I could say was that I wish there were more computers like this.

There are actually multiple computers here. It is a combination of two fully functional standalone devices. Yes, you can use it as a high-end laptop by assembling the keyboard and screen. The top screen looks fantastic and feels more durable than any other laptop you’ve ever used. However, if you disassemble these gadgets, you will still have two functional machines. Powered by Intel Core Ultra series 1 processors, the base can be used as a desktop computer with an integrated keyboard and touchpad, while the screen is an Android tablet with a top-tier Snapdragon processor and an amazing display. All you need to do is connect it to an external monitor.

There are also more intriguing ways for these two gadgets to connect. You can easily move files between the Android and Windows sections thanks to a dedicated drive, and the software that comes with it allows you to wirelessly project your Windows screen onto the tablet or use your Android keyboard and touchpad, effectively turning it into an Android laptop.

It’s really amazing how well everything works, and Lenovo put a lot of thought into this concept. Even though it’s not required, I still think this is really cool and would like to see more. João Carrasqueira, the top Windows editor.

After 2024, we have CES 2025 in just a few days, where a plethora of products for the upcoming year should be unveiled. 2025 is expected to be a huge year thanks to new GPUs from Nvidia and AMD, HDMI 2.2, more powerful processors, and additional developments in quantum computing and cybersecurity. Though we have a sneaking suspicion that it will eventually be somewhat helpful for the general public, we’ll probably see more about artificial intelligence. In any case, here’s hoping!