Every year has its highlights. There were also some in 2022. In a very personal review, the TECHBOOK editorial team reveals what these are in the areas of technology, streaming and gaming.
2022 was an exciting year in many ways. Many technology manufacturers and companies have presented new products, after Corona finally in a larger group again. Trade fairs were also held again. TECHBOOK reveals which new products, announcements and events the editors particularly remember in 2022.
Rita Deutschbein, Editor-in-Chief
Disney Dreamlight Valley
One of my highlights in 2022 was certainly “Disney Dreamlight Valley”, which started on September 6th as an Early Access version. As a longtime Animal Crossing fan, I couldn’t wait to try the game on my Switch. The theme is very similar to Animal Crossing, but it’s all about the popular Disney characters. Making friends, building the village, fishing, growing vegetables, completing quests are all part of the game, which is a great way to relax and unleash my creativity. At the same time, it was and is exciting for me to be involved in the creation of the game. Because as an early access version, “Disney Dreamlight Valley” is still in the test phase. So it’s always going to happen that something doesn’t work as it should, especially on the Nintendo Switch. In these cases, as a player, you can exchange information with the community and the developers via Discord, for example, who take the feedback very seriously and implement it again and again in updates. When “Disney Dreamlight Valley” is finally officially launched as a finished version in 2023, I can say: “I was there from the start!”.
You can read more about the game in our detailed review: “Dreamlight Valley” in the test – is the Disney game worth it?
The big update to Fritz!OS 7.50
Both as an editor, I have been accompanying AVM for years. Some Fritz products have also made it into my private use. All the more exciting for me are the major updates that give the devices, some of which I have been using for years, new functions. In 2022, the update to Fritz!OS 7.50 was one of my highlights. It came comparatively late because AVM didn’t finish the update for the IFA as originally planned. Instead, it wasn’t rolled out until early December. I particularly like functions such as the new relocation service, which makes it even easier for users to change the Fritzbox. Also important is the new VPN method WireGuard, which many have certainly been waiting for. Overall, more stability and faster Internet connections are at the fore here. But the update also brings innovations in terms of Smart Home, including the new if-then link, which has long been standard with other providers. Now it has also arrived on the Fritzbox.
All in all, I just think it’s good when manufacturers continue to maintain their devices years after they’ve been launched. And that’s just possible with updates that offer new functions and improvements.
Also read: Mega update for Fritzbox brings over 150 innovations
Adrian Mühlroth, editor
Steamdeck
When I made a four-euro down payment for the Steam Deck in February 2022, I wasn’t even sure if the PC console would actually be worth the money. At the time, I couldn’t count on the fact that in the end it would make my gaming PC and Nintendo Switch almost superfluous. Half a year later, in August, the Steam Deck arrived. First impression: Quite a chunk next to my Switch OLED – but also packed with hardware at laptop level. What makes the Steam Deck special is the ability to make PC games playable on the handheld console via a translation layer. Valve hasn’t just done a great job on the software side of optimizing even new triple-A titles for the deck. The hardware is also impressive. With a custom CPU and GPU from AMD, the console can compete with laptops. Of course, she benefits from the smaller screen, for which fewer pixels have to be calculated.
With the Steam Deck I can now play almost all my games on the sofa or on the go. The console even masters Cyberpunk 2077, Jedi: Fallen Order, Deus Ex: Mankind Divided, The Witcher 3 and Red Dead Redemption 2 – all very demanding titles – without any problems. Even if the purchase price of just over 400 euros seems a lot at first, the purchase is definitely worth it. Because you won’t get that much performance anywhere else.
iOS 16
After many years of Android smartphones, I finally switched to the iPhone in early 2022. While I’m very fond of iOS, I was missing some features that I’ve become accustomed to in Android. All the better that Apple has brought a whole range of new functions to the iPhone with iOS 16, which also make it easier for me to use it.
Finally iOS allows setting up multiple lock screens and on top of that gives us a choice of widgets to place on them. This was previously only available on Android. Apple has also brought order to the chaos after many years of completely useless notifications. As with Android, these now come in from below and are much clearer and easier to understand. Another highlight in iOS 16 is Live Text in Videos, which allows me to pause videos and highlight and copy text directly from it. I should also mention the new weather app, which finally shows more information about individual days and that Face ID now also works in landscape mode. Both things iPhone users have been waiting for far too long.
Marlene Polywka, editor
Next Gen Update for Witcher 3
Highlights are a very individual thing and that’s why the next-gen update for “The Witcher 3” may not generally belong on a list of technology highlights for 2022, but definitely on my personal list. It’s no secret that I’m a huge fan of the game. The fact that Projekt Red is now, seven years after the actual release and although new games in the series are already planned, has given us such a comprehensive update, surprised and pleased me in equal measure. Not only do you get more performance and upgraded graphics, you actually get new content. For me it was a nice reason to play the title again, what a – okay, honestly definitely 20! – provided a special moment this year.
New fantasy series
2022 was really a good year in terms of series. After a few rather mixed years, it was a real celebration, especially for fantasy fans. And even if the comparison is lame and many probably can’t hear it anymore, but in 2022 we finally got a “Game of Thrones” successor in the truest sense of the word. After the end of the overwhelming fantasy series, the efforts of broadcasters and streaming services to fill the gap could be seen on all channels. However, that did not really work out. In 2022, a spin-off of the series started with “House of the Dragon” – and quite successfully. Of course, one can argue in detail about what was particularly successful about the spin-off, but it was definitely an epic fantasy moment for me.
Incidentally, the same applies to the Amazon series “Rings of Power”, about which opinions can certainly be divided. Still, it was just nice to return to Middle-earth. And actually there are more fantasy series worth mentioning that I enjoyed a lot in 2022: “Alchemy of Souls”, “The Legend of Vox Machina”, “Sandman” or “Andor” (which in a broader sense might still be called fantasy series) were definitely real highlights in 2022.
IFA 2022
Honestly, this is again a very personal, but also symbolic story. After more than two years of the pandemic, during which the vast majority of trade fairs only took place digitally, it was a real highlight to be at the IFA in 2022. Of course, there were also some technical highlights that could be examined up close. But first and foremost it was simply nice to be there.