10 Products That Got Massively Better in the Last 2 Years

Technology doesn't improve evenly. Some categories stagnate for years, then suddenly leap forward. These 10 product categories experienced transformative improvements between 2024 and 2026 — if you haven't looked at them recently, you'll be surprised.

1. Robot Vacuums

Then (2023): Basic obstacle avoidance, mediocre mopping, required frequent maintenance. Now (2026): AI-powered obstacle recognition identifies shoes, cords, and pet waste. Self-emptying, self-washing, self-refilling mop docks handle maintenance automatically. The Roborock S8 MaxV Ultra literally does everything except fold laundry.

The category transformed from "useful gadget" to "you never vacuum or mop manually again."

2. Wireless Earbuds (ANC)

Then (2023): Good noise cancellation on premium models. Mediocre on everything else. Now (2026): Even $50 earbuds have effective ANC. Premium models approach the theoretical limits of what's physically possible with in-ear ANC. The Apple AirPods Pro 2 now includes hearing aid functionality and adaptive audio that adjusts to your environment in real time.

3. OLED Monitors (Price and Availability)

Then (2023): One or two OLED monitors existed, costing $1,500+. Now (2026): OLED monitors at every size from 27 to 49 inches, starting under $700. Burn-in concerns addressed with pixel-shifting and ABL improvements. The LG 27GS95QE OLED delivers 240Hz at 1440p with OLED perfection for under $800.

4. USB-C Chargers (GaN)

Then (2023): GaN chargers were a premium option. 65W GaN was impressive. Now (2026): 140W GaN chargers are smaller than old 30W adapters. Multi-port 100W+ chargers cost under $50. The Anker Prime 100W charges a laptop and two phones simultaneously from a charger the size of a deck of cards.

Read our charger guide →

5. Smart Home Interoperability (Matter/Thread)

Then (2023): Matter was announced but barely functional. Smart home devices were siloed in ecosystems. Now (2026): Matter 1.3+ is shipping on hundreds of devices. A single Eve Motion Sensor works with Apple HomeKit, Google Home, Alexa, and SmartThings simultaneously. Thread mesh networking provides sub-100ms response times.

6. Portable Power Stations

Then (2023): Heavy, slow to charge, limited output. Now (2026): LiFePO4 batteries last 3,000+ cycles. Fast charging via solar or wall outlet (0-100% in under an hour). The EcoFlow RIVER 2 Max charges from wall in 60 minutes and powers small appliances for hours.

7. Laptop Battery Life

Then (2023): 8-10 hours was considered excellent. Now (2026): ARM-based laptops routinely hit 18-22 hours. The MacBook Air M4 and Snapdragon X Elite Windows laptops deliver all-day battery life that fundamentally changes how you use a laptop. You stop thinking about charging.

The Apple MacBook Air M4 gets 18+ hours, and Qualcomm Snapdragon X laptops push past 20.

8. TV Peak Brightness

Then (2023): 1,000 nits was a premium TV feature. Now (2026): Mini-LED TVs hit 3,000-4,000+ nits. QD-OLED TVs reach 2,000 nits. HDR content looks spectacular even in bright rooms. The Samsung S95D QD-OLED is blindingly bright for an OLED — a category that was criticized for limited brightness just two years ago.

9. AI on Devices (NPUs)

Then (2023): On-device AI was limited to photo processing and voice assistants. Now (2026): NPUs handle real-time translation, image generation, document summarization, and local LLM inference. Apple Intelligence, Windows Copilot+, and Google Gemini Nano run entirely on-device for privacy-sensitive tasks. The Microsoft Surface Laptop 7 runs Copilot+ features without cloud connectivity.

Read our Copilot+ PC guide →

10. Budget Phones

Then (2023): Sub-$300 phones had mediocre cameras, slow processors, and 60Hz displays. Now (2026): The Samsung Galaxy A55 ($300) has a 120Hz OLED display, good cameras with OIS, 5G, waterproofing, and 4-year OS update support. Budget phones now deliver an experience that's 85-90% of flagship quality.

The Acceleration Pattern

These improvements didn't happen by accident. They share common drivers: manufacturing scale bringing down component costs (OLED panels, GaN semiconductors), open standards replacing proprietary lock-in (Matter/Thread), and AI/ML techniques improving product capabilities without hardware changes (robot vacuum obstacle detection, phone computational photography).

If you bought any of these product categories before 2024 and haven't looked at the current generation, you'll be surprised by how far things have come.

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