Best Tech of 2015

Technology moves at warp speed. By the time you unbox that shiny new gadget or install that new software update, it's time to move onto the next big thing.

The scope of technology stretched far beyond smartphones and laptops this year. Sure, we saw Android smartphones mature and catch up to the iPhone with premium materials and powerful cameras, but we also got "hoverboards," and more affordable drones, and our first real taste of consumer VR. Wearables, particularly, smartwatches, are also finally becoming mainstream with fashionable styles and intuitive use cases.

1. Amazon Echo

The Amazon Echo is part Bluetooth speaker, part personal voice assistant, and 100% awesome. The $179.99 tube is controlled entirely with your voice and understands commands to play music, tell you the weather and read headlines. The biggest reason to buy the Amazon is how it easily integrates with existing smart home devices from Philips' Hue Lights to Samsung's SmartThings. Connecting supported third-party smart home gadgets is super easy, and Alexa, the voice assistant, is responsive to the extreme. Using the Echo is so intuitive, you wonder how Amazon figured out the smart home before Apple and Google did.

2. Microsoft Surface Book

The Surface Book is a not exactly a laptop. It's an evolutionary convergence of tablet and ultra-portable design innovation. Made from magnesium, the Surface Book is both solid and sturdy. Press a button on the keyboard and the screen detaches to become its own turbo-charged tablet. The screen is brilliant, Windows 10 is smooth and the pen input is significantly more accurate than other styli. With Surface Book, Microsoft’s taken every lesson it’s learned from years of watching others build Windows laptops and done them all one better.

3. Apple iPad Pro

The iPad Pro is the biggest iPad ever and a clear nod to Microsoft's Surface Pro devices. When paired with the Smart Keyboard and Apple Pencil, the iPad Pro transforms into a powerful productivity workhorse. The iPad Pro is so powerful, it can edit three 4K video streams simultaneously in iMovie. Apple's giant tablet isn't for everyone, but for those who need to get "real work" done, the iPad Pro is up for the task.

4. Volvo V60 Polestar

Polestar's tuned Volvo V60 might not be better than its competition, but it's the most fun Volvo sports wagon to date. Then Polestar bolts on bigger wheels, bigger brakes, suspension that is 80% stiffer than stock, and a 2.5-inch stainless steel full-flow exhaust system with twin 3.5-inch tail pipes. The result is a car that accelerates like a Mercedes-AMG, brakes like a BMW, spits and crackles like a Jaguar F-Type, but looks like a safe family hauler. If you're going to consider the V60 Polestar, realize you're going to have to suffer the ridiculous looks of strangers and a suspension that feels like it's not quite yet sorted.

5. iPhone 6S/iPhone 6S Plus

The iPhone 6S and iPhone 6S Plus are evolutionary — as opposed to revolutionary — updates to the last year's iPhone 6 and iPhone 6S Plus. Usually, an "S" model year is a modest upgrade with faster hardware under the hood, but the 6S and 6S Plus are more than that. Apple added 3D Touch, boosted the cameras to 12 megapixels on the back and 5 megapixels on the front, added 4K video recording, a Touch ID sensor that's twice as fast and a stronger metal body. Most important of all: It comes in rose gold. Every iPhone is the best iPhone ever and the 6S is no different.