The Verge 2018 tech report cards

If one word described the focus around the tech industry this year, it’s privacy. From user data mishandling to the private lives of major tech executives having an impact on company cultures, this year we’ve become more aware than ever of when to take control of your own privacy — and when it’s time to speak out.

Beyond that, 2018 has also been a quieter year for innovation than the last — from gadgets to gaming to smartphones, most products we saw this year have been building on the grounds 2017 broke without many major new hardware releases. So how did some of the biggest tech companies and industries fare this year on The Verge’s annual report cards? In this last week of 2018, we’ll take a look at the past 12 months in technology, and what we can hope to look forward to in 2019.