Michael Hicks’ Top 10 of 2023

After a yr of freelancing, I began full-time with Android Central in December 2020, making this the top of my third yr with the location. But in some ways, it was a model new starting. I switched from a jack-of-all-trades position to at least one centered on wearables and health. I dove into the Wear OS ecosystem, reviewed a lot of the finest health watches of the yr, used the Quest 2 and 3 for exercise checks, and customarily had a implausible time doing it. Looking again on 2023, I had loads of excessive factors to be pleased with, together with tech tendencies I’m enthusiastic about and a few enjoyable hobbies that stored me sane through the limitless occasions and deal-writing. These are my high ten issues that I cherished doing or seeing throughout 2023! (And hold an eye fixed out for my colleagues’ personal high 10s all through the upcoming week.)I wore six smartwatches and confused my neighbors(Image credit score: Michael Hicks / Android Central)My most-read article of 2023 was my 6,000-step strolling check sporting an Amazfit, Apple Watch, COROS, Fitbit, Garmin Forerunner, and Galaxy Watch directly whereas strolling across the neighborhood. Garmin got here closest to the actual quantity, with manufacturers like Apple, Samsung, and Fitbit falling behind in accuracy. Aside from weirding out a number of neighbors, the expertise confirmed me that individuals are actually within the fundamentals of how their watches work — particularly after seeing different tech websites copy the format advert nauseam for their very own articles — and that I actually take pleasure in testing these mechanics for myself. I walked 10,000 steps a day for a month(Image credit score: Michael Hicks / Android Central)Writing is a really sedentary and time-consuming job. That, mixed with the pandemic, stored me indoors, gaining weight and shedding motivation. Trying to maintain up my mileage solely led to a severe foot subject in early 2023 that made it go fully numb if I ran longer than a mile — and it took months to heal. My pivot to changing into Wearables Editor motivated higher habits and gave me the excuse to depart my desk for “research.” I walked 10,000 steps a day for a month, with the necessity for that picture above getting me out the door when I’d sometimes have stayed inside and performed Red Dead Redemption 2.As of December, I’ve run 650 miles this yr, about 250 greater than in 2022, and my telephone estimates that I’ve walked one other 1,000 miles on high of that. So far, it is helped me lose about 20 kilos from the beginning of 2023 — seven throughout my month of strolling.My Forerunner 965 made me higher at respiration(Image credit score: Michael Hicks / Android Central)I gave the Garmin Forerunner 965 a glowing overview this yr after which stored on sporting it, even whereas reviewing different watches. The principal purpose is due to its “training load ratio” stat: it tells you the way a lot of your coaching load ought to go into low cardio (gradual and straightforward), excessive cardio (quick and lengthy tempo), or anaerobic (max HR intervals and sprints) exercises to get quicker.Following Garmin’s TLR algorithm works, and that is not simply shopping for into the advertising and marketing. I boosted my VO2 Max rating from 46 (“Good” for my age) to 50 at this time (“Excellent”) over the span of some months with no different teaching. I can run a number of extra miles earlier than feeling drained, and I can run 400m about 25 seconds quicker than firstly of my coaching. Essentially, I can convert oxygen into power higher than I’ve in years.My hope is that my larger VO2 Max and elevated mileage will likely be a robust basis to make 2024 even higher and to get again to marathon runs once more!Running watches are getting REALLY good(Image credit score: Michael Hicks / Android Central)I solely began as Android Central’s major health reviewer in 2022, and I’ve to say that I’m fairly spoiled. I missed out on many years of watches that slowly packed in the entire options that I take without any consideration. I cherished the Forerunner 255, however I by no means actually understood what number of of its perks, like restoration time estimates, coaching load ratio, and dual-frequency GPS, weren’t issues that previous Garmin watches had. Now, I absolutely rely on these for my coaching, and new Forerunner 965 perks just like the Hill Score are serving to me enhance in new methods. I’m additionally thrilled to see manufacturers like Garmin, Polar, and Suunto transfer on from boring MIP shows. New working watches use AMOLED as an alternative whereas nonetheless providing two weeks or dozens of GPS hours of battery life. Plenty of long-time runners took offense to my stance, however I’ve no nostalgic attachment to MIP: I need the identical visible high quality you get in a real smartwatch, and now I’ve it. My cat stopped making an attempt to kill me(Image credit score: Michael Hicks / Android Central)Early final yr, I wrote about how my newly adopted cat, Blue, ruined the Quest 2 for me. His one little mind cell could not comprehend that I could not see him, so I’d both kick him or journey over him each time he went in to herd me round or demand pets. Neither of us was protected!Almost two years later, I’m joyful to report that he is begun to know that he ought to watch me from afar once I placed on the bizarre plastic factor and begin waving my arms.Plus, my two new VR headsets of 2023 make passthrough a much bigger precedence. My PSVR 2 has a devoted button to examine my environment, and my Quest 3 has higher decision with full shade and extra mixed-reality video games that go away your speedy environment seen. It actually helps!I went to my first Google I/O(Image credit score: Michael Hicks / Android Central)Despite dwelling so near Mountain View, I solely ever visited the Shoreline Ampitheatre for live shows rising up. This yr, I had the possibility to go to Google I/O 2023 and meet with AC’s former EIC Jeramy Johnson for the primary time in particular person! Here’s hoping I can do the identical with my different colleagues in some unspecified time in the future (all of us work remotely in several states). The occasion was just about all about Google’s pivot to AI to compete with Microsoft and OpenAI, which I objectively know is vital however subjectively have hassle getting previous the copyright theft and job alternative it represents. I had extra enjoyable enjoying with the Pixel Fold and Pixel Tablet for the primary time, units that really feel older than they’re by advantage of Google seemingly by no means speaking about them.I satisfied my companion to strive an Android telephone(Image credit score: Derrek Lee / Android Central)I’m spoiling an article popping out later this month, however oh nicely. My companion has used an iPhone because the lineup’s early days, however her first telephone was an outdated Razr flip telephone. Hearing her reminisce about how a lot she favored it and the way boring iPhones have gotten, I requested my colleague Nick Sutrich to mail the Motorola Razr Plus for her to strive.I’m unsure that she’s absolutely shaken off Apple’s maintain on her, as she nonetheless loves her new Apple Watch Series 9 and AirPods. But she’s advised me how a lot she loves the quilt display, the higher Google integration, and the distinctive foldable expertise that makes her excited to truly use her smartphone once more. The largest downsides are the shortage of iMessage — although the brand new Apple RCS coverage may change that — and the gorgeous horrible battery life. But it is good to be a foul good affect and provides her a brand new smartphone perspective. I began rereading Star Wars Legends(Image credit score: Michael Hicks / Android Central)With all of the work and working, my studying sort of fell off a cliff this yr, so I turned to the consolation reads of my highschool days. I actually like among the Disney canon books like Master and Apprentice and Thrawn, however now I’m going again to the unique Star Wars canon books that sparked my love of sci-fi. So far, I’m just a few books deep into Michael A. Stackpole’s X-Wing collection, which nonetheless holds up rather well with the motion, characters, and coronary heart (even when Corran Horn is extra of a Mary Sue character than Rey ever was). Then it is on to Heir to the Empire by Survivor’s Quest, the true classics, earlier than I’ve to determine if I wish to wade again into the Yuuzhan Vong books once more…I additionally reread Dune, which I like now much more than I did when my mother made me learn it as a teen. And I’m re-listening to the Rob Inglis Lord of the Rings audiobooks. I began a Baldur’s Gate 3 marketing campaign(Image credit score: Larian Studios)My outdated faculty pals and I’ve performed just a few Dungeons & Dragons campaigns over time. We defeated an evil magic college floating within the sky, deserted the DM’s quest to begin a rock band and battle David Bowie, and began our personal pirate crew. We even did a homebrew D&D/ Star Wars hybrid marketing campaign. We had fallen off of our campaigns not too long ago, however Larian Studios’ Baldur’s Gate 3, with its multiplayer mode, has introduced us again collectively for a chaos gremlin marketing campaign. It stars my pal’s Dark Urge character with a nudist streak, my different pal’s overpowered gnome wizard that collects familiars like Pokemon, and my no-inhibition barbarian who likes to begin fights with the worst attainable odds. It’s introduced us lots of pleasure to have a recreation that feels prefer it has only a few limits on what you are able to do and does the exhausting work of making a marketing campaign and visualizing the world so our drained brains do not should. I obtained by a tough yrWe’ve seen greater than our justifiable share of worldwide turmoil and political battle this yr. Without diving into specifics that do not belong on this web site, it appears possible that 2024 will inundate us with extra brutal information of battle and dying, together with a anxious election yr (no matter your views). Knowing that, I can solely attempt to treasure and nurture the positives of my life, at the same time as I acknowledge how fortunate I’m to have such a rewarding job and protected place to dwell — and keep conscious of what is occurring exterior of my peaceable bubble.