Results of 2021: all the best according to the edition of Lifehacker

We thought for a long time, conferred, argued and finally chose the best of this year: from smartphones and applications to books and TV series. Check out the list!

Best smartphone - Pixel 6 Pro

Surprise! The title this time was received not by the last iPhone, but by the flagship from Google - Pixel 6 Pro. The smartphone and its younger version have brought the entire line of gadgets to a new stage of development, where hardware and software are developed in close symbiosis. We can safely say that when creating the Pixel 6 Pro, Google managed to eliminate all the shortcomings of the previous models and at the same time not lose their merits.

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Best Android Smartphone - Pixel 6 Pro

The winner in this category is the Pixel 6 Pro again. The device came out along with the updated Android 12. The proprietary chip, sharpened for this OS, and the 120Hz screen provided a completely new experience. Add to that a 5000mAh battery, wireless charging, IP68 water resistance and top-of-the-line cameras - and get an almost perfect flagship that you can safely recommend to anyone who wants to get acquainted with Android from Google.

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Best Budget Smartphone - POCO M4 Pro 5G

There were many worthy contenders among Android-smartphones in the price segment up to 15 thousand rubles. The best among them was the POCO M4 Pro 5G. Gadget with a powerful processor, 6.6 ‑ inch display @ 90 Hz, NFC for contactless payment, a 5000 mAh battery and a 50 megapixel camera seems to be an ideal model in terms of price and quality.

The official cost of POCO M4 Pro 5G is more than 15 thousand rubles, but sales will be able to meet this amount, and in the coming months the price of a smartphone will decrease.

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Best Gadget - MacBook Pro (2021)

Over the past year, a lot of cool devices have come out, most of which have become updates to the already familiar series. The Coolest Upgrade Medal is awarded to the MacBook Pro (2021).

A compact device with an improved 10-core M1 Pro processor (or M1 Max in more expensive variations) gives the power of a full-fledged PC. At the same time, the MacBook Pro retains the impressive battery life that Apple laptops are famous for.

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Best Web Service - You.com

The promising search engine You.com has become the best service for us this year. He offers a radically new approach to the selection of information. Instead of the most appropriate short answer, You.com provides a squeeze of links from various sources to provide a more complete and objective picture upon request. The auxiliary widgets of the service and the presentation of results by category greatly simplify the search for information.

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Best Android App - HalloApp

Our winner in this category is HalloApp, a messenger / social media hybrid from former WhatsApp developers. The main advantages of the app are privacy and no ads.

In HalloApp, you can chat in private and group chats and view your friends' news feed. All data, including correspondence, is encrypted here. No information about users is saved in clear text.

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Best iOS App - BlackSight

We consider BlackSight the best iOS application - a specialized camera for night photography that works even on old iPhones. Long exposure and the magic of computational photography algorithms help to make high-quality pictures with the main and secondary cameras with the application in the dark.

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Best Game - Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy

This time, we did not have an unconditional leader among the games. Several interesting projects claimed the first place. However, we decided to recognize the best of them Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy, undeservedly deprived of attention.

The thrilling third-person action game pleases with a bright picture, a variety of locations, excellent narration and cool old-school music that has become the hallmark of Guardians of the Galaxy.

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Best Film - "Dune"

We unanimously recognized Denis Villeneuve's Dune as the main film of the year. The adaptation of Wells' novel turned out to be incredibly large-scale and beautiful. The sets and costumes in the film are impressively detailed, music by Hans Zimmer combined with the magnificent sound design completely immerses in the story, the play of the actors is mesmerizing, and the special effects amaze in its scope. At the same time, the picture, first of all, remained an important story about the search for one's place in life.

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Best TV series - "The Squid Game"

The best TV series we named "Squid Game" from Netflix, which made a splash on the Internet.

The Korean TV series about a deadly struggle for a huge cash prize combines uncompromising brutality, a beautiful picture, an unpredictable plot and acute social issues. Such an explosive cocktail made Squid Game the brightest and most memorable show of this year.

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Best Russian TV Series - "Vampires of the Middle Strip"

Of the Russian TV series, we liked the START streaming service project the most. The show about a family of bloodsuckers from Smolensk is reminiscent of The Real Ghouls and The Addams Family at the same time. And it also pleasantly surprises with excellent humor, an intriguing detective plot and bright and lively characters.

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Best Book - The Enlightenment Continues. In defense of reason, science, humanism and progress "

The best in this category, in our opinion, was the bestseller “The Enlightenment Continues. In defense of reason, science, humanism and progress. " In it, psychologist and popularizer of science Stephen Pinker is optimistic about the present. With the help of statistics and facts, he proves that the progress of mankind is obvious and not accidental, and people now live longer, freer and happier than ever. The perfect book for our troubled times.

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Best Podcast - Why We're Still Alive

We decided to choose the best podcast from those that just started this year or released a new season. The winner was the show "Why are we still alive" from the studio "Either / Either".

The podcast is still relevant in 2021 - medicine and health. But the authors of Why We Are Still Alive did not go down the beaten track and did not talk about things related to the coronavirus. Instead, they looked at medicine from a historical perspective.

In the episodes, pediatrician Fyodor Katasonov tells how doctors learned to treat diseases that were previously considered verdict, decided on new operations and discovered medicines, without which we cannot imagine a modern a life.

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