Over the last two and a half decades, as we’ve said hello to broadband, digital music and the smartphone, some truly phenomenal gadgets have passed through our sweaty hands. The smart home has (finally) become reality, as have wearables, voice assistants and 4K television. So this is a countdown of our favourite modern tech, including cracking consoles, fabulous phones, spanking speakers and more. Ladies and gentlemen, here are the greatest gadgets of this magazine’s lifetime.

25 BOSE QC35

These headphones changed Bose. For years its products appealed almost exclusively to a specific, highly uncool niche: you’d see its highpriced radios advertised in broadsheets, its cans in airport Currys stores. Then things suddenly got lively.

First came the handsome but still wired QC25s… and then, with their wireless successors, Bose banished its fusty stylings of old and made some of the smartest noise-cancelling Bluetooth headphones around. No plastic cups here: the outer parts were aluminium, for the touch of added class that had helped make Bose gear such a favourite among cappu-chugging business types in the first place.

Sure, other companies have since caught up with the American company’s ANC prowess. But back in 2016 you simply could not beat the QC35s for blasting away the low-frequency hums, drones and rumbles of city life.

The light-touch headband and exceptionally soft pads had a breezy fit, with the kind of comfort few get close to matching, let alone beating, today. The entire experience was like snuggling down into that first-class plane seat we’ve never been able to afford.

The sound was smooth and rich, powerful but with a soft edge, and the ANC popped the auditory stresses of the outside world like little floating bubbles.

Five years is an age in tech, but the QC35s are wireless headphones we’d be happy to use now.

RELEASED 2016

5 YEARS LATER… Bose QC45

The dear old Bose QC35s were so strong that not many dramatic changes were needed for the QC45s: similar design, just a few tweaks to the ANC, a little enhancement to the sound. We also get much-needed USB-C charging. £320 / bose.co.uk

24 TAMAGOTCHI

Diamond sprogs Later models enabled you to link up male and female Tamagotchis and get them to fall in love, even marrying and producing new eggs.

The Tamagotchi is the same age as Stuff… and is the oldest bit of tech on this list. But it fully deserves its place because it was one of those gadgets that was almost literally everywhere. Produced by legendary Japanese toy manufacturer and former gaming powerhouse Bandai, it sold in the tens of millions.

Why? We’re still not entirely sure. The small handheld gadget housed a virtual pet that hatched from an egg; you had to keep it happy, well-fed and behaved, and clean up after it.

Simulations like this weren’t a new idea – we had SimCity back in 1989, of course, and other life sims such as Activision’s Little Computer People as far back as 1985. But this was the little standalone device that brought individual artificially intelligent digital characters to the masses. And if that makes your nostalgia gland twitch, you can still get a Tamagotchi even today – yep, Bandai still makes them. RELEASED 1996

23 OCULUS QUEST

The Quest brought VR gaming into the homes of non-geeks, allowing users to interact with downloadable games rather than just watching videos. Using its cameras and sensors, players could now safely walk around while being tracked virtually. With built-in ear-firing speakers and a pair of intuitive controllers included, the Quest made full-on VR affordable and consumer-friendly. Whether you think VR really is the future or just a fad, there’s no denying this product’s significance in freeing it from the tech-nerd ghetto.

RELEASED 2019

22 FITBIT FLEX

Fitbit’s first wrist-worn tracker looks good eight years on. In fact, some of us would probably still be wearing it today if we’d taken better care of the little plastic nugget that makes up the Flex’s brain. What did it do? Well, five little LED pips showed how close you were to reaching your daily steps goal, while it also offered silent alarms and sleep tracking… and that’s pretty much it.

Back in the day some complained it was too plain, but you could still probably sell something like this on Kickstarter as a new kind of minimalist mindful wearable.

RELEASED 2013

21 SONOS PLAY:1

The Play:1 sang its way into our living rooms in 2013 as the most affordable Sonos speaker. Delivering the same high-quality audio we’d already come to expect from the company, it made Sonos an everyday brand. With the ability to play over Wi-Fi, Sonos’s own network and Spotify Connect, this was a speaker designed for those embracing the smart home. It could cater to only-slightly-slumming-it audiophiles too, with stereo tech to hook multiple speakers up together. The Play:1 was the ideal entry-level blaster for music streamers.

RELEASED 2013

SONOS’S GREATEST HITS

Roam (2021)

This ultra-portable speaker works with your existing Sonos system when you’re at home, but can be paired with your phone when you’re out and about.

Sub (2012)

The odd-looking Sub is a wireless subwoofer to beef up your low end, whatever other Sonos speakers you choose to team it with.

Play:5 (2009)

This one includes everything we love about the Play:1 but scales it up with even more luscious sound. It can be placed horizontally or vertically.

Arc (2020)

The Arc delivers Dolby Atmos in a one-box soundbar that works with the rest of your Sonos gear; it also supports Alexa and Google Assistant.