A year ago, virtual reality felt almost like a pipe dream. But during 2016, we saw the launches of the Oculus Rift, HTC Vive, PlayStation VR and Daydream, a new mobile platform from Google. VR is here, and it's very much . . . well, real. We're still waiting for more games to appear and for the price of truly immersive platforms to fall, but it's an auspicious start for a category that's sometimes felt overhyped.

Of course, there was even more great stuff this year beyond VR. We've seen the steady evolution of smartphones with Google's Pixel devices, the iPhone 7 Plus and Samsung's Galaxy S7 line (with the Note 7 being the obvious exception). Both Dell and HP delivered some of the most refined laptops we've ever seen (sorry, MacBook Pro). And we can think of a few more standouts too. Find all of our favorite gadgets of 2016 in the gallery below.