Hot new tech products in 2016

Huawei Watch

Smartwatches continue to be a hot theme in 2016, and China's Huawei has some of the most handsome offerings.

The Watch Jewel and Watch Elegant, run Google's Android Wear software and are aimed at women.

The Watch Jewel has 68 Swarovski zirconia crystals surrounding its circular 42-mm body. The watch face is always on in low power mode and lights up into full activity when tapped.

"We wanted it to be more feminine and something that women would be more attracted to," says spokesperson Chase Skinner.

Hexoskin

Wearables continue to be big, with companies and entrepreneurs literally trying to cover every body part with connectivity and sensors.

Montreal's Hexoskin announced a new smart shirt, which measures its wearer's cardiac and breathing activity. The shirt, as well as the tracking device that slips into it.

Hexoskin chief executive Pierre-Alexandre Fournier says the shirt works better than wristworn fitness trackers in activities such as martial arts, boxing or basketball.

"We measure things that are hard to measure on the wrist," he says. "And if you want to do team sports, you can't wear things on your wrist."

Lego Education

Lego toys are always a hit, even if they are educational, which is what Lego is aiming for with its new WeDo 2.0 kit.

The set aims to introduce children in Grades 2 to 4 to simple programming, a sort of slimmed-down version of Lego's full Mindstorms robotics toys.

The base set, which lets kids create and program small Lego robots, will bring science to life in the classroom.

HTC Vive Pre

Taiwan's HTC is one of the companies leading the charge of virtual reality with its secondgeneration Vive Pre headset, which is more compact and comfortable and features improved lenses, as well as refined handheld controllers.

The Vive Pre also has a front-facing camera for detecting its wearer's surroundings and keeping him or her from walking into things. It's a mind-blowing experience, but it still needs a high-powered computer to work.

Drones

Unmanned systems, also known as drones have improved.

The options span from inexpensive toys from the likes of France's Parrot to the Inspire 1, from China's DJI.

The Inspire 1 is aimed at professional filmmakers, with a 4K camera and video positioning system.

4K TVs

Ultra-high-definition or 4K televisions are picking up steam, with all the major manufacturers now in full-blown push mode on the higher-resolution panels.

Aside from packing more pixels onto screens, however, the TV makers, including Sony, Samsung and LG, are also adding high-dynamic-range technology, resulting in better colour ranges and whiter whites.

Tracking firm IHS expects global sales of the higher-ends sets to hit 96 million by 2019, up from just 12 million in 2014.

4K Blu-ray

To go with those 4K televisions, manufacturers will soon be releasing 4K Blu-ray players with Samsung and Philips are two of the major companies.