Technosexuality and Micro-apartments Were All the Rage in 2015

A couple of buzzwords and phrases dominated 2015. Like:

Technosexuality. Micro-apartments. The Internet of Things.

All of which we’d like to discuss today, in our swan song for 2015.

This year, we figured out more productive ways to work, including but not limited to standing desks and microhomes. We uncovered some bizarre tech for our love life. And we found a whole lot o’ fun stuff to buy — turns out, we really like handsome leather bags and American-made watches.

Remember the year we left, and enjoy what’s next.

Grab your tissuebox.

We learned how to collapse time.
That was our thesis for the first annual Productivity Guide, where we promised that just five minutes of reading up on standing desks, pre-8 a.m. workflows and using A.I. to schedule your life would produce 1,000 hours of extra time per year. And what do with all this extra time in 2016? Travel, for both wellness and spontaneity.

We got a new bag. Or nine.
Turns out, we like bags. Bags to survive earthquakes. Ridiculously handsome leather weekender bags. Less rank gym bags. Bags you can customize. Bags that use sci-fi future tech (well, Bluetooth) so they’ll never get lost. And then, finally, we gave up and let someone else handle all our luggage.

We discovered the future of sex.
In 2015 (aka the year of the Internet of Things), the sex industry shifted in a much more “hands off” way than ever before. “Technosexuality” was repurposed to describe the fusion of virtual reality and sex. It’s now a catch-all for a gaggle of interesting, hilarious and definitely NSFW gadgets like the TwerkingButt or a device that allows you to get busy with your iPad. Meanwhile, we apparently now hate mainstream nudity (bye, Playboy centerfolds) but love indie nudity. And for some smart advice, we kept things human and turned to our resident sex advisor/TED Talks alum Esther Perel.

Watches aren’t going anywhere. Especially in this country.
The Apple Watch neither failed nor changed the game: in fact, it simply redefined the watch world. They, too, became smarter. You can now rent a Rolex (but you should really invest in one, or at least buy one refurbished for half the price). Luxury watches dropped below three figures. And America rediscovered its manufacturing acumen: here’s how we’re beating the Swiss at their own game.

We got out of the house.
Our housing ran on wheels and solar power. It was repurposed from an old 727 (and school bus). It transformed into (admittedly luxe) tipis and tree tents. Igloos, too. It floated and arrived with its own submarine. It arrived, pre-fab and in a box. All of this as the micro-apartment trend continues (and yet, not the micro prices).

And finally, we prepped for 2016.
We picked out the right champagne for New Year’s. And a tux. We made a playlist of the year’s best music. We reflected on the year with the help of 79 different “best of 2015” lists (favorite: Deadspin’s Annual “What We Got Stuck in Our Rectums Last Year”). And we reminded ourselves that we’re gonna have to relearn how to (handsomely) shovel snow. At some point.