From Zoom to Quibi, the tech winners and losers of 2020

Losers of 2020: Virtual Reality

As the world adjusted to a new stuck-at-home reality, the pandemic could have been virtual reality’s chance to offer an escape. But people turned to easier-to-use software and games that they already had. Few rushed to spend hundreds of dollars on a clunky new headset or tried to learn the ropes of virtual reality meeting software. And no VR games broke into the mainstream. So virtual reality, on the verge of success for decades, missed its moment, again.

Social media election labels

It was the year of labels on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and even TikTok. Ahead of the Nov. 3 U.S. presidential vote, the companies promised to clamp down on election misinformation, including baseless charges of fraud and candidates’ premature declarations of victory.