Getting a cell phone has become something of a childhood rite of passage. Parents often struggle with how soon is too soon, with the average child now receiving their first phone at age 10 and their first social media accounts by age 12.

There was plenty of Samsung buzz coming out of two individual events this week, not the least of which included the unveiling of its yet-unnamed foldable device. Another neat reveal coming out of the Android Dev Summit, however, is a feature that will allow users to continue using Android apps while they're being updated.

Ads and in-app purchases have become so prevalent in the games our kids play on their tablets that experts are calling them more than just distracting—they’re labelling them as “unfair” and “deceptive.”

When you just want to turn your brain off and sleep, meditation apps are perfect. A guiding voice, or the sounds of something peaceful such as rain, helps to fill the silence so your thoughts can’t creep in. The best ones strategically bore you into drowsiness. (You can look for sleep-focused meditation tracks, but I’m guilty of misusing the Headspace intro lessons for this purpose.)

As the TV series Westworld wraps up its second season, the show continues to spark discussion about a potential future that involves lifelike sex robots. Meanwhile, Australia’s largest adult sexuality and lifestyle expo, SEXPO, is making its way around the country with the theme “Feel the Future” – a nod to all things sex and tech. But while more lifelike sex dolls are beginning to hit the market, they aren’t the only innovations on the horizon.

At Google I/O earlier this month, CEO Sundar Pichai showcased an experimental Google Assistant feature called Duplex which can make routine phone calls on your behalf. In one striking demo, the digital assistant called a hair salon and scheduled an appointment with an employee at the other end in a voice punctuated with the vocal tics of a real human.

From apps that manage your subscriptions to ways to keep your phone alive when the battery has seen better days, the tips and tricks you can use to get the most out of the technology you use on a daily basis are all right here, and 2017 was chock full of 'em. Start 2018 on the right foot with some of Lifehacker's best tech posts of the year.

Brief news items of note for Lifehacker readers, including: how Facebook tricks you into trusting algorithms, 15 books that will help you succeed in the tech world, a gallery of video game nipples.

Infographic: It's 2017. It's supposed to be the future. Flying cars, hoverboards (not that kind) and robot maids should be the norm by now.

Does it feel like the future for you already? I mean, our own Amanda Yeo predicted a bunch of stuff that exists today. Or are you still waiting for that elusive advancement in technology?

When do you think we will get the technology that makes it feel like we are truly living in the future?

This afternoon, I'll be presenting at the Australian Institute of Superannuation Trustees' Ideas Exchange conference. It's an interesting gig as my job will be to help a bunch of non-IT people navigate the rapidly changing world of technology. With so much happening, I decided that the best way to help them was to strip away the minutiae of seemingly daily updates and get to the big trends influencing the way businesses work today.

Brief news items of note for Lifehacker readers, including: The biggest tech announcements from Computex 2017, bleak Australian economy forecasts, Street Fighter 5 tournament gets gate crashed.

2017 might go down in history as the year those boxy speakers your dad still uses finally started to go extinct. Following the development of a heat-powered graphene chip that could replace the speaker in your phone, scientists at Michigan State University have developed a paper-thin, flexible electronic panel that could turn fabrics into speakers -- among other applications.

The federal assistant minister for digital transformation has declared he is targeting a spend of $900 million each year on entrepreneurial tech suppliers, to move away from traditional providers like IBM.

Tech jargon is notoriously difficult to understand, but as more and more security issues dominate the news, more bizarre terminology comes with it. From honeypots to buffer overflow attacks, Sideways is a dictionary that uses analogies to explain how this stuff works.

We have some bad news for 3D TV aficionados (all three of you). LG and Sony have both confirmed they will be abandoning 3D TV support in 2017. These two companies were the final holdouts. In other words, it will soon be impossible to buy a 3D TV from a major manufacturer in Australia - and 3D Blu-rays are sure to follow suit.

As a researcher of nanomaterials, I am often asked: “When are we finally going to start seeing nanotechnology products on the market?” This is a simple question to answer because the average home is already filled with products enhanced or reliant upon nanotechnology.

Continuously checking your phone while hanging out with people is not only rude, but keeps you from being present with your awesome friends. To break the bad habit, consider enlisting your friends' help by telling them you're on a "smartphone diet".

There are plenty of incentives baked into the tax code for business and individuals -- to both assist with the day-to-day and invest in new gear. While it may not always make sense to claim a deduction, doing so can be a big help if you need some new tech.

TEDx is an annual technology and lifestyle conference that's all about sharing concepts, spreading ideas and sparking conversations in the community. This year's programme included a diverse and eclectic array of speakers, ranging from quantum physicist Michael J. Biercuk to Mongolian folk singer Bukhchuluun Ganburged. Here are ten things we learned during the event.