I'm sure somebody else can give a more full summary than I can, as I haven't been fully up to date on everything either, but I'll name some things that I've been finding interesting.
- 3x3 hardware is now like these super expensive gan cubes vs some cheaper moyu cubes
- Tymon, the guy who used to be into pyra and stuff, is now one of the top 3x3 solvers and is known for his insane solutions
- Sq1 average is now faster than 3x3 (5.02 and 5.08 respectively) but that 3.47 single is still the record
- The online cubing community is becoming somewhat more mainstream, and everyone feels more distant now. Although, that may be from the fact that I've not made any cubing friends in years, and I've barely talked to the ones who I had. Did you ever used to do the thing where you message random cubers who seemed cool and make friends based upon that? I find it's harder to do that now (Although I'm pretty sure that it's because I'm 18 now and I started cubing when I was 11, but I figured I'd warn you still)
- Jperm has a million subscribers, CubeHead is popular and goes for the basic youtuber style, and Tingman does like wholesome basic content with his daughter
- Feet is no longer an event
- A few Asian kids with motivating parents have become insanely fast because they had a bunch of time to practice over quarantine (I'm sure everybody practiced a lot over quarantine, but these kids who are getting sub 6 averages are the ones who stuck out to me)
- Bluetooth cubes have become more common and I think people use them a bit, not really sure though because it always seemed like too much money to me
I'm sure there's more, but those are the main things that I can think of, as somebody who isn't very active. Welcome back to the community and I hope you're able to enjoy it again. If you ever are looking for new things to try in cubing, I would recommend virtual solving. I honestly don't even practice physical cubes anymore, because I find it to be much more satisfying to type.
