The year is about to end, which is a signal for industry experts to start giving their predictions on how things will pan out in the future. It’s no different in the tech space, where the rumor mill is now buzzing with news about what’s going to hit the scene next year. Meanwhile, innovations that we’ve seen in the past couple of years – from smartphones and the cloud to AI and content streaming – will continue to pick up as you will see in our round-up of top trends to expect in 2019.
- 5G on Phones and Laptops
Smartphone manufacturers and carriers have been planning to utilize the 5G system in cellular mobile communications for some time now, and come 2019, we might see these plans come to reality.
Apart from 5G-enabled smartphones, laptops might also be fitted with 5G technology. Intel is said to be including its 5G modems in select Dell, HP, Lenovo, and Microsoft laptops.
So the next time you shop for mobile gadgets, you might want to get first dibs on 5G phones or laptops to enjoy faster data speed and reduced lagging issues.
- Artificial Intelligence (AI)
AI technologies come in different shapes and sizes – from smartwatches to fast food kiosks and driverless cars. In 2019, you can expect smart assistants like Siri or Alexa and messenger chatbots to become smarter. They might even try to outsmart one another, like in a “duel.”
A Forbes article calls the rather complex concept “generative adversarial networks” (GANs), and describes it with a simplified example involving two AI systems. In the example, one AI system creates an image digitally, while the other system acts as an adversary by attempting to decide whether the image looks real or artificial.
Dueling AIs can have real-life applications, too. Start-up teams operating e-commerce stores can launch dueling AIs to give an additional layer of security for users who are trying to register or sign in to their online account.
- Connected Clouds
Companies that use cloud computing services might be shifting to hybrid cloud solutions sooner than later. This is in contrast to the current situation, wherein companies are using either public cloud (including Google, Amazon, and Microsoft) or private cloud for storing data or accessing applications.
This means that in the coming year, having Google as your public cloud provider might not suffice. You’ll need to have your own private cloud, which is helpful in controlling how you use or share highly sensitive and confidential data within or outside your organization.
- Content Streaming
Music and video streaming platforms will still make waves in 2019. The difference is, the audience (and the money earned from paid streaming) will now be shared between big players (Netflix, Spotify, and Hulu, to mention a few) as well as local services, which are capable of offering culturally relevant content that no other international companies can.
Technologically speaking, the boom in music streaming will create a ripple effect of further increasing the number of smart speaker users. In fact, it’s forecasted that by 2019, almost 50% of households in the United States will own a smart speaker.
Thus, you cannot totally discount the possibility that there will be more tie-ups coming up between content streaming services and smart speaker companies.
Where Will Technology Take Us in 2019?
This 2019, we’ll continue to be amazed at how pieces of technology keep shrinking in size but get a boost in their processing speed or storage space. New, cutting-edge systems of doing things will also give rise to more technologically connected societies across the globe. There’s no doubt that these trends will further make technology an integral part of our lifestyle.
