If you thought 2018 was an exciting year for technology with the boost of ambience computing, artificial intelligence and all things robot, you are sure to be impressed by the technology which has been predicted to take off in 2019.
Here are some of the best predictions of which technologies will have their time to shine this year…
We’ll start owning personal robots
Humans have been developing robots for decades, and not just for manufacturing and industrial applications. It has been said that this year, there will be the rise of ‘soft robotics’ – easier, safer and more like a companion compared to their industrialised (and slightly scarier) counterparts.
‘Soft robots’ would be brilliant for helping hospitals, schools and care homes for nurturing patients, assisting healthcare professionals and undertaking repetitive tasks – saving time and money in the long run. Their tasks could include dispensing medication or monitoring the state of the human body at an advanced level.
Augmented and virtual reality will become normal
Virtual reality is a close cousin of augmented reality and it’s being anticipated that it will become part of our everyday lives more than ever.
We already are experiencing the wonders that AR and VR can bring via apps and platforms such as Apple’s ARKit and ZapWorks, but this year, it’s being predicted that it will ramp up a notch and we’ll all be getting a taste of a world outside of our own reality.
Foldable phones will be a thing
Phone screens ending up cracked is said to have affected 50% of people globally and costs British people £680 million every year to fix – isn’t it funny how this didn’t seem to happen near as often as when we had flip phones?
Phones comprising of hinges may have a revival in 2019 in the form of ‘foldable phones’ being brought to us by Xiaomi, Samsung, Motorola, Apple and Huawei. Currently, securely behind doors, keep your eyes peeled for the release of this new generation of phones. It could end up saving us a lot of cash which we would otherwise have spent on getting our cracked screens fixed, now that screens are predicted to evolve to fold in on themselves.
We’ll all know what the Internet of Things (IoT) is
Something which is as broad as it sounds, the Internet of Things (IoT) is the network of devices such as vehicles and home appliances which have the ability to connect, interact and exchange data between each other.
It’s been predicted that we’ll start to have internet connectivity in everyday objects, making them smart enough to send and receive data without human-to-human or human-to-computer involvement. In no time at all, orders will start rolling in by people wanting a smart kettle, toaster or washing machine.
We’ll be able to connect to 5G
There were a lot of talks surrounding this last year and it’s being predicted that all new phones will be designed with the ability to hold 5G, so we’ll all start to be using it this year.
5G stands for ‘fifth generation mobile networks’…which surprisingly, is exactly what it is. With the move from 2G, 3G and eventually 4G, each time the networks have become quicker (some have said 100 times quicker!) and had the ability to support mobile internet a lot better. You’ll need a phone which is capable of connecting to the network, but the introduction of 5G could just be around the corner.
Hybrid storage solutions will emerge
Even though this technology has recently surfaced, it’s predicted to have a massive breakthrough this year. These types of storage systems essentially combine flash with a hard-disk drive – blending high performance with a low-cost capacity to get the best out of both worlds. Some are expected to have built-in data protection, management simplicity and deliver 99.9999% uptime.
We’ll be chatting to our work colleagues with apps
Facebook Messenger, Snapchat or Whatsapp are great for keeping in contact with your mates but aren’t necessarily considered a ‘professional’ platform to use during work hours with your boss looking over your shoulder.
So instead, you resort to keeping in touch with your colleagues solely by email or around the water cooler. This year, small talk in the workplace via tailored apps is said to grow in popularity significantly this year. Applications such as Slack, Flock or Workplace Chat allow you to have private conversations as a group or to individual colleagues while sharing files, photos and video calls – and the occasional Gif.
Electric cars will find their feet (or wheels)
Electric cars have been lingering around for a century or two (mainly in blockbuster films), but with all new cars in the UK predicted to be zero emission by 2040, some car manufacturers have been trying to get in early to establish themselves as ‘friends of the planet’ or a leader in electric cars.
Apparently, this year will be the year that the electric car will revolutionize the market and become more than just a novelty. The pricing is expected to be cheaper, more luxurious and smarter. Get ready for the revolution.
Social media giants will be at risk
We all remember Facebook’s huge Cambridge Analytica data scandal of last year and the harvesting of personal data via our Facebook profiles without consent and using it for political purposes. The platform hasn’t quite recovered fully from the downturn and has put the other major platforms – Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn and Snapchat – under the harsh spotlight of users globally.
People have guessed that this year, in response to the scandal, it could bring more paid social platforms, a significant increase in privacy regulation and overall becoming, social media becoming less popular.
Unfortunately, there isn’t a technology which can blast us to the future to find out what actually took off in 2019, so we’ll just have to wait and see what the year brings us in regards to technology. One this that is certain, this will be the year of big change, big improvements and big data breaches.
