2014 looks like it’s going to be an exciting year for tech, with a lot of predictions being made about what we can expect in terms of innovation, exciting consumer products and development. Here are our top four tech predictions for the year – we’d love to hear what yours are! If you think you know what’s going to be big this year in the tech and online world, share your thoughts in the comments section.
1. Wearable tech goes mainstream
This year it’s expected that Google will launch the consumer version of Google Glass, which last year was only available to an exclusive group of people. Samsung and LG are also thought to be following on Google’s heels by releasing their own headsets this year.
Looking less like props from a sci-fi movie, smartwatches are also thought to be making it big in 2014. Samsung’s already released a smartwatch, the Galaxy Gear, and the Pebble launched last year, funded by crowd sourcing website Kickstarter. These watches are pretty expensive though, and so haven’t hit the mass market. This year it’s thought that Google and Apple will enter the smartwatch market with their own, more affordable offerings, prompting Samsung to produce a follow-up product to the Galaxy Gear.
More than watches and headsets, wearable tech will increasingly make its way into more everyday garments, such as underwear. Who knows what we’ll all be wearing by the end of the year?
2. More Wi-Fi
Experts predict that 2014 will be a breakout year for Wi-Fi in Africa. In 2013 Rwanda introduced free Wi-Fi in its capital city, Kigali, with plans to roll out free Wi-Fi throughout the country, while in South Africa we saw free Wi-Fi zones opening up in Tshwane, Stellenbosch, Camps Bay and District Six, as well as in hotels and restaurants, and this year we can expect even more Wi-Fi zones.
3. Growth of the Internet of Things
Through the use of apps, we can already control physical things like household appliances and extract data to make our lives more efficient, such as finding out how much milk there is in the fridge. In 2014 it’s predicted that the physical and digital worlds will converge even more. Until recently, connecting a device to the Internet of things was relatively expensive, but in the past year or so inexpensive chips have been created that can connect almost anything to the Internet via Wi-Fi, which means that in the coming year we’ll see a huge growth in this tech trend. We’re hoping that this means that by the end of the year there’ll be an app that will bring us tea and breakfast in bed.
4. The rise of the Quantified Self
The Quantified Self is a movement that incorporates digital technology into tracking personal data and metrics such as amount of sleep, kilometres walked in a day, heart rate, blood sugar and calorie intake by wearing sensors. It’s hugely popular – in a study by Ericsson, about 40% of smartphone users want their phone to log all of their physical activities and 56% would like to monitor their blood pressure and pulse using a ring.
So far, this self-tracking has focused on physical metrics, but it’s predicted that in 2014 new technologies will allow us to gain insight into our mental and emotional health. For example, there’s an app that allows you to record your dreams, and the Melon headband and app which helps you track your focus to see what factors affect you.
The tech trends our social media followers predict for 2014:
My prediction for 2014 tech trends is the rise of wearable computing eg. smart watches, Google Glass-type devices. My wish for 2014 is an iPhone battery that lasts longer than half a day.
Ayran Thane Olckers
I think we’ll see more 4K resolution TVs and content including movies and maybe even gaming in 4K resolution and promising advancements in nanotech.
