Two of the biggest mobile technology tradeshows, the Consumer Electronics Show and Mobile World Congress, are now well behind us for another year. With a raft of announcements in the history books, now is a good time to pause and ponder what these events can tell us about what we can expect for the rest of 2014.
Two key trends emerged at these latest: Wearables were everywhere and are quickly shedding their new technology label and establishing themselves as a complement to the smartphone and tablet markets as well as their own product category. As for smartphones and tablets, as impressive as some of these new devices are, we are clearly in a phase of evolution rather than revolution.
Wearables
Almost every mobile device company appears to have realized that wearable technology is the new market to be in. We’ve seen a sudden proliferation of devices such as fitness armbands and smartwatches over the last two events along with completely new categories of devices such as wearable fashion.
Along with established companies, startups are everywhere in this field. It all gives this space a very palpable sense of excitement and some out-there concepts such as the Lumia 1520 dress. To feel this excitement for yourself (and if you live in Toronto), check out the next Wearable Wednesday Toronto meetup.
The affordability and wide range of sensors now available has everyone trying to take advantage of the information they provide to come up the next breakout product. It feels like imagination is the only limitation right now.
2014 will continue to see the introduction of many more such devices. Many will fail to deliver on their hype and promise and will quickly end up on the scrap heap of history. But while a truly breakaway product may not surface this year, this year will give us a real taste of what is possible and to come in this field in the next few years.
Smartphones and tablets
Smartphones and tablets have been with us for a number of years now. Entering a mature stage, the pace of outright innovation has slowed dramatically. Smartphones have evolved a lot from their early days but the changes are now more gradual and subtle than in years past. Most of the changes are taking place under the hood as faster processors, better displays and new software features dominate. Styles have changed but the overall all-touch form factor clearly dominates and has done so for a while now. All in all, subtle changes are the order of the day.
The rest of the year will likely bring with it further innovations such as 64-bit operating systems, octa-core processors and WQHD displays. As exciting as these are, they are again evolutionary steps rather than revolutionary ones.
Where will the next revolution come from? Two technologies stand out as potential breakout areas: Foldable displays (along with other foldable components) and contextual awareness. We got our first taste of both last year with the Samsung Galaxy Round and LG G Flex for the former and the Motorola Moto X for the latter. While we can expect both to take further steps forward this year, it remains unlikely that either will transform the smartphone and tablet markets this year. Too many technological hurdles still remain. Perhaps in 2015.
What to expect in 2014
Both product categories will generate a lot of buzz this year. As the new kid on the block, wearables will do so simply because of their ‘newness’ and their promise while smartphones and tablets will do so as they continue to integrate themselves in our lives and become nearly ubiquitous.
If rumours are any indication, even Apple, the company that revolutionized both the smartphone and tablet spaces in recent years, looks set for another evolutionary step this year with the introduction of larger iPhones and perhaps even larger tablets. Apple may also jump into the wearable space with the oft-rumoured iWatch. If so, we can expect it to sell very well and likely become a key product to further establish the credibility of these devices. Whether it truly breaks new ground remains to be seen though.
Apple iWatch concept (Forbes.com)
All in all, 2014 will be an interesting year but it is shaping up to be the prolog to much more exciting times in the next couple of years.
Looking into your own crystal balls, what do you predict for the rest of 2014? Let us know below.