CES 2015: Six technology trends we spotted
The annual Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas is a good place to spot the trends that will dominate the tech world in the coming months. Here is our pick of the biggest trends that we think will dominate 2015.
By Nandagopal Rajan
4K everywhere
4K, or Ultra HD, is not something very new. But 2015 could be the year you see these high-end displays enter a lot of new devices as well as touch new price points. If Dell’s new Inspiron and Alienware ranges are any indication, 4K screens will hit the budget as well as top-end computing devices this year. On the other hand, we expect price points of 4K televisions to come down drastically by the end of the year. Companies like MediaTek are meanwhile putting in place delivery mechanisms for this high resolution content. On the other hand Sony and Panasonic have launched cameras that make creation of 4K content much easier.
More Android
Sony will launch the world’s first Android Lollipop televisions in collaboration with Google and powered by MediaTek’s processors. While over the top Android boxes have been there for televisions for the few years now, it will be the first time that users will get a true blue Google experience on their large screen televisions. We notice that a lot of other stuff, from virtual reality glasses to smart watches were also drawing heavily from Android. The domination of the Android operating system is almost complete.
Too many wearables
Every tech company, at least those who think they need to stay relevant, will have wearable device in the market by the end of this year. While the jury is still out of how much value these devices actually bring to the users, it is clear that these devices are now looking much beyond fitness tracking. There will soon be devices that look at everything from ultra-violet radiation and alert you of sunburns to those let you talk to your pets wherever you are.
The business of fitness
Tech companies have realised that there is money to be made in keeping people fit. So innovation is now looking much beyond fitness trackers. In fact, you will see devices that try and keep you fit whatever you are doing. For a change, there will be devices that look at mental health too, striving for achieving total relaxation as if it were the final goal in a game.
The affordable smartphone
The affordable mid-size smartphone is now as good, if not better, than any flagship. Recent launches like the Lenovo Vibe X2, the Meizu MX4, OnePlus One and Yu Yureka have shown that phones priced between $100 and $300 can take on the top end smartphones when it comes to specs and performance. Thanks to this democratisation of technology it remains to be seen if the smartphone giants change their strategy and start focussing more on the mid segment where the margins could be much lower.
Breaking barriers
We think 2015 could be the year in which cross ecosystem chatter between devices and technologies becomes easier to execute. In fact, the cloud could become the big facilitator for this to happen. All this will mean the user will get a better experience even if he is not completely on a single brand ecosystem.
