For businesses and individuals, the arguably most important lesson of the last two years has been that transformative change isn’t as challenging to implement as some might have once thought.
Tech has sustained us through the pandemic and continues to redefine and restructure how we work, live and interact. With that in mind, here are our predictions for the tech trends that are likely to have the biggest impact in 2022.
Artificial Intelligence everywhere
"Smart" really used to mean connected – smartphones, smart TVs, and the myriad of other smart devices were the same toys but connected to the internet. Today, “smart” increasingly means powered by artificial intelligence (AI).
AI has permeated the tools we use to carry out everyday work. It also powers much of the robotic process automation that has enabled workloads to be lightened in admin, logistics, accounting, and HR departments. Whatever your industry or job function, you’re likely to find there’s an AI-powered solution designed to make your life easier!
Tesla’s smartphone – could it be a gamechanger?
By now, you will likely have heard about the idea of a Tesla phone, rumoured to be called Model Pi. News of the smartphone release has been circulating the internet and has got many people wondering, what would a phone from Tesla actually look like
The rumours of the smartphone were bolstered after the world-famous design studio ADR released concept images. Model Pi is rumoured to work on Mars, have Neuralink compatibility, mine cryptocurrencies, and would be the first-ever satellite phone available for the masses. According to another leak, Model Pi could be also charged with Solar power simply by keeping it in sunlight!
Repair-friendly gadgets
After years of fighting against repair shops, Apple surprised the public in November last year with a U-turn on the so-called “right to repair”. The tech giant said it would make its devices’ unique repair manuals and tools more widely available.
Other device makers are also jumping on the bandwagon. Dell recently showed off its Concept Luna, a laptop that has half the carbon footprint of a normal computer through shedding components and adding modular parts. Expect the sustainability of your next gadget to be a key selling point
Will the Metaverse shine in 2022?
During 2020 and 2021, many of us experienced the virtualisation of our offices and workplaces, as remote working arrangements were swiftly put in place.
In 2022, we will likely become increasingly familiar with the concept of a “metaverse” – persistent digital worlds that exist in parallel with the physical world we live in. Inside these metaverses – such as the one proposed recently by Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg – we will carry out many of the functions we’re used to doing in the real world, including working and socialising.
Zuckerberg’s recent Meta keynote turned millions of new pairs of eyes toward the metaverse, but there are several giants in this race to the future. Each of these companies has its own vision of the metaverse, which only serves to further expand the already vast meaning of the word.
Ericsson, which provided VR headsets to employees working from home during the pandemic, and is developing what it calls an “internet of senses," has predicted that by 2030 virtual experiences will be available that will be indistinguishable from reality.
The bottom line is that a metaverse can look like an office, a street or the bottom of the ocean. However, the most popular instances of it offer something that’s a mix of all of those things!
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