Fast forward 2024: Big changes to expect in personal tech

How will technology be organised in 2024? We've thought of a few things. Here are our four main tech predictions for the upcoming year, ranging from toys and devices without screens to generative AI on smartphones.

Here are our four big tech predictions, covering smartphones, gadgets, and more.

In 2023, there was a noticeable shift away from impulsive product introductions, particularly in the smartphone industry. The discussion turned to new areas of technology, indicating a reevaluation of the potential significance of technology in our lives. This surprising development demonstrated the industry's skill at shifting its emphasis. Artificial Intelligence emerged victorious in this evolutionary process. This was a turning point in the history of personal technology and helped spur longer-term tech adoption. We may expect AI to continue gaining traction in 2024, with possible applications extending beyond the ordinary devices. These four significant technological forecasts could have a significant effect in 2024.

Generative AI is coming to smartphones

In 2024, smartphones will grow even more advanced. Though they won't necessarily change physically, they are about to go through a major evolution that will bring new use cases and modernise the smartphone experience. Over the years, artificial intelligence (AI) has been instrumental in the development of smartphone features like voice dictation and camera improvements. On the other hand, a totally new set of features is anticipated with the advent of generative AI.
Google's Pixel 8 series, which included capabilities like Magic Compose and Magic Editor, provided a sneak peek at how artificial intelligence will enhance the smartphone experience in 2023. This offered a preview of what was to come. Similarly, when Qualcomm unveiled the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 CPU in October, it gave a preview of what the 2024 smartphone would look like. The CPU integrates on-device Gen AI into consumer-grade hardware and is set to power every expensive Android smartphone this year, including the Samsung Galaxy S24 and the OnePlus 12.

Magic Editor on Pixel 8
A photo expansion feature, for instance, enables resizing of an image without sacrificing quality or distorting it. In a presentation, Qualcomm revealed how to utilise an AI system to assess the air quality and determine whether it's safe to walk outside by sampling the amount of particles in the air using a time-of-flight sensor. In a different presentation, an individual's skin temperature was utilised to detect their state of hydration using infrared sensors and an artificial intelligence model running on a phone. Even if they might not be on smartphones right away, these features are still an improvement above what they are right now.
It's obvious that auto-correction and voice-activated assistants like Siri and Google Assistant are no longer relevant in today's discourse. AI has shown to be more than just a catchphrase with the introduction of ChatGPT, and generative AI tasks appearing to be processed directly on the device at the chip level seems to be the way of the future—at least for mobile devices. This suggests that in order to fully utilise on-device AI, developers, OS providers, and OEMs will need to modify their apps and software. When it comes to responding to Google and Qualcomm by incorporating generative AI elements into the iPhone, all eyes are on Apple, the North Star.

Toys and Screen-less gadgets

Smartphones are nearing their end of life, if Humane's AK is any indication. What will take their place, though? However, with a wearable gadget like the AI Pin, users may answer calls, send messages, and acquire information without ever having to glance at a screen. According to AK, this artificial intelligence-powered gadget—which lacks screens—is the wave of the future of technology. But the question still stands: Will the gadget live up to the hype? Everyone is wondering the same thing, but nobody is certain of the solution.

An Ai Pin is worn by George Kedenburg III, a company employee, at the headquarters of Humane in San Francisco on Oct. 27, 2023. (Kelsey McClellan/The New York Times)

AK's confidence in his ability to ship the device for $699 in March indicates that he is prepared to take on Apple, his former company, with an iPhone killer. While the stakes are great, AK is not the only player in the field. Although he may be the most well-known because of his tenure at Apple, efforts are being made to increase the acceptance and popularity of AI-powered, screen-free goods. For instance, youngsters can converse with the interactive AI toy Grok, ask questions, and engage in imaginative play. Based on generative artificial intelligence, the adorable toy is voiced by Canadian singer-songwriter Grimes, the mother of Elon Musk's three children. The market for AI-enabled smart toys is predicted to reach $35 billion by 2030, according to Contrive Datum Insights.

Growth of augmented reality glasses

The Apple Vision Pro headset. (Image: Apple)

Although Mark Zuckerberg's Metaverse failed to gain popularity, augmented reality and mixed reality headsets have not yet disappeared from the market. Although the actual spike won't happen anytime soon, mixed reality and augmented reality gadgets will finally come into focus with Apple's Vision Pro debut in "early 2024." It's still early, and no one is certain which technology—MR or AR—will be approved. Although public interest in these headsets has been restricted thus far due to high sales prices and early mistakes, experts anticipate seeing more of these headsets presented in the years to come. In summary, 2024 will establish the foundation for these headgear to generate a novel environment, much to what happened with smartphones during the early 2010s. This is encouraging because businesses like Apple can now concentrate more on enhancing user experience and readying developers for compatible apps, as opposed to trying to push additional products to attract new users.

Mobile gaming consoles will be popular

The Steam Deck OLED. (Image: Steam)

Despite trade experts and insiders as well, 2023 proved to be a wonderful year for handheld consoles. Even if mobile gaming is quite popular, portable gaming devices had a major moment for the first time in ten years. With the release of the Steam Deck OLED, Valve cemented its leadership in the industry, while leading PC manufacturers Asus and Lenovo also unveiled their first generation of handheld consoles. Not to be overlooked are smaller competitors like Ayaneo and Analogue, who kept releasing specialised handhelds and drawing new players into the formerly crowded portable gaming market. Sony also made an impression with the PlayStation Portal, however it wasn't the portable gaming device we had been hoping for. Even yet, there was never a dull time for gamers because portable gaming systems were the greatest option for playing games on the road. There are rumours that Nintendo will introduce the next generation of hardware in 2024, and many people think it will have the same form factor as the Switch. We've all been waiting for the "aha" moment that portable consoles may provide.

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