{"id":4190,"date":"2018-02-09T09:06:40","date_gmt":"2018-02-09T09:06:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conferencecall.co.uk\/blog\/?p=4190"},"modified":"2018-02-09T09:12:09","modified_gmt":"2018-02-09T09:12:09","slug":"tech-trends-for-2018","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conferencecall.co.uk\/blog\/tech-trends-for-2018\/","title":{"rendered":"Tech trends for 2018"},"content":{"rendered":"

In years gone by we’ve heralded the arrival of 3-D printers, robot dogs<\/a>, and apps including Vine and Instagram, not to mention the boom in wearable tech<\/a> (which, in our opinion, is still<\/em> to really take off) – so what will be the tech trends for 2018?<\/p>\n

To get an idea of what we can expect to see more of this year, we took a look at was was big at\u00a0CES 2018, the massive, Las Vegas-based\u00a0consumer electronics fairs.<\/p>\n

The Internet of Things (IoT)<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Although we hear a lot about the Internet of Things, there’s never enough to really capture the imagination – unless the idea of your toaster talking to your fridge, while your printer (not to mention any number of hackers) listens in. Even the name – the\u00a0Internet of Things<\/em> – is vague and uninspiring.<\/p>\n

Even so, loads of startups in the tech sector are always looking to outdo each other with ever new intelligent applications. So, at CES we saw even integrated devices, from refrigerators with integrated Bluetooth connection, smart home, water dispensers that are connected to the smartphone. The obvious question here is ‘why?’. And to be honest, we’ve absolutely no idea, unless it’s just another way for data harvesters to collate information on what we’re doing, how we’re doing\u00a0 it, and when we’re doing.<\/p>\n

Virtual assistants<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Another seemingly pointless piece of tech comes in the form of those virtual assistants that are only good for adding stuff to your shopping list, or reminding the most hapless in society to carry out the most basic of tasks: “Alexa! Remind me to change my underwear in the morning.” or “OK, Google, don’t let me forget to pick the kids up from school. Again.”<\/p>\n

Like it or not though, Amazon Echo<\/a> and Google Home<\/a>\u00a0are a bit of a big deal – “Alexa, when exactly will the robots take control of the planet<\/a>?” – and were also the focus of\u00a0CES 2018<\/a>\u00a0.\u00a0The Smart Assistants, in turn, often network with IoT applications.\u00a0With Smart Home and Voice Assistant, you can simply turn on the heating with a voice command or dim the lights.\u00a0Although these functions are basically nothing new, but due to the success of the digital language assistant, they are also for the average consumer more attractive and above all affordable.<\/p>\n

Virtual reality<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Some manufacturers, including HTC and Lenovo, introduced their new VR glasses.\u00a0The\u00a0Vive Pro<\/em>\u00a0from HTC is to convince with its dual OLED display, which offers a resolution of 2,880 x 1,600 pixels.\u00a0Lenovo’s\u00a0Mirage Solo takes<\/em>\u00a0a different approach: the VR glasses can be used independently.\u00a0No PC or smartphone is needed.\u00a0With a built-in motion tracker it should provide mobile gaming fun.<\/p>\n

Green vehicles and driverless cars<\/strong><\/h2>\n

CES 2018 was not just about technology gadgets.\u00a0Mobility also played a big role.\u00a0For example, some well-known manufacturers such as\u00a0Byton presented<\/em>\u00a0their prototypes.\u00a0On the one hand, the focus was, of course, on environmentally friendly and efficient engines.\u00a0On the other hand, the vehicles of tomorrow are equipped with all sorts of functions such as biometric sensors to assist the user while driving.\u00a0In addition, Hyundai introduced its hydrogen-powered Nexo.\u00a0The fuel cell is considered as an optimal, possibly better alternative to electric motors.\u00a0Furthermore, some concepts of autonomous driving were presented.<\/p>\n

The best of CES 2018<\/strong><\/h2>\n