Already jammed well into the top one per cent of the world’s most famous companies, there is a handful of long-term tech pioneers set to shake up major global industries in 2016 and beyond – touching us all along the way.
Automobiles, mobile phones, delivery services and even the major media – these are all industries for the masses that are set to experience major disruption, courtesy of a small handful of already famous tech titans.
I’ve nominated my major tech trends to hit or start taking shape during 2016 – trends we’re unlikely to miss.
1. Delivery drones will zoom into Australian air spaces:
Amazon Air is the leading the race to start delivering products by drone. Everything is ready; they have done the test flights, perfected their drone couriers, and now only await their drones policy with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) in the US to be rubber-stamped, which appears a formality.
The US FAA approval should be in the next six months. Google and Walmart are both looking at this future-is-now delivery service but Amazon has the hop on them.
Walmart says 70% of the US population is within a 5-mile radius of a Walmart store – perfect for drone delivery. This isn’t just a gimmick. It is a cost cutting disruptive maneuver that promises to shake up courier and delivery services in adopting countries.
Should Amazon’s US audition prove successful, Australia will likely follow soon after pending meeting local aviation regulations.
Saves time, saves money, can fly up to 15 miles – watch this space. It goes to show that Amazon is a tech company, not a retail company.
2. Cars the next frontier for Apple and Google
Tesla led the way with electric cars, but expect rumours about Apple and Google getting into this space to be more substantial in basis. It is interesting that it is Apple and Google again and both are taking a different approach. Apple has not officially announced this but there are rumours of secretly hiring engineers from Tesla, Volkswagen, and Ford.
The suspicion that the mysterious new company Faraday Future was a fake front for Apple seems to have been dispelled for now with Chinese billionaire Jia Yueting – who has made disparaging comments about Apple in the past – named one of the founders. Is Apple a silent partner? Stranger things have happened.
Apple is thought to be going with a Tesla approach – an electric car but with a better overall experience.
Google, however, is approaching things from a software perspective, focusing on the self-drive aspect of the car they have been testing that for a while.
This battleground seems to have similar traits to previous wars between the two protagonists. Apple focused on hardware through the iPhone while Google developed the Android platform and Android software. Apple is eyeing the car itself, while Google is trying to sell the intelligence of the car through this self-driving aspect.
At the moment these remain strong rumours only – but where there’s smoke, there’s fire.
3. Device Mesh ushers sci-fi lifestyle
In 2016, for the first time in five or six years, hardware phone sales will be down, but mobile will play part of a bigger picture. The ‘Internet Of Things’ where everything electronic in your life is going to be consolidated and integrated together – will gain momentum and change our lives.
Smart homes using sensors and voice activation is an example. There might be less mobile phones sold in 2016 but there will be entry points integrating with mobile. If you have smart air conditioning unit you might link it to your indoor sensors so it’ll turn on when the room reaches certain conditions, or tie it into a voice control system – you don’t need to use your phone to do this anymore, with everything becoming more integrated with everything else.
It’s not just home automation either – with sensors and technology on your arms (fitness bands, smart watches), in cars, in your clothing and everything in between, this concept – named Device Mesh by Gartner, is setting the stage for movie-like technology integration in our mainstream, day-to-day lives.
4. Surface Book to slay Apple
Microsoft are back in a serious way with sales of their Surface Book – in their exciting new Microsoft store- set to explode. Microsoft is in some respects the new Apple, already overtaking the iPad as the top-selling tablet online.
So positions of the tech giants have completely switched. Microsoft’s flagship Sydney store opening got a lot of media coverage whereas Apple stores aren’t that exciting anymore.
The Surface Book is a laptop that you can pull the screen off to transform it into a tablet. It is no gimmick, but a very high quality device that feels sturdy and solid in your hands, very much like what you’d expect from a Apple product.
It is positioned at the high end of the market and is Microsoft-only branded – Not an Acer logo in sight. The cheapest model starts around the mid-two thousand-dollar mark, climbing to nearly $5,000 – shades of the Mac Book pricing strategy some years ago.
After being overwhelmed by the iPhone juggernaut, which has far outsold Microsoft’s products such as Windows and Xbox combined, this niche product is a great attempt by Microsoft to make up some serious ground on the old enemy.
5. Scoop – Facebook the media conglomerate:
Facebook jockeying to become a bona fide challenger to traditional news sources? That’s clearly now the plan and expect to hear more about this during 2016.
Facebook knows all about you and is now using this intimacy to its advantage by effectively custom-building for you your ‘perfect personalised newspaper’ as Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg terms it.
To achieve this, Facebook has been tinkering with its news feed algorithm for the past couple of years based on research into how their users engage with content from friends and Pages.
Imagine a newspaper that contained only news that interested you. Between this and catching up with friends, why would you want to be anywhere else? That’s what Facebook are banking on.
Whether your penchant is for fashion, supercars or MMA, Facebook is increasingly feeding the beast based on what you commonly search, pushing you videos and interesting ‘news’ corresponding to your interests. Relatable advertisers are sandwiched within this calculated news feed, appearing less like an ad in the process.
Facebook’s revenue stream shows no signs of slowing down despite the metamorphosis – there are endless products and services finding their way onto newsfeed content because Facebook fans love their brands.
Facebook the media conglomerate – this is the direction they are heading in through 2016.
Paul Lin is CEO of Empirical Works, one of Australia’s leading mobile solutions agencies. He has built mobile solutions for some of the world’s biggest brands including Jim Beam, Skoda, Levi’s & Endeavour Energy.
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