5 Big Tech Predictions for 2017

2017 is here! And while that’s a somewhat daunting realisation (yup, we’re another year older), it’s also an opportunity to get excited for what tech the year ahead has in store for us! But we never know too much, so we’ve got out our crystal balls, given them a rub, and have made some tech predictions for 2017:

VR will become a “thing”

We’ve been talking about the concept for many years now, but the tech has finally caught up to the ambitions of the industry. With the likes of the Playstation VR, Oculus Rift, and a wealth of other devices hitting (or already on) the market, VR is set to take a huge step forward through gaming, augmented reality, entertainment, and other uses.

Facebook will evolve… drastically.

OK, this may be a long-shot, but we definitely think there’s something big brewing over at Facebook HQ. Following their acquisition of virtual reality company Oculus, there’s no doubt the social network giant is scheming something with regards to VR. Our thoughts are that Facebook will dabble in VR chatrooms, allowing friends who have virtual reality headsets to create avatars and socialise in digital spaces… so basically there’ll be nowhere to hide.

Quicker, easier checkout methods will continue to grow

With the likes of Snapscan and Zapper, payments are becoming easier and easier – but they’re only the tip of the iceberg. With a smartphone in every pocket and the expansion of advanced barcodes and imaging technologies for scanning products, faster alternative checkout methods will continue to grow across the retail sector Amazon gained attention for its vision of grocery shopping sans checkout lines, so anticipate that other grocers and retailers will seek shortcuts for shoppers that they hope will breed brand loyalty.

Drones will dominate the tech space

Drones are already the must-have gadgets of today, with products like DJI’s foldable 4K Mavic Pro blowing the competition out of the water, but there’s more to come. Other manufacturers will undoubtedly try their hands at the drone market, and, like everything, competition is good. This will see a rapid advancement in consumer drone technology, which means we, as the consumers, should be in for a treat.

We’ll finally see foldable smartphones

Almost every month, we see patents being filed by the big smartphone manufacturers for a foldable smartphone design, however, we’ve yet to see one of these hit the market. In 2017, we think there’s a good chance at least one of the manufacturers will showcase their bendable device, as the need for more robust and flexible (pun intended) smartphones increases.

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