In the 21st century our dependency on smartphones has quadrupled. It was a great start to the connectivity revolution and now in 2016 we ask what’s next?
Touted as the next big thing in consumer technology and connectivity, Internet of Things (IoT) is soon to take over. It basically refers to smart devices or appliances that are capable of communicating with each other with minimal human intervention.
Some might say it’s the blueprint for artificial intelligence, but it’s not.
Imagine a day when the air conditioning of your room is turned on even before you reach home or when you have forgotten to get the laundry supplies but somehow, almost magically, the machine ordered the washing powder on its own.
Ericsson’s Mobility Report forecasts that by 2018 there will be as many as 16 billion connected devices joining the IoT. Now that is phenomenal. Smart keys, food processors, auto-refilling cookie jars, and what not; the possibilities are endless.
It also says that mobile data traffic in India will grow by fifteen times and around 90 per cent of mobile data traffic will be from smartphones by the end of 2021.
Image: Ericsson Mobility Report
IoT might just become the guiding principle of future devices as the advancement in network technology continue to grow. 4G LTE connectivity is already here and with 5G under trial, the future looks promising for connected devices.
But, there are certain challenges which manufacturers are currently facing when it comes to mass development of IoT products. These include coverage, more network support and power consumption. The report suggests that advancement in technology will resolve the issues by 2021 when 1.5 billion IoT devices will have cellular connectivity.
With affordability of internet and better coverage, more people are making the big switch from basic phones to their smarter siblings. The subscription of smartphones is expected to exceed that of feature phones by the third quarter of this year. This will result in an increase of internet consumption and also a surge in connected devices by 23 per cent annually.
Smartphones are becoming more central to modern existence and IoT will be a natural progression that will lay the foundation of the envisioned future of connected vehicles, houses, and gadgets.
As we see smartphones getting smarter, vehicles getting driverless, and houses working on their own, the rise in phone zombies is inevitable.
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