5 ms·

I think we just reached peak smartphone. What's next?

by c-slice 10y ago

fla 10y ago
Gaming console ?
- piyush_soni 10y ago
  VR, Drones, self-driving cars, of course, everything controlled by smartphones.
- cududa 10y ago
  Funny enough, most VR projection models use gaming consoles as the low point of estimating units a few years from now. I want to bet on sunglass sized AR, but it seems like we'll need some material science revolutions to shrink down the requisite hardware to have the kind of useful experience is imagine
  - fla 10y ago
    AR and VR should become one, and hardware shall be fully untetherd, extremely powerful and energy efficient. A long way to go, but we'll be there eventually :)
  - ant6n 10y ago
    It's more like power and heat that are the problem, not size. Chips are pretty small.
CrackpotGonzo 10y ago
no phones
forgetsusername 10y ago
More importantly in this context, will Apple be the company to bring it to us? Is it the watch? Interesting point for the company.
rqebmm 10y ago
Some combination of wearables, AR/VR, IoT, and consumer 3D printing. The thing is a) those are all a few years out, b) they're interconnected. VR will happen first because it's got an obvious path to a large consumer base. That will lay groundwork for AR, which is probably the actual Next Big Thing. Wearables/IoT/3D printing are really an extension of the miniaturization/customization of longstanding technologies, but are all experiencing severe growing pains (wearables : size/batteries, IoT : cost, 3D Printing : materials).
- petra 10y ago
  I agree about VR and AR. As for the rest: wearables hadn't had a really strong use case - so it's either a niche or a fashion/status object - and maybe that's what will limit growth even when size/batteries gets solved ? IOT: cost is definitely a huge barrier, but will it be that huge deal ? or just another feature in the stuff we already buy - sold to us through the same big companies, with a few specialized products ? And 3D printing - don't you think a 1-day Amazon 3 printing with the most optimal processes will win, for most consumers ?
  - mdorazio 10y ago
    I'm with you on wearables - I've been trying to think of mass-market use cases for at least a year now, but I just can't find anything that's appealing outside of niche markets like disabilities and medical monitoring. As for 3D printing, the biggest problem in my opinion is modeling, not printing itself. The cost of stereolithography printers is finally dropping, and extrusion printers are getting easier to use, but actually printing things is useless unless you have a model you can print. Most people just don't want to spend the time or effort to create a model, especially when you can walk into a store and get a higher quality item that's professionally designed and manufactured for dirt cheap.
- serge2k 10y ago
  I really don't see 3d printing going anywhere. What are you really going to print?
  - 10y ago
swalsh 10y ago
VAR - Virtual/Augmented Reality. Also, i'm hoping my future glasses have some kind of mechanism built in that will let me text with my mind... even if that means thinking about moving shapes or colors or something to do it.
- supercoder 10y ago
  VR is still about 10 years away before it moves into the mainstream. Currently it's just looking like a gaming accessory and has a long way to go before it's much more
  - majani 10y ago
    But VR/augmented reality is still the next big thing. The demand in commerce and advertising is for more and more invasive media, I'd say any prediction towards this goal is dead on. It's just a matter of finding well priced, socially acceptable gear.
- deleted 10y ago
  [deleted]
deleted 10y ago
[deleted]
agumonkey 10y ago
Nonputing. Ubiquitous invisible (hopefully secure).
melling 10y ago
Nope, you're wrong. Do you think smartphone sales are going to decrease this year? http://techcrunch.com/2015/06/02/6-1b-smartphone-users-globally-by-2020-overtaking-basic-fixed-phone-subscriptions/ http://techcrunch.com/2015/06/02/6-1b-smartphone-users-globa... http://www.businessinsider.com/smartphone-sales-forecast-2012-2 http://www.businessinsider.com/smartphone-sales-forecast-201...
melvinmt 10y ago
According to all the VCs in my Twitter feed: chatbots.
- BFatts 10y ago
  Chatbots are a novelty. They will come and go faster than Pepsi Clear. I don't see them being big headlines next year, and at most, two years from now.
taurath 10y ago
What happens if there's a pause between the next big thing and now? What if technology effecting people's lives starts to slow? Interesting (for me at least) to think about.

I think we just reached peak smartphone. What's next?

by c-slice 10y ago

I think we just reached peak smartphone. What's next?

fla 10y ago

Gaming console ?

piyush_soni 10y ago
VR, Drones, self-driving cars, of course, everything controlled by smartphones.
cududa 10y ago
Funny enough, most VR projection models use gaming consoles as the low point of estimating units a few years from now. I want to bet on sunglass sized AR, but it seems like we'll need some material science revolutions to shrink down the requisite hardware to have the kind of useful experience is imagine
- fla 10y ago
  AR and VR should become one, and hardware shall be fully untetherd, extremely powerful and energy efficient. A long way to go, but we'll be there eventually :)
- ant6n 10y ago
  It's more like power and heat that are the problem, not size. Chips are pretty small.

CrackpotGonzo 10y ago

no phones

forgetsusername 10y ago

More importantly in this context, will Apple be the company to bring it to us? Is it the watch? Interesting point for the company.

rqebmm 10y ago

Some combination of wearables, AR/VR, IoT, and consumer 3D printing. The thing is a) those are all a few years out, b) they're interconnected. VR will happen first because it's got an obvious path to a large consumer base. That will lay groundwork for AR, which is probably the actual Next Big Thing. Wearables/IoT/3D printing are really an extension of the miniaturization/customization of longstanding technologies, but are all experiencing severe growing pains (wearables : size/batteries, IoT : cost, 3D Printing : materials).

petra 10y ago
I agree about VR and AR. As for the rest: wearables hadn't had a really strong use case - so it's either a niche or a fashion/status object - and maybe that's what will limit growth even when size/batteries gets solved ? IOT: cost is definitely a huge barrier, but will it be that huge deal ? or just another feature in the stuff we already buy - sold to us through the same big companies, with a few specialized products ? And 3D printing - don't you think a 1-day Amazon 3 printing with the most optimal processes will win, for most consumers ?
- mdorazio 10y ago
  I'm with you on wearables - I've been trying to think of mass-market use cases for at least a year now, but I just can't find anything that's appealing outside of niche markets like disabilities and medical monitoring. As for 3D printing, the biggest problem in my opinion is modeling, not printing itself. The cost of stereolithography printers is finally dropping, and extrusion printers are getting easier to use, but actually printing things is useless unless you have a model you can print. Most people just don't want to spend the time or effort to create a model, especially when you can walk into a store and get a higher quality item that's professionally designed and manufactured for dirt cheap.
serge2k 10y ago
I really don't see 3d printing going anywhere. What are you really going to print?
- 10y ago

swalsh 10y ago

VAR - Virtual/Augmented Reality. Also, i'm hoping my future glasses have some kind of mechanism built in that will let me text with my mind... even if that means thinking about moving shapes or colors or something to do it.

supercoder 10y ago
VR is still about 10 years away before it moves into the mainstream. Currently it's just looking like a gaming accessory and has a long way to go before it's much more
- majani 10y ago
  But VR/augmented reality is still the next big thing. The demand in commerce and advertising is for more and more invasive media, I'd say any prediction towards this goal is dead on. It's just a matter of finding well priced, socially acceptable gear.
deleted 10y ago
[deleted]

deleted 10y ago

[deleted]

agumonkey 10y ago

Nonputing. Ubiquitous invisible (hopefully secure).

melling 10y ago

Nope, you're wrong. Do you think smartphone sales are going to decrease this year? http://techcrunch.com/2015/06/02/6-1b-smartphone-users-globally-by-2020-overtaking-basic-fixed-phone-subscriptions/ http://techcrunch.com/2015/06/02/6-1b-smartphone-users-globa... http://www.businessinsider.com/smartphone-sales-forecast-2012-2 http://www.businessinsider.com/smartphone-sales-forecast-201...

melvinmt 10y ago

According to all the VCs in my Twitter feed: chatbots.

BFatts 10y ago
Chatbots are a novelty. They will come and go faster than Pepsi Clear. I don't see them being big headlines next year, and at most, two years from now.

taurath 10y ago

What happens if there's a pause between the next big thing and now? What if technology effecting people's lives starts to slow? Interesting (for me at least) to think about.