STOCKHOLM – Driven by consumer expectations, digital technology will increasingly operate on human terms, like body language, facial expression and intonation, and less on clicks and touch, according to an annual report by Ericsson.
The 10 Hot Consumer Trends for 2018 report is based on Ericsson ConsumerLab’s global research activities over more than 22 years, and draws on data from an online survey of advanced internet users in 10 influential cities across the world, performed in October 2017. Although the study only represents 30 million citizens, their early adopter profile makes them important to understand when exploring future trends.
According to the report, the top consumer trends for 2018 and beyond are:
1. Your Body is the User Interface: More than half of current users of intelligent voice assistants believe that we will use body language, expression, intonation and touch to interact with tech devices as if they were fellow humans. Some two in three think this will happen within a mere three years.
2. Augmented Hearing: 63% of consumers would like earphones that translate languages in real time. 52% want to block out a family member’s snoring.
3. Eternal Newbies: 30% say new technology makes it hard to keep their skills up to date, but it also makes us instant experts. 46% say the internet allows them to learn and forget skills faster than ever.
4. Social Broadcasting: Social media is being overrun by traditional broadcasters, but half of consumers say AI would be useful to check facts posted on social networks.
5. Intelligent Ads: Advertisements may become too smart for their own good. More than half of augmented reality (AR)/virtual reality (VR) users think ads will become so realistic they will eventually replace the products themselves.
6. Uncanny Communication: 50% think not being able to tell the difference between human and machine would spook them out. 40% would also be spooked by a smartphone that reacts to their mood.
7. Leisure Society: 32% of students and working people do not think they need a job to develop a meaningful life. 40% say they would like a robot that works and earns income for them, freeing up leisure time.
8. Your Photo is a Room: Imagine being able to walk into a photo and relive a memory. Three out of four believe that they will use virtual reality to walk around in smartphone photos within the next five years.
9. Streets in the Air: City streets may be choked with traffic but the skies remain free. 39% think their city needs a road network for drones and flying vehicles, but almost as many worry that a drone would drop on their head.
10. The Charged Future: The connected world will require mobile power. More than 80% believe that in only five years we will have long-lasting batteries that will put an end to charging concerns.
"We are entering a future where devices neither have buttons and switches nor need to be controlled digitally via your smartphone. In fact, this may be a necessary change, as it would be difficult for people to learn a new user interface for every device that gets connected to the Internet of Things”, said Ericsson ConsumerLab head of research Michael Björn, in the report’s news release. “Today, you have to know all the intricacies of the devices you use. But in the future, the devices will know you instead. For this to become a reality, devices must be able to relay complex human interaction data to cloud-based processing, and respond intuitively within milliseconds, increasing requirements on next generation connectivity.”
