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Technology is moving at an increasingly fast pace, with smartphones spearheading it as they get thinner, more powerful and more capable.
One professional futurologist – Dr Ian Pearson – has been predicting what the next 10 years hold for the smartphone, and the items we currently use that it could make redundant.
Having partnered with TalkTalk Mobile to come up with an “endangered list” of products, here is what he thinks the next 10 years hold.
“The days of digging through handbags and cursing after locking our keys inside the car will be fading by 2025. NFC technology will enable us to lose those elusive keys for good. With a tap of the phone doors will open wide, with finger-print recognition keeping our virtual keys safe.”
“Rather than having a different remote for every TV and music system, within 10 years smartphones will be the universal remote, giving us more power at our fingertips than ever before. They’ll control our entertainment in the home, providing a personal experience via any device in range.”
“Pocket mirrors will disappear in favour of the portable dressing room in our pockets. By 2025 augmented reality will allow us to ‘wear’ any number of stylish outfits or virtually try the newest haircut.
“Anti-ageing creams that don’t live up to their promise will also be put to the test as our phones will be able to microscopically zoom into our skin and work out whether they’re really making a difference.”
“With ever more powerful torches on our smartphones and instantly rechargeable batteries, the days of fumbling around under the kitchen sink during a blackout will soon be over. Within just seven years, super-capacitor smartphone batteries will be able to be recharged in seconds and ever brighter smartphone LEDs will provide all the light you need, whenever you need it.”
“Driving licences will have moved onto our smartphones by 2017 and will talk directly to new ‘friendly’ speed cameras. Eight years down the line, these cameras will notify you immediately if you’re going to break the limit, and warn you to slow down or risk a penalty. These informal warnings mean first-time offenders won’t suffer the consequences of a genuine mistake and the yellow boxes on the sides of our roads will no longer instil quite as much terror into the hearts of drivers.”
“By 2020, 90% will have vanished completely to be replaced with sophisticated smartphone alarms that tune into our dreams and sleep cycles,” says Dr Pearson. “They will wake us at the optimum time for us to feel fresh and ready for the day.”
“Fingerprint and retina recognition will allow all payments to be made through your mobile. This goes for foreign currency too, with smartphones cutting out that trip to the currency exchange and converting currency at the best rates every time you pay.”
“Two years from now most travellers will have thrown out their bulky guide books for good in favour of regularly updated travel apps. Apps that offer real reviews based on travellers’ personal experiences will save both time and room in our suitcases, ultimately winning the battle for mind share.
“By 2020, such tools will make sight-seeing even better, with virtual and augmented reality experiences letting travellers see Henry VIII beheading his wives at the Tower of London or virtually relive Mo Farah’s final 100m in the Olympic Stadium.”
“Already apps such as Apple’s Passbook are absorbing them into smartphones, but travel will eventually be completely paperless. Long queues at customs and departure gates will be eased by 2024, with a tap of your smartphone enough to check you in and get on your way.”
“By 2020 compact digital cameras will be all but replaced by high quality smartphone lenses. Sales have already fallen by 40% and with picture quality vastly improved on our mobiles, the writing’s on the wall.
“By 2050, not only will our mobiles be able to record footage, but by linking with membrane pads on our body, they will be able to capture our sensations and simulate them when playing back through these same pads, letting us experience the virtual rush of a bungee jump or the joy of welcoming our first child into the world.”
So, by the sounds of it, most of what you’d find in what Michael McIntyre would call the ‘man drawer’ is on its way out.
