Consumer technology trends: smart, wearable, fun

Consumer technology devices — including smartphones and wearables — have become must-haves for most people at work and in their everyday lives. Here’s what industry experts expect to see in the coming months:

eSIM: Before too long, smartphones will no longer require conventional SIM cards. The eSIM, now used by Apple in its iPhones and Apple Watches, supersedes the physical SIM with an implicitly embedded chip on the motherboard. eSIMs support various mobile operators and can be easily programmed to change services.

According to a recent MarketsandMarkets report, the eSIM market is expected to grow from USD253.8 million in 2018 to USD978.3 million in 2023. Additionally, a market report by Beecham Research found that an industry-wide deployment of the eSIM will lead to 34 percent higher market maturity in the mobile industry by 2020. In India, Bharti Airtel Ltd and Reliance Jio Infocomm Ltd have already begun offering eSIM services.

Foldable smartphones: Foldable phones are quickly moving from concepts to commercial launches. They are manufactured of organic light-emitting diode (OLED) boards with powerful plastic substrates, which enables bending without damage.

U.S.-based screen maker Royole Corp’s foldable phone, FlexPai, has launched in select markets. Samsung also says it will offer a foldable phone next year. LG, Nokia, Apple, Lenovo, and Huawei will likely all follow suit.

Voice as an interface: The improvements in machine learning (ML) and natural language processing (NLP) have made communicating with voice assistants much less challenging and more accurate. Such interfaces are now included in various devices, including automobiles, speakers, and TVs. Soon, remote controls will be a thing of the past. In fact, research firm Tractica predicts the voice and speech identification market to grow from USD1.1 billion in 2017 to USD6.9 billion by 2025.

Wearables: Wearables now feature more than just activity tracking. The Apple Watch Series 4 can catch (electrocardiogram) ECG/EKG readings and recognize changes in heart rate. U.S.-based medical device business, AliveCor, has also launched a smartwatch with a six-lead ECG reader. Ormon, another medical equipment business, has developed a blood-pressure monitor that can also be worn on the wrist like a watch.

Research and Markets expects the wearable medical devices market to reach USD14.41 billion by 2022 from USD6.22 billion in 2017.

Gaming phones: The gaming business generated USD15.5 billion in 2018, and smartphone gaming accounted for about 30 percent, according to market research firm Statista. To benefit from this market, many smartphone manufacturers are offering phones exclusively for gaming.

For example, the Razer Phone 2 holds a 120Hz display, specifically designed for a more fluid gaming adventure. Gaming phones also offer accessories meant to improve the gaming experience.