Author: Julie Campbell

A recent study has shown that consumers feel artificial intelligence will have taken over this tech in half a decade.

According to a survey conducted by researchers commissioned by Ericsson, many consumers are under the impression that within the span of five years from now, mobile technology in the form of smartphones will no longer exist.

This research was conducted by ConsumerLab, with the participation of 100,000 customers across 40 countries.

The study looked into the predictions and expectations of consumers with regards to mobile technology that will be used over the years to come, as well as what they would like to see in the future. Approximately half of the respondents to this survey said that by 2021, the most common forms of mobile tech – more specifically, smartphones – would no longer be in use by the year 2021. The reason, according to the survey respondents, would be that developments in artificial intelligence will have superseded many of the current functions of smartphones.

Many people feel that the concept of current mobile technology still carries too many levels of impracticality.

According to Ericsson ConsumerLab’s Rebecka Cedering Ångström, “A smartphone in the hand, it’s really not that practical. For example, not when one is driving a car or cooking. And there are many situations where display screens are not so good. Therefore, one in two think that smartphones will belong to the past within five years.”

Cedering Ångström also forecasted that the evolution of tech will make it possible for consumers to enjoy their downtime more effectively. She gave the example that someone could not only watch a football game, but they could also decide from which vantage point they would like to view it, or choose tow different places at once. She also pointed out that shopping could also be an experience that could be vastly improved through the use of virtual reality advancements, such as the ability to use VR to “try on shoes and see how they fit on your own feet.”

The Ericsson ConsumerLab head of research, Michael Björn explained that while some of the mobile technology future trend predictions discussed in the company’s report may seem to be rather futuristic, it shows that there is solid “consumer interest in new interaction paradigms such as AI and virtual reality (VR), as well as in embedding the internet in the walls of homes or even in our bodies.”

The designer company will now be producing 1,200 to 2,000 of its Carrera Connected per week.

As Tag Heuer faces a rising demand for its wearable technology from retailers, the designer brand has chosen to boost the production of its Carrera Connected smartwatch device by a considerable amount.

The Swiss watchmaker will now be increasing the rate of wearables production to 1,200 to 2,000 weekly units.

This wearable technology is designed to be a highly attractive and very chic version of an Android Wear smartwatch. According to the CEO of the company, Jean Claude Biver, Tag Heuer will also be stopping all its online sales of this device until around May or June 2016 in order to give the company the opportunity to catch up with the tremendous demand from retailers selling in-store.

This device represents the first entry of a luxury watch manufacturer into wearable technology.

Biver brought Tag Heuer into this category with a massive amount of popularity, at just the time when people were starting to have genuine doubts as to whether or not there would ever be a luxury smartwatch based on the Android Wear operating system.

Among the features that make the Carrera wearables stand out in this category include the titanium construction, as well as the trans-reflective display. The appearance of the device is quite chic, with an elegance that takes it a full step above most of the other smartwatches that are currently available.

Biver has since stated that Tag Heuer intends to continue producing Connected wearable technology devices and that new models will likely become available as soon as late 2016 or early 2017. This, in response to the large and growing interest that consumers have already shown in high end smartwatches. Many have speculated that the next models of the devices that the designer will issue will probably feature gold components as well as the possibility of the inclusion of diamonds.

According to Biver, “Considering the success of this single and unique watch, we will develop a collection made out of different varieties, executions and materials at the end of next year or beginning of 2017.”