Tag: mobile technology

Will mobile technology trends kill the smartphone by 2021?

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 The reason, according to the survey respondents, would be that developments in artificial intelligence will have superseded many of the current functions of smartphones.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.

Mobile Technology & the FutureAccording 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.”

Samsung swaps mobile tech chiefs in the face of struggles

For the first time in 6 years, the consumer electronics giant has made a change in this critical position.

While Samsung has not at all seen a stoppage in its mobile tech sales, and while it continues to be one of the top smartphone manufacturers worldwide, the company has been facing some sizeable pressures on its business, particularly from competition such as Huawei and Xiaomi.

As a result, the company has changed its mobile communications president as it develops a new strategy.

This is the first time in six years that the company has changed the head of its mobile tech. This means that JK Shin, a 59 year old who has been holding that position for over half a decade, will be on his way out. He is being replaced by Dongjin Koh, who is 54 and was previously the head of mobile Research and Development for the company. He was the one at the wheel when Samsung developed Tizen, its own mobile operating system. He was also leading the way with the Samsung Pay mobile payments platform for which the company has high hopes.

This change in mobile tech leadership doesn’t mean that Shin will be stepping completely out of the company.

Samsung New Mobile Tech ChiefInstead, this is being considered as a shuffle within the company instead of one leader stepping up while another leaves altogether. Shin is exceptionally experienced as an executive within this market. He is behind the rise of Samsung’s smartphone business and at the same time, he is also the one who was in command as the more recent challenges fell into place.

For Shin, this will mean that he will be stepping out of the day-to-day mobile technology operations of the company. He will be focusing his attention on tasks of a more long-term planning nature. His goal will be to come up with a strategy that will allow the company to rebuild and rejuvenate its mobile business, which has been struggling to see the type of growth that it has experienced in the past.

It is also important to point out that mobile tech leadership wasn’t Shin’s only role in the company. He was, and remains, the co-CEO of Samsung Electronics. Clearly, this move is not being made to remove him from the company, but rather to freshen its perspective.