Everyone loves a good tech story. I know I do.

I go into every year hoping to hear about some type of innovative technology that will make my life easier or, at the very least, more entertaining.

And 2018 won’t be any different. It’ll be another year of strong research and development — not to mention, continued focus on some of the hottest sectors that are just emerging.

Recently, one of the most influential conferences in technology took place: the 2018 Consumer Electronics Show (CES), which was held in Las Vegas. CES is an annual show that hosts presentations of new products and technologies in the consumer electronics industry.

This is a good representation of what we should expect from technology for the year. The conference generally happens in January — a perfect time to gauge what will be big for the year.

And there were a few things that stood out at this year’s show…

This includes all the advancements in the health and wellness sector that go beyond wearables. In assistive tech, there was the NeoMano glove that helps people with paralyzed hands in gripping things.

There was the first FDA-cleared watch that can test blood pressure. And there was a plethora of products aimed at upgrading elder care.

TVs were still a hot topic at this year’s CES. As usual, the main focus with TVs was their giant displays.

LG had a rollable OLED — a 65-inch 4K TV that rolls up a like a poster.

Samsung wowed at its booth with an installation known as “the Wall” — a 146-inch display using modular MicroLED technology.

MicroLED technology is pretty cool because the LEDs are very tiny and are able to produce their own light in addition to consuming less power. Samsung says it could ship by year’s end.

Those were just some of the trends at CES 2018.

Below are three of the biggest tech trends that you need to watch out for this year. These trends were also prevalent at this year’s CES…

1. Artificial Intelligence

Artificial intelligence (AI) is everywhere, and it’s only getting bigger. It’s going mainstream.

Samsung plans to incorporate its home assistant, Bixby, across all of its products (from televisions to refrigerators) to begin converting traditional households into “smart houses.”

The demand for smart cities and homes is driving the growth of this technology.

Retail is also a significant factor in AI’s growth. AI will make retail experiences a lot easier for both customers and businesses. With AI, it’ll be easier to understand the demand for products and what needs to be available, according to customer purchases.

This will help both customers and businesses by giving the customer the item that they were looking for at that moment…

2. Augmented Reality

Augmented reality (AR) is set to explode this year. Even though the tech is still sort of in its infancy, there are big things coming down the pike for it. AR gives users experiences that immerse them while also allowing them to stay connected.

In 2018, 24 million digital reality headsets will be sold. And that number is expected to jump to 500 million by 2025.

In particular, AR will play an important role in the health care sector. Going to the doctor tends to be time-consuming and cumbersome, especially with the amount of paperwork you have to fill out. AR will serve as a shortcut. It’ll also provide patients and doctors with real-time assistance in everything from diagnosing an issue to surgery.

Another important sector that AR will improve is marketing. It’ll change the ways in which we see advertisements. We’ll see more holographic advertisements, which will prove to be more interactive than the average ad that we see nowadays…

3. 5G Technology

5G will change the ways in which we connect to wireless. It’ll allow for faster speeds and higher capacity. As years progress and technology moves forward, the need for 5G becomes greater.

More and more devices are coming online, so we need a network that supports those devices and technologies. In addition to the number of devices that’ll depend on a Wi-Fi connection, we’ll also have more data that’ll need to be safely secured.

This is especially true with autonomous cars and smart cities. We’ll need to have a reliable network to support those types of innovative technologies.

This year will be the beginning of some really innovative and groundbreaking technologies. And we’re only getting started…

Until next time,

Jennifer Clark
Pro Trader Today