It’s the start of a new year, and I sincerely hope that 2023 will turn out better than I currently think. Economically, we’re in a bit of trouble, but there are some amazing technologies coming to market this year that I’m looking forward to seeing.

CES, which starts soon, will be the first big showcase of what’s to come – and from the pre-briefings I’ve seen, there will be a lot of cool stuff coming out this year.

Let’s explore more of this this week. We’ll get to our first Product of the Week for 2023 next week because I ran out of space in this column.

The economy of 2023 looks grim.

The past few years have not been good for a number of reasons, but mostly because governments have not handled the pandemic well. The shutdown crippled the supply chain, and when people started coming back, they wanted to buy things, creating an imbalance between supply and demand that led government agencies to do terrible things for interest rates. was doing

Looks like those chickens will come home to roost in 2023. We will have an unpleasant mix of buyers who don’t have money but will have improved manufacturing capacity which will lead to excess inventory and, I expect, accelerated layoffs.

This should be the time when vendors increase marketing to capture more of the shrinking market. Yet, most will ignore this Business 101 lesson and instead discount demand generation, allowing firms that have audited Business 101, in turn, at the expense of those who do. Those who cut down on marketing during this time will be able to gain a significant share.

I think 2023 will once again show that demand management must have both a carrot and a stick, the stick being higher interest rates on borrowing and the carrot being higher interest rates on savings. More effort is needed to change perceptions so that purchasing behavior changes fast enough to reduce the problem.

Communicating effectively with citizens to modify their behavior in a timely manner, apart from interest rate changes, will have a more significant, faster impact on a segment of the problem that is fundamentally behavioral.

The wars

China will remain a problem largely because its Covid response is failing, and its government is unwilling to ask for help. China’s vaccines appear to be ineffective, but instead of finding foreign vaccines that work, they struggle to be overwhelmed by sick people.

These circumstances could force an illegitimate war with Taiwan to divert attention from domestic problems. But the vaccine’s lack of effectiveness points to a more pressing problem in China and many other countries: a tendency to hide rather than solve problems. All of this suggests that China’s military, like Russia’s, may not perform as well as the Chinese leadership expects.

Although the dynamics of the war with Taiwan seem very different from the war in Ukraine, the process of masking the issues between Russia and China is similar, potentially creating a similar stalemate between the countries. is However, as long as the conflict continues, manufacturing in Taiwan and exports from China will suffer and potentially create a new and even bigger supply chain problem.

Companies are moving aggressively to reduce their exposure, but most programs I’ve seen, like the CHIPS Act, won’t mature until around 2025, leaving us exposed in 2023. . Ukraine is not expected to restore its manufacturing capacity until two to five years after the war ends. As this has yet to happen, shortages associated with Ukrainian manufacturing will likely persist until 2023. ASIC chips Which is an important part of most electronics including cars.

Electric cars.

2023 will be the year when electric charging capabilities increase dramatically, and we’ll start to see second-generation battery and engine technology on the market with increased range and efficiency. However, we will still be unable to make electric cars a viable substitute for gas vehicles when it comes to distance.

After all, we’ll start to see the release of next-generation electric cars and more driver assistance and in-car entertainment capabilities. However, it still looks like 2024 is expected to see the most significant changes to the 2025 line of cars launched this year.

Think of 2023 as the final year of the current-generation electric and 2024 as the first wave of next-generation electric cars, most likely to be released as 2025 models.

As a result, in 2023, I would favor buying used rather than new in anticipation of more significant changes for the 2025 model year release. The exception would be cars from vendors like Raven and Lucid, which are already building what we might call next-generation cars, recognizing that there are unique risks in buying advanced technology.

Personal flying vehicles

We should see an impressive number of electric flying personal recreational vehicles hit the market. Some of them have already been shown.

Basically, they use drone technology to fly humans, resulting in some relatively simple builds and virtually no skills required to fly things under a recreational flight license. Where I live, we regularly get complaints about ultralights flying over people’s houses which I’m sure will increase with these new vehicles.

Still, they look like a ton of fun. I’m tempted to treat myself as a toy that will work in the summer and, assuming I can handle the cold, winter as a near-perfect all-terrain vehicle. Just don’t run out of power at high altitude.

Personal computers

PCs will undergo screen changes throughout the year, from multiple screens to rolling screens. Rolling screens have been teased during several announcements recently.

The idea of ​​being able to magically extend your screen vertically or horizontally (doing both at the same time is beyond us now) could be a game changer for those of us with existing laptop screens. Size envy.

Expect more efficient chargers, a greater focus on overall durability, and a continued push to find that sweet spot for PCs as a Service (PCaaS).

Look for advances in recycling and customization this year as the industry goes through what is likely to be a particularly soft selling period due to the massive overbuying that has occurred over the past several years.

Smartphones

There is still a new contender for the Apple iPhone, but I’ll talk about that when it launches.

Expect to see rollable displays before the end of the year and camera software improvements focused on helping you create better-looking avatars with the latest phones.

Real-time video streaming will continue to grow and features will improve, and we should get our first look at the next generation of AI-based digital assistants before the end of the year.

Conversational AI has improved since Siri launched, and we should start seeing the resulting benefits on most platforms next year.

Look for wireless charging to increase in premium line phones as the year progresses.

Video conferencing and collaboration

The confusion surrounding whether people will stay at home or go back to the office has really messed up the segment, and I still don’t see the light at the end of the tunnel.

As a result, the solutions will be diverse, with some focused on improving the experience in large rooms and others at home.

Expect far better camera tracking with the cameras, better noise isolation with the microphones and speakers, and significantly stronger audience monitoring tools, which will likely trouble those playing video games during Zoom calls (yes , we know you do).

We’ll likely see at least one vendor develop a unique approach to solving the camera placement problem with built-in and aftermarket cameras.

The Metaverse

The metaverse is a bit of a mess, thanks largely to its rudimentary implementation of meta. However, this is ironic because once it matures, the Metaverse will have the potential to offer a better vision of the future than any previous technology.

There’s a chance the meta will eventually figure it out and, instead of revealing where it is, start revealing what it will be. Nvidia has been doing this for a while in the commercial space, which despite its compulsion, has yet to touch most of us.

As a result, if Meta does not step up to deliver on a vision, the consumer side of the Metaverse will be in decline in 2023, waiting for a company to find the power of the Metaverse in its ability to deliver its benefits. Give and what its nature will become, rather than what it is now.

AI and robotics

2023 will be a big year for AI and robotics. I’m grouping these technologies together because this will be the year that AI-powered personal robotics moves beyond the initial wave of robotic vacuum cleaners.

I’m anticipating an increasing number of robotic security solutions, robotic snowblowers, and even robotic personal assistants. We’ll also see more robotic bartenders, french fry machines, and the first realistic prototypes of automated fast food restaurants.

While we may still be at the very beginning of the coming robotic wave, by the end of 2023, we should have a much better idea of ​​where this technology is headed and how quickly it will overwhelm us with robotic choices.

One sector that will see massive growth in the use of artificial intelligence is the healthcare industry. AI will be used more widely to create new treatments and therapies and provide interactive AI interfaces for patients who need help faster than ever before with limited medical staff. Need I’m coming down with the flu as I write this, so I’m especially looking forward to this medical AI improvement.

Television

2023 will be the true debut of 8K TVs, and we’ll see more affordable rollable display TVs in limited runs. We’ve had 8K and rollable TVs before, but mostly in prototype form. Both technologies are now moving into production, allowing them to enter the market at a higher level.

We’ll have less of a problem with 8Ks than the 4K TVs that preceded them because of the high-end improvements. While these sets will garner a lot of attention, sales will likely be cost-constrained until prices become more reasonable in 2023 than I expect. However, it is likely that by the end of the year, at least one of these two technologies will have gone mainstream.

I think it’s more likely that 2025 will be the year that 8K and rollable display TVs show their potential. It will take at least that long to reach a critical mass of materials and rollable screen manufacturing capacity to deliver as much value to the buyer as the convergence of materials and technology.

wrap up

These predictions are not complete. I didn’t mention the pivot to Hawaii-to-rail travel in Europe that will accelerate next year, the potential failure of Twitter that makes me personally think Elon Musk is a deliberately poor choice for new CEO. , or developments in both broadcast power and microgrids. Next year we also have the promise of new fusion power, although I expect that to wait until the second half of the decade to go into extensive trials.

So far, I haven’t mentioned the development of robotic companions like robotic humans because I still find them scary, autonomous vehicles because they won’t be widespread until 2025, or robotic pets, which will be more obvious in future years. will be done Advances in farming with robotics and vertical farms, advances in disease detection, and the growing challenge of keeping things private will also be ongoing trends.

Overall, I expect 2023 to be particularly difficult for companies that either don’t understand the market they’re in or lean too hard on demand generation funding. Their competitors can move around them.

Think of the year as musical chairs but with money instead of chairs. There will be a smaller pool of available spending dollars, and firms that don’t fight for every penny will likely fail.

I wish you and yours all the best in the new year, although getting through 2023 may be a realistically achievable goal in what may be a difficult year for most.

The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of ECT News Network.