In the fourth edition of its annual trend report, Ericsson ConsumerLab says that consumers want technology and connectivity to be integrated into all facets of daily life.
These are the ten trends for 2015 and beyond:
- The streamed future. 2015 will be historic as more people will watch streamed video on a weekly basis than broadcast TV.
- Helpful homes. Consumers show high interest in having home sensors that alert them to water and electricity issues, or when family members come and go.
- Mind sharing. Smartphone owners would like to use a wearable device to communicate with others directly through thought – and believe this will be mainstream by 2020.
- Smart citizens. Consumers believe traffic volume maps, energy use comparison apps and real-time water quality checkers will be mainstream by 2020.
- The sharing economy. Smartphone owners are open to renting out their spare rooms, household appliances and leisure equipment as it is convenient and can save money.
- The digital purse. 80 percent of smartphone owners believe the smartphone will replace their entire purse by 2020.
- My information. 56 percent of smartphone owners would like all internet communication to be encrypted.
- Longer life. Smartphone owners see cloud-based services of various kinds giving them the potential to live healthier and longer lives.
- Domestic robots. Consumers are welcoming the idea of having domestic robots that could help with everyday chores and believe this will be common in households by 2020.
- Children connect everything. 46 percent of smartphone owners say that children will expect all objects to be connected when they are older.
I liked seeing what Ericsson said about smart cities. You may recall that earlier this year, I wrote a post “A little smarter every day“, saying “Building a smart city means creating a culture that works to make the community a little bit smarter every day.”
Ericsson wrote:
The idea of smart cities is intriguing – but a lot of that smartness will emerge as a side effect of the changing everyday behaviors of citizens. As the internet makes us more informed, we are in turn making better informed decisions. When citizens turn smart, so will the cities they inhabit.
Check out the full report.