In 2020: Expect Better phones, greater control over data, but no big 5G boom

We don’t know if 5G will become available in India this year. Expect some pilots, but not a full-fledged rollout. And even if 5G does start rolling out, it is not going to impact most of us immediately.

This is because smartphones that can use this technology are very expensive as of now — and these uses may not be enticing enough for most people to spend a lot of good money on. Also, since 4G data speeds are already very fast, the jump in speeds will not be that discernible for regular users.

But what 5G will enable is new experiences and use cases. For instance, online video could become more interactive and immersive while offering viewers the ability to change camera angles in real time even on 3D streams. Also, this new generation of networks will empower a mesh of billions of connected devices that can function without human intervention. Don’t miss from Explained | Sports in 2020: Hundred challenge to T20, borderline sports coming through the Rings

Will smartphones get better?

They are already quite good, so again, incremental changes may not be good enough for people to commit to an upgrade. Smartphone companies will try to woo you with more of everything — more cameras, more storage, more memory, even more screens.

Where we could see some real innovation is in the second wave of foldable devices, which could make this new form factor practical, and not just a fad. We could see larger screen devices that emerge out of chassis that are smaller than feature phones. This could offer a solution, which present smartphones cannot.

Another new offering will be 5G devices that are more affordable, and offer a real value proposition to potential customers.

What else will get smarter?

If a device has a chip inside, it has the potential to get smarter. In 2020, gadgets and appliances will be able to assign to themselves small levels of autonomy. They will learn from their user, and connect to the web and understand what users generally do. You will also see a lot of smartness come into everything from email to smartphones — constantly predicting what users will do, and trying to do it before they do. It does sound slightly scary, but it has immense potential if human intelligence retains control over artificial intelligence.

Will more devices hear?

Amazon’s Alexa is now an Application Programming Interface (API) that can be plugged in to make any device respond to voice commands. It is already being loaded onto cars, and even very affordable earphones can answer a query if you start it with the right wake word. Also in Explained | Looking ahead in 2020: Pitched battle ahead for states, ideas, institutions

But devices that hear will not be about convenience; they will be about access. Voice commands suddenly opens up the technology to people who otherwise would have struggled because of barriers presented by literacy, age, or just technology. As Alexa, Google Assistant and Siri get more intelligent, learning from everything they hear and respond too, questions are bound to arise on how much they should hear, especially of what they are not supposed to.

Will your data be of more value?

Yes, user data will finally be of some value to the user herself, and not just to the companies that mine it — with or without her consent.

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This year, expect to take more informed decisions about your health, your spending, and your interactions with technology, because you will have more data on all of the above. Insurance companies could reward users who have a control on their health, as recorded by their smart bands and watches. However, users are gradually pulling out data from their social media accounts — as they become aware of how their data is used, they want to share less of their lives with social media companies.