With only a few days till the end of 2015, consumers are eagerly seeking to know what technological trends to expect in the coming year.
Perhaps more than any other technological device, the success of smartphones has led manufacturers to look for new ways to integrate the devices into consumers’ daily lives. While some new products have worked out better than others, it is clear that smartphones will continue to play an important role in the years to come. Regardless of what concepts stick and which are abandoned, improving technology is helping smartphones supplant tablets, digital cameras, computers and televisions as the most heavily relied upon technology in the day to day lives of everyday consumers.
Innovations in hardware and software are continually pushing the boundaries of what was once thought possible. From health monitoring features to mobile banking applications, new uses for the Smartphone are being found almost every day. The growing attachment to many smartphones inspired LG to create the V10, a Smartphone equipped with advanced features, a powerful camera and a second screen.
As 2016 approaches, LG, a leading electronics brand says it is poised to impact the electronics industry on various fronts. Year after year, the company rolls out innovative updates on its most popular products and according to the company, next year will see the debut of more exciting technologies. The company is also planning to showcase its innovation streak by bringing ground-breaking new products to the market. LG has a history of setting trends and the company says that its aim is to disrupt the business-as-usual mind-set that prevails in several key markets.
LG promises that next year, it will focus on remaining a trendsetter by making new applications of technology more accessible to the masses, the company has positioned itself to forge a more significant presence, changing the market completely, and causing other companies to follow in its wake.
The company has revealed that in the coming year, LG OLED TV will become more affordable for the everyday consumer. Since OLED’s debut, analysts and tech media alike have marvelled at the display format’s perfect blacks, its ability to create lifelike images and highly realistic color palate. But because OLED is still relatively new, the manufacturing cost and purchase price has been cost prohibitive for the great majority of consumers. But now that proper infrastructure is in place, LG OLED TV is primed to break the 2000 dollar barrier. The company announced in October that it was ready to take OLED into the mainstream. While 2000 dollars is still relatively expensive for a TV, LG’s slashing of prices by 30 to 45 percent underscores the progress that the company has made in OLED production.
Whenever new technologies or new formats of existing technologies hit the market, price tends to be the chief factor that determines whether the new product is relegated to novelty status or enters the mainstream. Now that it rivals LCD in price, OLED will undoubtedly be the format of the future. OLED displays are already superior to everything currently available, and now the technology will reach middle class consumers and proliferate at levels consistent with high-end TVs. “As further advances are made, the price will continue to decline, maybe even next year we’ll be promoting OLED TVs that are available for under $1000,” LG says.
The company has also made known to the public, its intention to see HDR move out of its infancy and make further strides towards becoming the industry standard. With HDR, TVs can display an incredibly wide dynamic range of brightness, greatly enhancing colour contrast ratio and making OLED’s perfect blacks appear even blacker. As HDR continues to gain a foothold in the market, consumers will become more aware of the technology and start to demand it en masse.
In fact, by 2019 global shipments of HDR TVs are predicted to exceed 32 million, a clear indicator that the technology will have increasing appeal over the next few years. It is clear that as markets develop a taste for HDR on OLED TVs, the company will stand to benefit greatly as it is light years ahead of the competition when it comes to the infrastructure in place that’s necessary to meet this demand. TV is about to take an Armstrong-like giant leap in 2016.
The new LG V10 improves upon the G4’s top-of-the-line camera by adding high calibre video features and intuitive editing software that can produce professional-looking pictures and video in just seconds. These features and the intuitive second screen make the V10 a perfect fit for today’s young social media driven consumers.
LG’s first foray into wearable technology was the G Watch, a sporty, tech-heavy device that served as more of a prototype for what the company had in store than a revolutionary wearable device. Its successors, The G Watch R, LG Watch Urbane and LG Watch Urbane LTE all added important features that moved the design of LG’s watches forward. The company’s new LG Watch Urbane 2nd Edition features the circular display, stylish appearance and LTE connectivity of previous models while also adding a number of new features to help it stand out in a competitive market.
While wearables are yet to find their niche and explode in popularity the way smartphones have, the progress that LG has made with its smart watches demonstrates just how bright the future is for these devices. With a wide variety of smartwatches available from high-end luxury timepieces to activity trackers, 2016 looks to be the year that wearables finally hit their stride and catch on with the majority of consumers.
All of the fancy prototypes and glossy presentations at industry tradeshows over the past several years have finally led to the moment where appliances capable of connecting to the Internet of Things (IoT) are poised to take the market by storm in 2016.
Jumoke Akiyode
