The year 2023 got off to an amazing start with CES in Las Vegas. Like every year, the biggest tech show in the world is an excellent revealer of the sector’ssector’s trends to follow in the coming year. But it is not the only compass on the market. This article will discuss the top 5 technology trends in 2023 to watch during the year.
If one word were to define what 2023 is likely to be, it would be “continuity.” 2022 has seen significant innovations transcend the barriers of the simple tech world and begin to take hold with the mainstream. But these innovations, for some, are still only at the state, if not embryonic, of prototypes, of proofs of concept. This year will allow them to enter a maturity phase.
Additionally, the Internet of Things (IoT) will continue to expand, with more connected devices in our homes and workplaces. Virtual and augmented reality technologies will also become more mainstream, offering new entertainment, education, and communication possibilities. Overall, the Technology Trends 2023 are set to revolutionize how we live and work.
1: The Metaverse
It’sIt’s now clear and definite that the Metaverseetaverse was one of the big disappointments of 2022 for its cast, with Meta in the lead. The giant led by Mark Zuckerberg has had one of the worst financial years in its history. Investors are losing confidence despite the promises of teams from Reality Labs, the hub dedicated to the Metaverse. Meta intends to continue its massive investments this year in developing its virtual worlds if the results still need to be there.
In the words of Andrew Bosworth, the company’s-company’s technical director, investments related to the Metaverse represented 20% of the giant’sgiant’s budget in the third quarter of 2022.
The arrival of Apple in virtual reality this year is followed by rumors. Low masses, still unverified, but which would report the development of a virtual world by the giant at apple. If this information were to prove, significant competition for Meta could lead to a renewed interest in virtual worlds, both among investors and the general public, and the smallest companies involved in the field.
2: Virtual, mixed, or augmented reality
The virtual reality market today is unquestionably dominated by Meta. The giant has offered high-quality public helmets like its Meta Quest 2 and Meta Quest Pro. This year, we should see the successor to the consumer headphones, the Meta Quest 3. The first rumors promise us a device much more powerful than its big brother released in 2020. Pico could, however be in ambush; the brand has recently released its new Pico 4 headset, whose capabilities and price seriously compete with Meta’sMeta’s VR headset.
The year 2023 is also the year of the arrival of this Arlesian, Apple’sApple’s mixed reality headset. After seven years of development, the object is said to be near to end of its design. It could be announced for deliveries starting this fall in June, just before the Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) event. It should not be too hopeful. However, the helmet’s price is estimated at 2,000 or 3,000 dollars. Moreover, 2023 will unfortunately not be the year of affordable helmets.
The HTC continued to have a presence in the market and unveiled its new Vive XR Elite at CES, which will be released in February for €1,399. The PlayStation VR 2 is also coming soon and will be more expensive than the PlayStation 5. The augmented reality segment should also be well filled this year with, for example, the release in the first quarter of TCL’sTCL’s RayNeo X2 connected glasses. for nearly €500.
3: Artificial Intelligence
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Here, we will not talk about the AI technology itself, but more specifically about the AI image and text generation segment. It occupied the media space at the end of last year and will likely continue in 2023. The image or text generation tools have very clearly proven that they are effective and successful. No doubt about it, and it is for these reasons that their popularity has exploded. Midjourney takes first place in image popularity, followed by DALL-E 2, and ChatGPT is THE new trend.
But their popularity rating and regular use by more and more people are causing a huge wave of concern. From the artists first. These require more regulations and a simple legal framework around AI, trained using existing works under copyright. Same story for text generation. What about the work of writers or journalists when a robot can do it? We even come to rest on philosophical questions of the first order: what is art?
Image-generation tools are among those innovations that must enter their age of maturity. No more experimentation, discovery, and excitement of novelty. It is now time to provide a simple framework. Will there be concrete discussions, or will the tools continue to be refined freely and independently? Some have already chosen their side. Three well-known internet artists launched a class action lawsuit in the United States a few days ago against Midjourney, Stability AI, and DeviantArt. The coming months are likely to be decisive.
4: Folding Smartphones
For the moment, at least in France, the undisputed leader in folding smartphones is Samsung. The South Korean brand offers powerful smartphones with almost impeccable technology with its Galaxy Z Fold 4 and Z Flip. In 2023, the company could be jostled on its ground by established or new actors. Honor, Oppo, Motorola, and even Google have a lot to play for this year.
The Chinese brand Oppo is preparing to release its Find N2 Flip smartphone on the territory, but it is above all Google that is expected. The Mountain View giant is expected to introduce its first folding smartphone, possibly called Pixel Fold, as early as the second quarter. A device that is on the list of the most anticipated smartphones of the year. For its part, Samsung is obviously not resting on its achievements and continues to develop, through its subsidiary Samsung Display, its mastery of the folding screen, as we saw during CES 2023.
The company intends to offer its know-how to the many smartphone brands that occupy the landscape and democratize folding. 2023 should therefore see its share of devices land. However, their price positioning will be decisive. Folding smartphones are still very high-end and sell well over €1,000. Will the trend continue?
5: Connected Car Infotainment Technologies
2023 should be a big year for connected cars. Their systems have never been so advanced: the technologies on board the vehicles, especially electric ones, are increasingly impressive and refined over the years. With its I Vision Dee prototype presented at CES, BMW offers the dashboard display directly on the windshield.
Even Sony has decided to bring its know-how in computing and entertainment by teaming up with Honda to build an ultra-connected electric car. Admittedly, this car will not come out this year, but the innovations in the system brought by this one could be illustrated more, as for the partnership between Renault and Google.
For its part, the massive Stellantis (a corporation formed by the merging of Fiat Chrysler and PSA Peugeot Citroen) is so dependent on the connectivity of its vehicles that it recently announced the establishment of a subsidiary devoted solely to the sale of data imported straight from its vehicles. The goal is to generate $20 billion in extra revenue. Who said that trends have only to be good?
Finally, we can also mention Qualcomm, not content with dominating the smartphone market with its chips, offers SoCs (like its Snapdragon Ride Flex announced at CES) for autonomous cars and ever more advanced car cockpits.
