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As tradition dictates with the Tame Geek website, as there are reflections, there will be predictions.

Let’s answer 2016’s most asked questions then:

  • The new iPhones will be announced on the 7th of September and should be available in stores by the 23rd. This will be the iPhone 7 with a completely new design, two sizes and we should finally see a smaller version again
  • There will be a new iPad, that matches the processor of the iPad Pro. This may come in March / April. If it doesn’t then expect a full iPad refresh including the Mini and the Pro in October. (The iPad line-up is a bit of a mess right now, so expect a product cul).
  • There will be a new Apple Watch. It may be announced at WWDC for availability at the same time as the new iPhones.
  • The next versions of OS X, iOS, Watch OS and TvOS will be announced at WWDC which is expected to be the week commencing the 6th of June.
  • There will be nods to a new product line or / and the new video service.

That should do it for the Apple updates for 2016.

So what about the rest of the tech world?

Well there will be more decline for android manufacturers. Market share will remain high given the low cost of entry to the market, but expect at least one high profile pull out from the Smartphone market and at least one more buyout / merger.

Microsoft wound up pushing back the launch of Windows 10 for mobile to 2016. The unified platform thing is a great idea (see this for the reasons why) but there’s no desire from users for the platform beyond X-box. The only people that like this to any measurable extent are large IT departments. Unfortunately, they will get push back from users who are happy with the iOS and Android solutions they have found for themselves from the last 5 years.

This will be the year where you can actually buy a consumer VR headset. No more of this developer edition business! Actual devices you can have at home and use for not just gaming. Whilst discussing commercial viability of VR headsets with some friends, we came across what will be a great usage point for most people, which will be having your own HD 3D home cinema withe a screen that will some to be some 200 inches wide. Things like that, along with games will drive early adoption of the technology, but there will still be a consumer gap for a few years until viable, usable Augmented Reality (AR) makes it way to the market place.

Which leads me to what I hope 2016 will be, a year of establishing technologies. We’ve seen a lot of new things this year but they have all be glimpses. Nothing has landed this year the blows the world away or has caused a total shift in market place (wearables were a big deal, sure but still not taken over the public consciousness in a vastly positive way).

I have a bit of a feeling that 2016 will have some positive surprises for the tech world.