If 2012 was all about tablets and smartphones, 2013 will see the technology at the core of our favourite gadgets - the touch screen - leak into a host of other products, but also get surpassed by gesture tech and even 'smart glasses' that make the web wearable. Linked by cloud-powered platforms and apps aplenty, we're set to see more giant leaps in both the processing power and user-friendliness of smartphones, cameras, TVs, and even cars.
Smartphones have grown bigger and tablet computers have shrunk. Now devices in between, known as
"Phones are going to get bendy and will no longer be solid bricks," says Peter Cochrane, ex-CTO of British Telecom and independent analyst, who predicts that Samsung and Apple are likely to provide them. Both brands will continue to lead the smartphone and tablet markets this year, with innovations likely to include the introduction of more gestures as tapping and swiping begin to recede as control mechanisms. The touch screen won't become irrelevant - not yet - but front-facing cameras will begin to recognise hand gestures and read facial expressions more carefully. They could even determine the mood of the user. In terms of hardware, all luxe smartphone cameras, including those on the upcoming iPhone 5S and Samsung Galaxy S 4, will increase in terms of pixel resolution. Screens on smartphones will grow to an average of about six inches this year and display video in Full HD detail, while the second iPad Mini will surely receive an ultra-detailed Retina display. "With many major tech brands turning themselves inside out to get into mobile, and well-established 10-inch tablets being complemented by phone/tablet 'phablet' hybrids such as the HTC One X, 2013 could easily become the year of tablet wars," says Victor Malachard, CEO and co-founder of mobile advertising platform Adfonic in Singapore. Malachard thinks this could drive innovations in mobile advertising, with campaigns needing to embrace a multiscreen environment that will include ever more laptops, tablets, phablets, smartphones and televisions.
After a year as a premium product, virtually frameless televisions that appear to float will become standard, with this space-saving design meaning a 46-inch screen this year will have the same footprint as a 42-inch television from last year. However, the biggest advance in television technology will be Ultra HD TV. Due from all the major tech brands early this year, Ultra HD achieves the same picture detail as four Full HD TVs and makes movies - especially those in 3-D - more convincing. Prices for the first Ultra HD TVs will be more than HK$220,000, about twice as much as those using another new innovation, the organic LED panel. So-called OLED TVs - due in the first half of the year from Samsung and LG - will cost about HK$110,000 for a 55-inch version. Early demonstrations suggest that the totally blur-free, life-like picture could thrill gamers, in particular. Lastly in TV, the mainstream glasses-free 3-D TV will get a step closer this year, with many brands preparing to sell before next Christmas.
