2015, Another Year Of Connecting Smarter Things
2014 was a year starting to see the booming of Internet of Things. 2015 will be a year to see even more things get smarter and connected with each other, i.e. Automobiles, home appliances, personal accessories/ wearables, and more.
In the past year, we see different companies tried to get their ideas out and see how people react to the new products. Smart watch is the one single category of smart products that stood out. A lot of tech companies released one or more smart watches and tried to get as much traction and market as possible, even Apple’s player in the market still isn't released. There are also smart TVs and some home appliances getting smarter and more connected, though they are not getting as much attention as what the smart watch is changing how people interact with their smartphones and the environment. So what’s next?
In 2015, another category of consumer products which will start to get smarter and more connected is automobiles. Android Auto was announced during second half of the 2014 and vehicles with Android Auto installed should be released anytime soon this year. When that happens, we’ll see another industry become revolutionized by the evolution of technology. In 2014, companies like Tesla is changing how people drive on the road, they became the pioneer of smart vehicles. Apple is also installing CarPlay on vehicles from numerous manufacturers. Though we won’t be seeing flying cars anytime soon, at least not this year.
I've already got my driving license but I’m not yet a driver, and I wanted to be one, to try the new “gadgets” in the coming year. Last year is the year of smart watch, and I've used the Pebble and also Moto 360 which have Android Wear running on it, and i’m sticking with the 360. When smart cars become more popular in my city, I believe I’ll get one to see how technology could actually help people drive smarter and get connected on the road.
Other than automobiles, home appliances will be another area which will get smarter this year. This topic has been discussed for so long, with the huge variety of things existing our homes, standardization and getting things connected should take more time and a lot of barriers will need to be removed. Google is already trying to dominate peoples’ living rooms by acquiring smart devices companies, such as Nest. Android TV should start to get into peoples’ houses. Apple is trying to aggressively get into this market with HomeKit as well. IBM and Samsung are also building their best foundation to make all available stuff in the house smarter. Without doubt this year will be more interesting than what we already saw last year.
Smartphones and smart watches are so 2014, let’s look forward to another year of innovation and revolution.
