Devices will get more smarter

Kicking things off will be the annual Consumer Electronics Show, popularly known as CES. The annual electronics expo is held at Las Vegas in January every year and more often than not, sets the tone for technology for the year.

However, one needn’t wait for the CES to get a sense of where mobile technology is headed this year. Where mobile devices are concerned, this will partly be a transitional year vis-a-vis security solutions as device manufacturers make the leap from conventional device security technologies to biometric security. Samsung, Apple and One Plus, to name a few, have already adopted fingerprint scanning to varying degrees of success.

With its Lumia flagship line-up (950 and 950xl), Microsoft took the path less travelled and incorporated iris scanning into its phones. While Windows Hello is still in the beta stage and is more miss than hit, it can only get better as the year progresses.

More and more device makers are expected to ditch the traditional PIN, password or pattern used to secure devices and embrace biometric security.

This year, as every year, will see Samsung’s new flagship line-up, and, if last year’s offerings (Galaxy S6, S6 Edge and Edge Plus) are anything to go by, the S7 phones can really push the envelope. Whether or not the same can be said of Apple remains to be seen. The Cupertino giant has always focused on delivering a superior user experience as opposed to assuming hardware superiority over the competition.

As a result, all its phones, right from the original iPhone to the more recent iPhone 6s, have underwhelming hardware — on paper as well for the price they command — but give the user a near flawless experience.

With the next generation of iPhones, one can expect more of the same — capable, if uninspiring hardware, game-changing design and a steep asking price.

Lenovo and One Plus are also expected to release pocket-friendly devices with extremely powerful hardware, standing up to smartphone giants.

With Microsoft’s long-rumoured Surface phone set for release in the last quarter of the year and Nokia’s rumoured return to the smartphone market, the smartphone segment is excitingly poised this year.

Motorola’s new Moto X Force (Droid Turbo 2 in the rest of the world) sports a shatterproof display. The phone will likely launch in India in January.

Shatterproof displays might seem like a no-brainer for every manufacturer as, with more and more phones focusing on pixel density and screen size, a near indestructible display will certainly be the X-Factor.

As phones become smarter, the need for raw processing power to harness that potential becomes more acute. And with the Snapdragon 820 SoC (system on chip), mobile computing is expected to touch new highs. The only wish here is that Qualcomm has learnt from its mistakes with the S810’s overheating problems and took corrective measures for the 820 SoC.

Windows Continuum is another tantalising prospect. Though limited in its use currently, the possibilities of plugging one’s phone in to a display via a dock and turning it into a full-blown computer are enormous.

Virtual Reality is slowly taking shape around us, pun fully intended. Microsoft’s HoloLens and Google Cardboard stand to potentially alter the landscape of user experience, whether it be movies or videogames or just everyday smart device usage. Microsoft’s HoloLens is presently at the development stage and mostly focused on gaming experience. Samsung has also been working with Oculus to generate VR content.