Top 3 Tech Trends for 2019

The past few years have seen some huge advances in technology – especially in Artificial Intelligence. 2019 might not be as exciting, but it will be the year that a lot of the promises from years past become realities. Let’s talk about some of those 2019 tech trends that we expect to see:

2019 Tech Trend #1: 5G

There is nothing more hyped in technology than 5G. It offers exponential increases in upload/download speed over 4G/LTE, and much faster connection speeds. And since LTE is now overburdened in larger centers – with users seeing a slow down in peak times – it couldn’t come soon enough. This might not seem like the biggest deal – faster internet – but it is what is going to make the other advances in technology, like driverless cars and surgery technologies, feasible.

2018 was a year of testing this super-fast mobile broadband connection, and 2019 will be the year we can actually start using it. Service companies and smartphone makers are already starting to roll out 5G, but this is just the beginning. It is predicted that by the end of the year, most urban users will have access to this leap in speed, with rural users seeing 5G in 2020.

2019 Tech Trend #2: AI and VR

Artificial Intelligence and Virtual Reality are going to continue to dominate tech conversations in the coming year. Most popular sites, like Facebook and PayPal, are already using them. Especially in areas where there is a shortage in skilled workers, or the ability to save lives (again, driverless cars and health care, areas where user error cost lives, come to mind), AI is going to become increasingly useful. VR is a boon to businesses who want to help clients experience their business from the comfort of their homes. This has largely been the domain of large businesses up until now. 2019 will be about a wider adoption of AI and VR technologies. Smaller companies will begin to use the power of both to increase efficiency and reliability of service.

2019 Tech Trend #3: Ethics in Tech

“Society is just beginning to demand ethical consideration along with technological advancement. I think we’ll see this movement toward humane technology gives rise to new business models that are not built on harvesting our attention.”

Matt Hartman, BetaWorks Ventures.

Sound like any major site you know needs to hear this? Of all the 2019 Tech Trends, I think this one is the most welcome.

The impact of this focus on the ethical use of information is going to have implications across technology, but social media will most likely see the brunt of this change. We most likely won’t see the end of Facebook in 2019, but we will see the continued downward trend in use of such major social media sites. We are also going to see an increase in regulation. This doesn’t mean social media isn’t still useful, just that the game has changed. And the increased focus on ethics is a large part of that change.

The careful management of client data is something we will all have to be cognizant of in 2019.

What do you think? What will 2019 bring to the world of technology?