2022 tech trends to watch

Steve Koenig, VP of Market Research, Consumer Technology Association (CTA), organizers of CES, recently presented the 2022 tech trends to watch on the sidelines of the CES 2022.

CES has been the global stage for innovation. There are four focus areas: technology demand, technology investment, the new tech lifestyle, and technology trends. Also, the technology demand has remained strong across the world.

The US consumer technology industry has been forecasted to grow. Software and services growth was 11.4% in 2021, and is expected to be 6% in 2022. Hardware growth was 9% in 2021, and is expected to be 1.8% in 2022. The industry growth was 9.6% in 2021, and is expected to be 2.8% in 2022. Consumers are levelling up their technology. Over the next 12 months, technology purchase plans range from 40% for smartphones, 35% for laptops, 33% for TVs, 31% for smartwatches, 30% for tablets, 29% for smart speakers, 28% for game consoles, and 27% for desktop PCs.

There is global spending growth for premium brands. Subscription video on demand (SVoD) services are in the spotlight, such as Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV+, Disney, etc. Consumers are increasingly sticking with new services. There is also rapid rise in global funding to start-ups, from $77 billion in Q3-2020 to $158.2 billion in Q3-2021, a growth of 105% YoY. There are also key funding sectors, such as retail tech, fintech, and healthcare. A sea change has been costly containers. An example is the sea of useless trucks at KY speedway waiting for parts because of the microchip shortage and also due to Covid-19.

However, there is leap in the lead times for semiconductors. There are expected increases in global chip production, from 8% in 2021 to 16% in 2022, as per SIA. New fabs are also coming soon. Intel has an investment of $95 billion in four new plants: two in Europe, and two in USA. It also invested $3.5 billion in expansion of the Mexico facility. Samsung is investing $205 billion. And, TSMC has invested $100 billion for expanding production facility.

Enhanced connectivity

Enhanced connectivity powers the digital economy. There is growing contribution of 5G, with rise in enterprise adoption and industrial IoT. There is increasing cloud infrastructure, leading to digital transformation, sustained remote work, and digital-first consumers. Also, deeper AI innovation is leading to wider applications, such as conversational AI humans, autonomous Systems, and food technology.

Consumers are open to AI-powered tasks, such as making shopping/purchase recommendations, providing fitness or nutritional advice, diet coaching, cleaning homes, making financial investment decisions, crime prevention/anti-terrorism, etc. Next, is the metaverse already here? There are multiple approaches, such as hardware-first, games and software, and crypto-based.

Enterprise XR is based on five pillars -- virtual meetings, simulations/digital twins, remote collaboration, immersive design, and marketing and sales. 84% of XR-engaged businesses are expected to spend more on their AR/VR initiatives over the next two years.

Coming to CES 2022, here are some top trends to watch out for. These are: transportation, such as electric vehicles, micro-mobility solutions, 21st century logistics, etc. Space tech, such as commercial applications, communications tourism, etc. Sustainable technology, such as alternative power sources, food tech, smart cities, smart homes, etc. Digital health, such as wearables, mental wellness, therapeutics, provider solutions, etc.

Digital health empowers consumers. These are telemedicine and RPM, connected devices, and wearables. 52% of U.S. adults are likely or very likely to use health tech in the future to improve overall wellbeing. There is a journey to mental wellness. This includes online counseling/therapy platforms, mindfulness/meditation apps, sleep monitoring, smart or connected health products/digital therapeutics, telemedicine and virtual care visit, etc.

There will also be the great home makeover, smarter home, and pursuing premium. We are also going to see the home health hub. In health, 1 in 4 adults attending a video meeting/call in the past year did so for medical-related purposes. In fitness, over 2.4 million units of connected exercise equipment are expected to ship in 2022, a 19% increase over 2021 shipments.

Finally, the future of mobility will be smart and electric. We will see future growth of electric vehicles, smart mobility, 21st century logistics, next mile solutions, and urban air mobility.