1/13
Ignoring the unknown unknowns that will creep in, there's plenty on my radar I'll be paying attention to this year. Since the year ends in 21, here's an equal length, unordered list of what I'm looking forward to.
There's a good chance we'll be seeing 120hz displays on some iPhones this year. Considering how far ahead of Apple the Android world is on high refresh rates devices, this will be one of those "finally" additions for the tech geeks like me. Some rumors are pointing to a smaller notch, which also feels overdue compared to phone designs across the entire smartphone market. If both come this year, I'll have enough reasons to upgrade my iPhone X.
Google changed their phone strategy with last year's Pixel lineup, completely foregoing a flagship priced device. Considering how successful (and great) their more affordable Pixel 3a and 4a devices have been, this focus on value feels like a natural extension. Google has shifted their smartphone strategy several times, however, so I have to wonder if they'll reenter the top tier flagship market. Regardless of what they do, they're in new territory and I'll be keeping track of where that path leads.
The Galaxy Z Fold 2 was a significant leap forward from the original Fold. It's still not a perfect device but the amount of ground Samsung covered for a second generation product shows how committed they are to this particular form factor. Personally, I'm thrilled to see the amount of energy they're putting into this product category because I believe in the foldables.
I was sad when the Surface Neo was delayed without any indication of when it would be delayed till. I hope we see it sooner than later, but maybe that's because I'm still sour over the cancellation of the Courier. They still brought the Surface Duo to market but it didn't make as big a splash as I hoped. From a pure hardware standpoint, the Surface Duo is the nicest of the nascent foldable category... except for its interior bezels. Regardless, I'm excited for what's next for the Duo. Even if we don't see a sequel device this year I expect the rumor mill will get some information on what's next for it.
ZTE gets to boast about shipping the first consumer smartphone with an under display camera with its Axon 20 5G. As Android devices have moved closer and closer to the full screen phone endgame, I expect to see the adoption of this technology steadily increase. For me, the big question is when will Samsung ship one? They've never been afraid of testing new tech in public and I expect them to be the first of the larger smartphone companies to ship a device with this tech. They have higher standards than a company like ZTE but they don't wait on perfect like Apple.
This is more of a hope than a trend I've seen strong indicators for. Apple will ship a wearable AR product "soon" and it's been such a poorly kept secret that I expect others will try to get ahead of them to claim some of the market. I share Tim Cook's bullishness on AR and am excited for any wearable AR tech that comes out. I was particularly impressed with North's Focals 2.0 before Google acquired and shut the business down. It looks like the tech has become small enough to allow for form factors customers may actually be okay with putting on their faces.
5G is the future, sure, but we're still not at the point where its full impact can be felt. It takes time for infrastructure to be upgraded so this one is a slower march.
The two mobile OSes have converged so much that it's not worth giving them individual bullet points. Competition is a good thing so all I'm hoping for is more amazing features on both sides to keep the pace of innovation high.
Next gen consoles are going to tempt a lot early adopters to upgrade their TVs but the options in 2020 were slim. If you want something great, you have one choice: LG's CX. It's a good set but it's not in a price range that's accessible to many. I'm hoping to see much more competition and options here that are fully HDMI 2.1 compliant.
While it's highly unlikely this vehicle will be delivered to any customers this year I expect to know what this vehicle looks like before the year wraps up. This will be the first Tesla designed and built outside of the US and I'm starving for any info on it. For Tesla to get a vehicle out at this price point in a market they're already dominating would be huge. It'll be another signal that their successes are not mistakes (if you still need that, of course).
The Social Dilemma widely communicated what many who've worked in Tech have known for some time—that these products primarily exist to extract value out of everyone. That they let you keep in touch with an old friend or see what your favorite celebrity is up to is simply a means to that end. The continually echoed and now cliche truism "if you're not paying for the product then you are the product" is hopefully becoming clearer to those who use these services. It's clear that our relationship with their products has to change in significant ways before we pass a point of no return (if we haven't already).
I won't pile on about Cyberpunk's historically bad launch but having just finished the game, I really do hope to see a more acceptable version of this game sooner than later. Despite the issues I faced during my play through, it still impressed me in many places. A functional and improved version of this game would be a game of the year candidate in any normal calendar year of gaming releases. I'm not calling for CDProjekt Red's management to be absolved—no, they don't deserve that—but I am hoping that the obviously massive effort that went into producing it can be fully appreciated eventually.
Sony's console strategy is high quality exclusive games; it's what they did the last console generation and they're fully committed to not fixing what isn't broken. This year offers some new ones, like Returnal, and some highly anticipated sequels, like God of War: Ragnarok, Horizon Forbidden West, and Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart. I can't wait to sink my teeth into as many of these titles as I can make time for.
Aside from PS5 exclusives, there are a lot of games I'm keeping my eyes on this year: Hitman 3, Deathloop, Elite Dangerous: Odyssey, more (slow) progress on Star Citizen, Prince of Persia Remake (despite its weird visuals), Mass Effect: Legendary Edition, Outriders, Monster Hunter Rise, Back 4 Blood, Evil Genius 2, Far Cry 6, Gotham Knights, Halo Infinite, Hogwarts Legacy, Kerbal Space Program 2, No More Heroes 3, Psychonauts 2, and others. There's no way I'll get to everything but it's refreshing to see just how much variety there is.
I am amazed that we have active technology traversing a different planet in our solar system. It's a triumph and serves as a continual reminder of how amazing human ingenuity is. In February, the Perseverance rover will land on Mars with more tech onboard to do even more science than Curiosity. Ignoring the rover and its multiyear mission for a moment, just the way we land these things on Mars is a feat in and of itself.
After several delays we should hopefully get the James Webb telescope into space near the end of the year. Though it won't be operational until next year (it has a 6 month commissioning phase), getting it off our planet is the hardest part. The Hubble Telescope has over-delivered during its life span and has shown and taught us incredible things about the endless space all around our tiny planet. The JWST will take the torch from Hubble and allow us to see and learn even more.
Space X has been making great progress on Starship and we may get another test launch of the SN9 prototype as soon as next week. Reusable rockets means cheaper space flight which makes space more accessible. Even if you don't want to get off this planet, the space race during the Cold War gave us many technological advances that trickled down to more terrestrial applications. Innovation at this scale is good for everyone eventually.
You don't really know what you have until it's gone. I very much miss going out for a nice meal with friends and family. I miss meeting folks for a drink after work, too. With Covid-19 vaccines being distributed, I'm hoping I get to enjoy these simple luxuries again sooner than later.
The first decade of the MCU was an unparalleled ride. You don't have to like all the films to appreciate how difficult it was to pull it off (just look at the struggle bus the DCEU has been driving). Marvel gave us many memorable moments while dominating pop culture. Naturally I'm looking forward to how and what they do as they move into their next decade of connected storytelling. They're already showing a revised approach with greater scope as they branch out into Disney+ TV shows.
It pleases me greatly that The Expanse has become as successful; it's a more grounded kind of sci-fi that doesn't generally get as much attention. After watching the first season, I immediately binged the novels and was blown away by the textured universe and excellent characters within. I absolutely can't wait to find out how the series ends.
I don't know that attending a movie in a theater will be an okay thing to do in 2021 but most of 2020's big releases were pushed back to this year. Wonder Woman 1984 showed that a day one digital release can actually do well which makes me wonder if some of the blockbuster films I was most looking forward to having an in-theater viewing of last year—No Time To Die, Eternals, F9, The King's Man, and Dune, to name a few—will end up screening in my living room instead.