What would 2024 bring for tech?

Unfortunately, I know as much as you do right now as I’m sitting here writing this note. However, as you read this, the future me will probably be going around looking for the answers at the Consumer Electronics Show 2024. And while the smart bet is on AI being incorporated into everything, I’m actually more interested to see how technology can be more useful in other parts of consumer electronics. Looking back at 2023, we’re still very much focused on smartphones being the central piece of useful tech in our lives. We’ve also finally gotten used to the concept of the smart home, connected home or the “Internet of Things”. And when I say gotten used to, I meant that it’s well integrated into just about gadget we buy these days. Looking around my home, my oven, dishwasher, washing machine, dryer, vacuum, fan, TV, speakers, coffee machine, lights, dehumidifier, door bell, are all connected. We no longer really think twice about it, as “smarts” are more often than not already built into almost every device and appliance we buy. However, whether we use these functionalities are different things altogether. I find myself inundated by apps that I have to download or log into just to control some new gadget I’ve bought. Questions of security and interoperability constantly need to be juggled with. And at the end of the day, just plain usefulness. I must say that I almost never use the app to adjust my washing machine load “recipe” any more after the first month or so. My lights are 90% just on/off with the rare occasion of setting the RBG “disco mode” during karaoke sessions with friends. So my question is not what trends will come in 2024, but which piece of tech will actually become the next smartphone: useful, functional, indispensable in our daily lives.