New Beginnings

WE OFTEN SAY there is no real season in the world of technology, unlike the fashion industry for example, but in reality, there is a window in the third quarter of the year that brings the most excitement to me. Now, this is more of a combination of various factors that probably just happens to coincide with each other, rather than an actual ‘season’, but I’ll take it.

You see, although our industry’s biggest events the Consumer Electronics Show and Mobile World Congress - traditionally happen at the start of the year, the trickle down effect means that products and technologies announced then would only arrive around this time of the year. At the same time, a staggered product launch cycle adopted by many tech brands also means that there is a rush in the third quarter to release their ‘next big things’ in time for year-end. And thus, we have lots of ground to cover. 2021 is particularly interesting.

Apple breathes new life to iPhones with major improvements in iOS 15, even as the next iPhone 13 looms ahead. Microsoft gets ready to jump a version number since Windows 10 was launched 6 years ago. Huawei pushes forward it’s self-contained ecosystem plans with Harmony OS 2.0 devices. Google tries again to muscle into the wearable market with Fitbit’s acquisition and getting Samsung back onto Wear OS. Intel tries to get out of their slump with a revamped roadmap championing scalable architecture. And the list goes on.

I’ve chosen these examples to show that even among tech giants, there is the security of continuity as well as the need to reinvent and rebuild.

We are three issues away from the end of 2021. And I think we will come out of it ok.