Adverts on the moon and hoverboards: Tech trend predictions for 2015

2014 was a year full of smart TVs, personal clouds, 3D printing, mobile apps, the Internet of Everything and, of course, augmented reality. So what’s in store for 2015?

Techsperts all over the world have buckled up their futuristic thinking caps to predict what we’ll all be tapping, swiping, wearing and clicking before we pop the Prosecco on 2016. Here’s what some of them envisage for the coming year…

Consumers will interact with fewer mobile apps - but for longer times MEF

People became more discerning when it came to mobile apps in 2014, a trend set to continue this year. The apps that do make it on to mobile home screens will offer richer services, so people can engage with them for longer.

Adverts on the moon, augmented reality smart specs and hoverboards for all! International Business Times

2015 might just be the year in which Marty McFly’s reality comes true, with hoverboards finally making it onto the market. Sticking with the travel sector, rural areas could be given a leg-up in terms of public transportation with autonomous, driverless buses.

Smartphones will get scarily smart and drones will start flying our way BBC

Mobiles will develop ‘predictive intelligence’, meaning that if traffic is bad you could be sent a message telling you to leave earlier for a meeting. Drones will also take off (literally) – not so much in terms of shopper deliveries, but rather in the realms of aerial observation.

Wraparound video, DIY circuit boards and people on smartwheels Kickstarter

If anyone has an inkling about what sort of tech is currently being built for future consumers, it’s the people in Kickstarter Towers. Here three staffers lift the lid on what to expect over the next 12 months, and their list is heavy on connectivity and smart wheels.

Phablet sales will soar and cloud service providers will boom Forbes

Forbes’ summary of the International Data Corporation’s (IDC) 2015 trends report highlights their prediction that phablet sales will rocket by 60%, while wearable sales will disappoint. The IDC is also confident there will be a burst of ‘cloud first’ computer hardware innovations.

Better wearables, tighter security and more consumer engagement TechCrunch

Seven venture capitalist gave their 2015 tech predictions to TechCrunch, and they include the need for companies to work together to protect themselves from bigger and better computer hackers; wearables that genuinely simplify everyday tasks, and better customer profiling.

Your car and home will be smart, while you kick back in virtual reality ABC News

Patrick Moorhead, principal technology analyst at Moor Insights and Strategy, told ABC News he thinks 2015’s driving trend will be ‘connected everything’. Cars and homes will be more autonomous. Meanwhile, a VR headset could be available by the end of the year.

Smart clothing, tiny helpful robots, and 3D printing for all of us Wired

Ahead of the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Vegas this week, Wired’s top tips for 2015 include clever clothing for fitness fanatics, and mass-market drones from companies like GoPro, that will travel both in the air and on the ground.

Smart phones will become immersive virtual reality environments Mashable

Mashable believes that wearables will get smarter, homes will become more capable of carrying out your most mundane daily tasks, and phone companies will enable individuals to build their own virtual reality experiences on their mobiles.

Companies will Uberfy themselves, phones will get bigger, and cable TV will die NewsWeek

Is there any point to cable television subscriptions when all TVs are becoming smart? Not really, say NewsWeek, who also predict the rise of companies bringing services to you on the cheap, in the manner of booming global taxi app Uber.

Social media will mature and fragment, while mobile payments take off Fox Business

Steve Tolbak, a management consultant who runs Silicon Valley’s Invisor Consulting, predicts Magic Leap making virtual reality an actual reality, and consumers continuing to use social media apps for one specific purpose each – specifically messaging.

Your mobile will have a fitness censor and its camera will improve TechSpot

As people become more health conscious everything from phones to clothing will be fitted with heart-monitoring fitness censors. Meanwhile, mobile cameras will continue to get better and better, incorporating new features such as automated HDR and slow-motion.

The Internet of Things will expand, and mobile will become a target for brands Mashable

Brands will attempt to engage with their consumers for longer via a number of different mobile features, everything is set to become more and more connected, and mobile commerce will expand.