There is still a lot of 2021 left. But it is not too early to start looking ahead to what is coming in 2022. We have the holiday shopping season which is guaranteed to be an adventure thanks to the semiconductor chip shortage. It is going to be a mad rush for the latest gadgets. Even your truck purchase is going to face issues because the auto industry is one of the biggest consumers of semiconductors. Your car no longer runs on either gas or electricity. It runs on computer chips.
This is going to continue to be a problem well into 2022. Even so, companies are forging ahead with plans to revamp old products and release exciting new ones. Those new products will almost certainly be hard to get. And many planned products will be delayed. More than usual, expect many announcements at the upcoming CES to feel more like vaporware because all the companies will be writing checks their chip suppliers can't cash. Expect one of the tech trends of 2022 to be companies unable to meet demand and get products out in a timely manner. Here are some of the other trends you can expect to see.
Electric Vehicles Everywhere
If you think you see a lot of electric vehicles now, just wait till you see what's coming next year. All of the car companies are promising new models. And many of those new electric cars will be trucks, vans, and crossovers. Whatever the vehicle you were looking to get next year, it will very likely come in an electric option. It is not too early to start scouting out the electric vehicle charging station nearest you. Also, check for one near your work. If you are going to find yourself low on a charge, those two places are the most likely suspects.
In practice, this really isn't an issue. Most will want to put in a charging solution at their house for charging overnight. Modern EVs have such a long range that few will ever exhaust that range in a typical day, and probably not the typical week. You only really need to think about it when you are taking a long trip of more than 300 miles. It is just a matter of knowing where the stations are along the way. More fast-charge stations are going up as the trend of electric vehicles continues to expand.
Drones
It seems like drones were so 2019. And they were. But they never stopped being a significant item of interest. The difference is in the early days, drones were interesting toys for the easily distracted. Then, they were fun for hobbyists and enthusiasts. After that, they became an interest for journalists, businesses, and governments. In other words, they made the leap into the mainstream.
Now, even a tech and communications company like Apple is looking into making drones. While patents don't tell us what Apple is planning to release, or when, other companies see what Apple is patenting. That means you can expect a lot of drones from big tech rivals that will literally cause this product category to take flight. If you don't have any interest in drones right now, the thing to watch for are companies providing more than the tech, but the reason why ordinary people might want one. If you are annoyed by drones, this is all bad news because the skies are about to be full of them. If not for the next category, 2022 would be the year of the mainstream drone.
AR/VR
While Tim Cook has been telling us for years about his interest in augmented reality, Mark Zuckerberg rebranded Facebook to Meta. That is short for the metaverse. The metaverse is a fictional concept of an alternate reality that happens through the lenses of a VR headset. Apple's mixed-reality headset is slated to release late in 2022. Everyone who makes one will be scrambling to make it better. And those that don't make one will be scrambling to get in the game, even if they have to white-label it. 2022 will be the year of AR/VR. It is coming to a reality near you.
Some predictions are hard. These are, however, as close to sure things as it gets. Expect more announcements around electric vehicles, drones, and some form of an alternate reality populated by legless avatars. Because where we're going, we won't need legs.
* This is a contributed article and this content does not necessarily represent the views of sciencetimes.com
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