Unfolding future innovation: a look ahead at 2019's tech trends

5G connectivity promises faster Internet speeds and more efficiency to run complex tasks in the cloud. — 123rf.com
 
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 All the ways life could change with technology in 2019.

FASTER data connectivity, smartphones with a bold new look and more reasons to cheer for the national team at a sporting event? These are just some reasons we predict 2019 is going to be another exciting year in technology.

Bend and not break 

We could be getting our hands on a foldable smartphone by Samsung very soon – the South Korean tech giant gave the world a glimpse of a working protoype at the Samsung Developer Conference in November.

According to Justin Denison, the senior vice-president of mobile product marketing at Samsung, the prototype measured at 18.5cm diagonally. The new design will give users the experience of having a pocket size device – with a 4.6in screen when folded – that can be unfolded to reveal a bigger ­tablet-sized 7.4in screen, a feature Samsung has dubbed the Infinty Flex Display.

A foldable phone by Samsung is coming our way in 2019. — AP

Sources told South Korea-based Yonhap News Agency that Samsung is planning to officially launch the device, tentatively known as the Galaxy F as Samsung has not given it an official name yet, at an event in March. Other companies looking to release a foldable smartphone include Huawei and Sony.

Samsung’s foldable device with Infinity Flex Display is a smartphone model that features a tablet-sized screen when unfolded and a smaller screen when folded like a book. — AP

Speaking of Galaxy phones, Samsung also has another ­highly-anticipated release in 2019 and it’s the flagship Galaxy S10. Some leaks suggest that we could be looking at a device with a bigger full screen bezel-less feature – ­reputable leaker UniverseIce claimed the model will have a 6.7in display – multiple rear camera setup and interestingly, a punch-hole screen design for the front camera. (Notch? What notch?)

Citing Yonhap News, The Verge reported that the South Korean tech giant is expected to unveil the flagship Galaxy S10 in February 2019, most likely at the Mobile World Congress (MWC) in Spain. Yonhap’s sources also say there are plans to showcase the Galaxy F at MWC ahead of its official March launch.

Gotta move faster

The dawn of 5G network ­connectivity is upon us. This new technology promises significantly faster data transmission speeds and capacity, less waiting around for an online task to be completed (also known as lower latency), and could connect more smart devices and sensors simultaneously than ever before.

According to Reuters, 5G is ­currently in the final testing phase and is poised to offer data speeds of up to 50 or even 100 times faster than current 4G networks. In ­theory, that is.

To test real-world 5G speeds, Qualcomm ran a simulation to approximate real-world 5G speeds in Frankfurt and San Francisco, taking into account various factors such as geography, user demands on the network as well as devices with varying levels of LTE and 5G connectivity.

As reported by The Verge, the tests yielded more down-to-earth but still vastly improved speeds – in Frankfurt, browsing speeds went up from 56Mbps for 4G users to 490Mbps for 5G users, with download speeds clocking in at 100Mbps for over 90% of users compared to 8Mbps on LTE. In San Francisco, browsing speeds jumped up from 71Mbps for the 4G user to 1.4Gbps for the 5G user, while download speeds clocked in at 186Mbps on 5G compared to 10Mbps on 4G.

As 5G is an entirely new technology, users will have to upgrade to new smartphones – to that end, one of the variants of Samsung’s upcoming Galaxy S10 is said to support 5G, according to the Wall Street Journal (WSJ).

Apart from high speed mobile and data services, experts agree that 5G is essential for the next phase in developing technologies like self-driving cars and ­improving industries like ­healthcare, virtual and augmented reality and more.

Vodafone demonstrated how a young football fan could get Houghton (left) to teach her some football skills with a holographic 3D call on a 5G network. — AP

In September, Vodafone ­demonstrated how a live 3D ­holographic call is possible with 5G at the Vodafone Future Ready Conference in United Kingdom. In the demonstration, English footballer Steph Houghton appeared as a hologram to give an 11-year-old fan some game tips. This exchange showcases how the technology could potentially change the way people communicate with each other, with more chances for remote coaching, training as well as enabling more immersive interactions with famous personalities.

In Malaysia, Communications and Multimedia Minister Gobind Singh Deo announced that Putrajaya and Cyberjaya as testing grounds for national-level 5G trials. The one-year trial began in November and the findings will help the government develop plans and policies on the use of 5G network in the country.

Game on

In 2019, brace yourself for the possible release of another Nintendo Switch. The WSJ reported that Nintendo plans to release a new version of the popular gaming console, with one possible upgrade being a better display.

One of the biggest news in 2018 is Sony announcing that it will not be attending the 2019 E3 Expo for the first time in 24 years. Instead, the company shared that it will be “engaging with consumers and the community in different ways”, with unconfirmed rumours ­swirling that the company might hold its own event to announce details on the PlayStation 5.

Companies like Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo could all be announcing new gaming consoles in 2019. — AP

According to tech website T3, the PS5 console may include upgrades to support 60FPS (frames per ­second) at 4K resolution and it will be running on next-generation AMD graphics cards. Sony could also be announcing details about the PlayStation VR2 – upgrades may include better controllers, new built-in cameras and gloves for enhanced virtual reality experience.

One company that is not ­skipping E3 in 2019 is Microsoft. Speculation is rife that the ­company will be using the event to announce details about two new next-generation Xbox consoles, codenamed Anaconda and Lockhart. Users could also be ­looking at a cloud-based streaming-only disc-less version of the Xbox One S for 2019, which could be announced as soon as next month, according to The Verge.

Microsoft is also expected to reveal more details about its Project xCloud, a Netflix-style streaming service for Xbox games. Not to be confused with Xbox Game Pass, Project xCloud – currently in beta testing mode – is said to make Xbox games available across PCs, phones, and consoles.

Gamers can also look forward to major videogame releases in 2019 – there’s the long-awaited Kingdom Hearts 3, The Last Of Us 2 and hopefully, Hideo Kojima’s star-studded and much-hyped Death Stranding.

For mobile gamers, there’s the 2019 release of the Harry Potter Wizards Unite AR game by Niantic, the same developer behind Pokémon Go. The game will allow users to encounter characters and creatures from the Harry Potter books, cast spells and solve ­mysteries.

Augmented Reality (AR) everywhere

AR technology is not exactly new to platforms like Snapchat and Instagram with its selfie filters, but we could be looking at more than just digital face masks in 2019.

In May, Facebook announced a new version of its AR developing tool AR Studio for content creators and developers. The tool is made for designing AR animations, ­visuals and interactions for the Facebook Camera. Along with existing features like AR Target Tracker and free-to-use sound files, Facebook said it will be adding other features like Body Tracking, Hand Tracking and analytics for AR effects. So you could expect more AR elements in the photos or videos your friends share on Facebook.

AR is likely to become a bigger part of the way we experience events in real life and consume content on social media platforms. Here, an attendee is trying out an AR baseball game at a trade show in Japan. — Bloomberg

AR could also be a part of more live experiences like concerts and sporting events in 2019. TechCrunch reported that rapper Eminem ­incorporated AR into his live ­performance at Coachella music ­festival in April.

Concertgoers could see added AR visual enhancements to the show by downloading the Eminem Augmented app.

In terms of gaming, something exciting is brewing at Niantic. The company announced that it is investing in holographic ­augmented reality display – technology ­developed by ­waveguide optics firm DigiLens, which specialises in ­wearable ­lightweight plastic AR ­displays. For users, it could mean that Niantic is looking to enhance game play interactivity with an AR device like smart ­glasses.

Cheer for Malaysia in eSports

Malaysia is beginning to embrace eSports as a mainstream sporting event. In the recent Budget 2019, the ­government announced a RM10mil budget for the development of eSports in the country.

In 2019, eSports will be a medal event at the South-East Asia Games (SEA) in Philippines. eSports Malaysia secretary-­general Rinie Ramli said a national league will be held as the selection ­process for a squad to represent Malaysia at the SEA Games.

Get set to support a Malaysian eSports team at the 2019 SEA Games. — Bernama

Mobile Legends: Bang Bang is going to be one of the titles ­contested at the Games, along with other shortlisted titles like Dota 2, StarCraft II, Tekken 7 and Arena Of Valor, according to a recent announcement by the Philippine SEA Games ­organising committee and its eSports partner, gaming hardware company Razer.

eSports is also currently being considered as a medal event for the 2022 Asian Games in China. However, the plan to announce eSports as an official medal event has been put on hold as the ­gaming committee does not want a violent or shooting-based game to be contested. Reuters reported that titles for the 2022 Asian Games may feature sports-themed games like Pro Evolution Soccer (PES). Whatever it may be, we’ll look to eSports as a way of getting everyone together to cheer for the same team.

Source: TechNews, The Star by angelin yeoh

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In the digital dumps: technology triggers teen depression

Teenagers are unable to disconnect from their smartphones, causing them undue anxiety and distress. But according to experts, saying no to smartphones is not the solution.

Teenagers feel if they’re not on social media all the time, they’re missing something important, or will miss out on a funny conversation, or someone might say something about them, according to Nolan. — 123rf.com

Technology is how teenagers maintain relationships so Nolan advises parents to discuss and find healthy ways to use it. — dpa

"We know that people rely on smartphones. A recent study shows we touch them about 2,500 times a day on average ''

Brian Bolan, guidance director at Andrew High School in Tinley Park, Illinois.

“Nobody likes to feel a loss of control. So work with them to arrive at a mutually agreed upon reasonable amount of time to spend on the phone. Haveitbea discussion, a collaboration. That will probably yield better results than just saying, ‘No phones’.” – The Daily Southtown/ Tribune News Service 

Parents have to help teenagers turn off in a world that’s always on.

The problem with teens and ­smartphones, experts say, is “they’re always on”.

Both of them. And that can take a toll on their mental health. A new study links anxiety, severe depression, suicide attempts and suicide with the rise in use of smartphones, tablets and other devices.

Parents are urged to help their children foster real ­relationships, the ones that involve making eye contact and ­interpreting body ­language. Local mental health experts encourage teens and ­parents to establish a routine that fosters a balance between real and virtual communication, even as many adolescents will no doubt have found gifts of technology under the tree last holiday.

For as smart as phones may be these days, they simply don’t know when to quit. To protect their kids’ mental health, parents must ­develop methods for outsmarting them, experts say, and often that involves simply turning them off.

Jean Twenge, psychology professor at San Diego State University and a graduate of the University of Chicago, has written extensively on youth and mental health. She has released a study that shows a ­correlation between the rise of the smartphone and increasing rates of depression, suicide attempts and suicide itself among teens.

According to news reports, the finding is based on CDC data and teen-issued surveys that revealed that feelings of hopelessness and suicidal contemplation had gone up by 12% during the time period and that nearly half of the teens who indicated they spend five or more hours a day on a ­smartphone, laptop or tablet said they had contemplated, planned or attempted suicide at least once – compared with 28% of those who said they spend less than an hour a day on a device.

Local school counselors and social workers as well as clinical mental health experts at local ­hospitals in the United States ­confirm they are seeing an uptick in signs of depression and/or ­anxiety among teens. But, they also say, there are things parents and professionals can do to help curb the risks.

Too much, too often

“I just came from a South Side guidance directors conference where we heard from a couple of hospitals in the area that treat ­students for depression or suicidal tendencies or high anxiety. They’re telling us they’ve seen quite an uptick, that they’re hiring staff, they’ve got longer waiting times, they’re running more programmes just to keep up with the need they’re seeing among high school kids and even younger kids,” said Brian Nolan, guidance director at Andrew High School in Tinley Park, Illinois.

Nolan said, “My belief is that today’s technology never allows children to truly disengage from their social lives. When we were kids we could hang out with our friends during the day and then at night, we’d have down time with the family or we might go shoot hoops or play Legos away from friends, so we could gain some kind of balance.”

But the smartphone’s ability to connect us all immediately doesn’t allow that social interaction to ever be turned off, he said. Some of the allure is the desire to be included, and some of it is defensive, he said.

“They feel like if they’re not on it all the time, they’re missing ­something important, or will miss out on a funny conversation, or someone might say something about them. There’s a lot of worry and concern and stress about what’s going on in social media at a time when it would be nice for a child to step away from it and not care,” Nolan said.

“We know that people rely on smartphones. A recent study shows we touch them about 2,500 times a day on average,” he said. “I use food as a metaphor. If a student is overeating or eating a bunch of junk food, you probably as a parent would have a conversation about better eating habits, the importance of exercise, moderation, things like that.”

“Cellphones are exactly the same. To tell a student you can’t use it, is the same as saying you can’t eat. That may sound extreme but that’s the ­reality. (Technology) is how they maintain ­relationships. So, it’s ­probably better to discuss healthy ways to use it,” he said.

Questions to ask your teen, he said, might include: Do you feel addicted to it? Are you checking it ­constantly? Can you set it down for awhile?

When students only ­interact via technology, Nolan said, “they’re much more likely to withdraw from healthier interactions and are more likely to be hypersensitive to what’s being posted. If they aren’t included they can feel lonely. If they are included, they can feel pressure to keep up”.

“I think parents feel bad (about this). It’s hard to attack a thing we don’t fully understand ourselves, because we didn’t grow up with it,” he added.

But, Nolan added, “modeling is a big piece of this. We as adults sometimes stop conversations with our own children because we have a text message coming in. Or we’ll text at the dinner table or while driving. So, we’re teaching our children that what comes through the phone is immediate and important and that it should take precedence over what we are currently doing”.

Equal access to good and bad

In her 17 years as a social worker at Argo High School in Summit, Illinois, Allison Bean said she’s had “a front row seat to the shift from a time where kids couldn’t wait to leave the house to hang out with their peers to the present day digital age where our kids are reluctant to leave the couch”.

“Many of my students may not have adequate clothing, food or even running water in their homes; but they have phones,” she said.

Teens, she said, “are (physically) isolating themselves more and more from their real support ­systems during a period of their lives that, even under the best ­circumstances, is very turbulent and stressful”.

Exacerbating the situation, Bean said, is that the very device that can cause depression is also giving fragile teens access to websites that can encourage them to engage in self-harming behaviours.

To complicate matters, she said, mental health experts are warning about the dangers of technology at a time when more schools are going paperless and issuing tablets to students.

“While there may be an upside to going paperless, one thing is ­certain: Our kids will be spending countless numbers of hours in front of some type of screen during the duration of their education. Headaches, tired eyes, and ­insomnia are bad for everyone. For students that are already prone to mental health issues, this too often results in truancy, low test scores, poor homework habits and ­depression,” she said.

“They are depriving themselves of the opportunity to exercise their social skills; skills that are critical for life. This is obviously dangerous in numerous ways. Not only does it dissuade students from ­leaving the confines of their rooms to engage with peers in a ­developmentally appropriate way, there are many predators online who are able to find young people who are vulnerable, isolated and desperately seeking attention,” she said.

“There’s no question mental health crises are on the rise, and at the high school level, depression and anxiety are the primary ­diagnoses that I see in our ­community,” she said.

Signs of trouble?

It’s not just technology that is causing the trouble, said Rian Rowles, chairman of psychiatric services at Advocate Christ Medical Center. In his 12 years at the Oak Lawn, Illinois hospital, the ­psychiatrist has seen the number of patients referred to the ­adolescent programme rise by more than half.

“It’s also social media. It’s very clear to me that the advent of social media has exacerbated stressors. Not just depression, but anxiety as well,” he said.

“There are stressors that go along with adolescence but you used to be able to leave the interpersonal stuff at school. Bullying used to be a school phenomenon.”

Social media, he said, can make it a 24/7 thing.

“When you’re writing and ­posting things, there’s a phenomenon in which you don’t have the same filter you might when talking on the phone or in person. I think that lends itself to more abrasive statements,” he said. “So not only is it constantly there for these kids, it’s more intense.”

Rowles said adolescents can have the same symptoms as adults when it comes to depression and anxiety: abrupt changes in sleep ability, appetite changes (usually significantly less food), social ­isolation marked by less ­communicating with friends and less participation in social or school events, and drastic or ­significant personality change, say from calm to irritable or angry.

Parents can help by reducing the amount of time a teen spends on social media, he said. Professional help typically involves teaching kids ways to develop new coping mechanisms.

Something that might surprise adults, Rowles said, is that ­overusing technology can have a detrimental affect on them, as well.

“Not as drastic, because of what kids have to deal with at school. The phenomenon I see in adults is someone who is already in my care for anxiety or depression and then they get on Facebook,” he said. “People will sort of put on Facebook things that make their life seem very wonderful and it may not be the reality but other people see that and it can ­contribute to their depression. (Facebook) makes it seem like everybody has a better life.”

Widening the lens

Technology may not be the lone culprit, and it is not necessarily bad, said Nadjeh Awadallah, licensed clinical professional ­therapist at Little Company of Mary Hospital in Evergreen Park, Illinois.

The current increase in ­depression and anxiety among teens might be attributed to a ­higher frequency of smartphone use and the fact there’s less stigma about mental health issues, Awadallah said.

“Kids are more prone to ­speaking about mental health issues than maybe they were before,” he said.

A lot of adolescents, he said, would argue that the relationships they have with people online are real relationships. “If they’re ­interacting at a high level of ­frequency, either talking with friends or playing videogames, they’re actually interacting with them,” he said.

And a phone can be a kind of “digital security blanket” in that it enables a person who is dealing with anxiety to look at their phone instead of at other people.

“It’s kind of protective if you want to be left alone,” he said.

Nevertheless, Awadallah added, there is “a great deal of benefit to interacting with somebody face to face because so much of communication has to do with nonverbal communication and giving feedback. When you’re just texting you have to imagine how the person’s voice sounds. It’s hard to deduce if someone is being ­genuine, or sarcastic. So whatever the person transplants onto the thing that they’re reading can impact their mood.

“There’s a high correlation between people withdrawing from person-to-person interaction and depression because that’s what people tend to do when they’re depressed,” he said. “So it’s kind of like a chicken and egg relationship where you don’t know if they’re depressed because they’re on ­electronic media or if they’re on electronic media because they’re depressed.”

Smartphone addiction is a form of process addiction, he said. “It’s a non-chemical addiction where ­people compulsively use the Internet or phone in lieu of self-care actions likes eating or ­sleeping,” he said.

Signs there might be a deep-­seated issue: problems at school, such as concentration, lack of ­energy, poor attendance or a drop in grades; substance abuse or superficial self-harm (such as cutting as an emotional release); and a significant decline in self-esteem.

What can parents do? Awadallah said, “Institute a routine. Make sure kids aren’t using phones or devices when supposed to be ­sleeping because exposing ­themselves to unnatural blue light that’s going to be overly ­stimulating and not let them sleep well. If they’re more invested with ­interacting online than with people in person, you need to talk.

“Nobody likes to feel a loss of control. So work with them to arrive at a mutually agreed upon reasonable amount of time to spend on the phone. Have it be a ­discussion, a collaboration. That will ­probably yield better results than just saying, ‘No phones’.”

 — The Daily Southtown/Tribune News Service

How can parents help their teens?

● Encourage downtime
● Be a good role model
● Teach your child to develop coping skills
● Institute a routine
● Mutually agree on time limits for devices and social media

By donna vickroy, The Star

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Smartphones going modular

A near-final prototype of Google’s Project Ara. – Photo : ©Google ATAP

There has been much talk of modular smartphones this spring, after LG released its G5 handset and Google presented a near-final version of its Project Ara.

Modular smartphones differ from regular mobiles thanks to their “building block” design, made up of various interchangeable modules containing different hardware components. These can be switched quickly and easily to boost performance or replace faulty parts.

The current wave of modular smartphones draws on a concept created by a Dutch designer, Dave Hakkens, whose Phonebloks mobile is based on a set of small modules (processor, hard disk, camera, etc.) that can be easily changed and updated.

Once assembled, they form a smartphone with varying levels of performance and functionality, a bit like a desktop PC. As well as making savings for users, a modular design can also help counter planned obsolescence in smartphones.

This idea inspired Google’s Advanced Technology and Projects group (ATAP), who went on to develop Project Ara. Initially presented as a similar project to Phonebloks, comprising almost as many modules as a smartphone has components, the handset evolved, little by little, into a slightly less ambitious prototype presented at the last Google I/O conference in Mountain View, California.

It now takes the form of a smartphone with just six interchangeable modules, including a second display, a camera, memory, a speaker, etc. The screen, processor and RAM are all grouped together in one core block that cannot be modified. A developers’ kit is due to be released in the fall ahead of a planned consumer launch in 2017.

Another smartphone based on the same idea hails from Finland. However, the PuzzlePhone hasn’t been the focus of anywhere near as much media attention as Google’s concept.

This modular mobile only has three interchangeable blocks: one for the display, another for the battery and one main system block housing the processor, memory and camera. It should go on sale before the end of 2016.

The only modular smartphone currently available to buy is the LG G5, unveiled at the 2016 Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain, back in February.

This handset has a slide-out bottom for changing the battery in just a few seconds. As well as its removable battery, additional interchangeable elements can be added to the phone, such as camera and audio modules. The LG G5 is out now priced at around $650.

Check out Project Ara in this video below:



AFP - RelaxNews

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