6 Emerging Technologies from 2016 Night Shift to Stylus Pens

Two of the world’s largest producers of mobile devices, Amazon and Apple, have announced ways to make using their devices easier on your eyes. Studies increasingly find that artificial blue light, a common part of all displays, can cause sleep disturbances. Amazon’s Blue-Light and Apple’s Nigh Shift promise to minimize that problem and help you get healthier.

What we find particularly interesting about this development is the fact that in taking this step, both technology giants actively acknowledge problems that their devices can cause. We have truly entered the mobile age: rather than worrying about a potential lack of interest as a result of the negative news, industry leaders like Amazon and Apple can work on actionable solutions to these problems. Where else this will take us will be fascinating to watch.

Virtual Reality has been a point of discussion for quite some time now, and no company is more interesting to watch in that regard than Oculus. Since being purchased by Facebook for $2 billion, the company has been hard at work to turn its VR capabilities into market-ready products.

The first result of that effort will be gaming. Oculus Rift now supports an increasing number of games to which its headset adds VR capabilities. Our guess is that the range of games will only increase in the near future, as the technology becomes more affordable and friendly to players and developers alike.

Google is getting ready to dance, and the result could have a major impact on how we experience the internet. It’s Tango technology is hitting the market, first on a new Lenovo phone, enabling users to easily map their interior surroundings accurately and in 3D. The goal, ultimately, is to create an interior map as complete as its Maps feature is for roads and external environments.

Potential uses for this technology are almost limitless. We’re just beginning to see interior mapping take off, and when it happens, Google will be at the forefront.

iPhone and Galaxy users are already familiar with fingerprint security, used for features like online banking and unlocking your phone. But the technology is still worth monitoring for the possibilities it brings in terms of increasing the security for your digital life.

You might have read the recent hack on Mark Zuckerberg, whose password (dadada) was laughably simple. Imagine if he had protected his accounts with fingerprint security instead. Right now, this type of biometric gateway is still limited to single devices. But reports indicate that we will see more of it – along with more practical uses – in the near future.

Everybody loves to make fun of Apple’s Siri and Amazon’s Echo, particularly if the returned queries are not what we expect them to be. But in reality, they could be the future of how we search the web.

If you knew the accuracy to be identical, would you prefer to enter a search query verbally of by typing on your micro keyboard? The answer is so obvious that tech giants are desperately trying to be the first mobile provider to come up with truly accurate voice search capability. We’re far enough into the technology at this point for a reputable marketing thought leader to proclaim the “death of the keyboard.”

We’ve come a long way since stylus pens enabled users to better use their early iterations of touch screens and tablets. Apple’s Pencil introduces a wide variety of new features, ranging from the ability to trace through paper to changing capabilities based on the amount of applied pressure.

The Pencil only works with the iPad Pro, but raving initial reviews suggest that other manufacturers will soon follow suit. As we’re nearing the end of desktop computers and even laptops, finding new ways to increase the functionality of tablets is a crucial part for mobile manufacturers to hold and increase their market share.

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