The influence technology had on the development of mankind has always been profound. These days, when our wildest childhood fantasies have become a reality and the world of tech continues to evolve at a relentless pace it’s very hard to guess what awaits us along the road. However, the fact that we don’t know the final destination of our journey doesn’t mean that we can’t predict in which direction we are going. So, what 2021 has in store for us?

Ongoing Dominance of Mobile Devices

Since Google virtually phased out all the websites that weren’t ready to follow the whole “mobile friendly” narrative, we can say that 2020 was a pretty significant year for mobile technology. It is now up to Microsoft to finally push its long awaited Surface Phone into the market and finally bring down the walls separating the desktop and the mobile realms, feature-wise. Be it as it may, mobile devices will continue to dominate the world of consumer technology, causing tectonic changes in the marketing industry as a result.

3D Printing

Putting 3D printing technology on the “hot new technologies” by now sounds like beating a dead horse. However, it’s hard not the notice that 3D printing has just passed its infancy and we are finally learning to grasp this amazing concept. The area where this technology is expected to make the biggest difference is probably healthcare. In the near future, we’ll be able to print not only joints and kneecaps, but complete organs as well. We hope that we’ll see the inception of this development in 2021.

Virtual Reality

Another technology that’s been with us since forever (at least conceptually), but it’s only now becoming really usable. As expected, the wind that finally pushed the VR into mainstream came from the gaming industry, but make no mistake – the possible implementations of VR in education, training, industry and entertainment are limitless. It is up to us to connect the dots and use the current technological advancements to finally unlock VR’s full potential.

Internet of Things

If you would try to explain IoT to someone just a couple of decades ago, that person would probably think that we are just few steps away from nuclear holocaust. However, the world in which your fridge knows it’s empty and makes grocery orders and factories are run entirely by robots holds up surprisingly well. 2021 will be no different. The devices around us will become even better connected and more automated, while our role in the mundane daily chores will slowly be reduced to machine maintenance.

Drones

The word “drones” probably doesn’t conjure too pleasant associations. Truly, UAV’s are very often misused. But, if utilized well, this technology can change the world. Even now, drones are able to make rope bridges without any human assistance. In 2021 their functionality will continue to progress and their range of application will grow even more. Expect to see whole slew of human activities ranging from architecture and geotechnical engineering to transportation and movie industry forever changed by these vehicles very soon.

The Development of Search Engine Algorithms

It is very easy to deem search engines as less than impressive technology, but remember – we are living in the world of people whose knowledge is not measured by what they know, but how fast they can google up information. Fortunately, search engine algorithms are constantly developing and will continue to develop in times to come. What we can expect to see in 2021 is stronger push forward by Facebook and Bing.

Although these 6 mentions are far from the complete list of advancements we’ll see in the following year, they are important foundation stones for the future developments. Keep an eye on them. Some very exciting things are brewing on the horizon.