Gadgetory

let's talk about every geeks favorite topic and that's the best tech that's just around the corner the Internet of Things is a buzzword that's been growing in popularity for a good reason just about every tech company out there whether you're talking about smartphone OEMs or accessory makers have launched at least one connected product over the past two years according to Gartner there will be upwards of 6.4 billion connected things to use worldwide in 2016 up 30% from 2015 the research company also says that the number of IOT devices will reach twenty point eight billion by 2020 but that's not necessarily a good thing for every good product that's a wearable or so-called Internet of Things device there's at least five more that are utterly pointless such as from the green IQ smart garden hub that takes the hassle out of watering plants or the hundred dollar vessel smart cup that monitors how much water you drink for real every time the Internet of Things revolution looks like it's about to get off the ground it just stays the same and that probably won't change in 2016 it might in 2017 or 2018 but not this year now let's talk virtual reality or as my wife says the age in which geeks do not leave their goddamn bedroom 2016 is going to be an iconic year for virtual reality this is the year that oculus will finally come to market with their rift headset which will ship out to early adopters in March for $5.99 u.s. which surprisingly isn't as much as many folks were expecting for the first generation headset to cost years ago the rift was considered to be the quintessential virtual reality experience but it's been a long time coming and other VR platforms have already surpassed the rift and making their way to consumers we expect that 2016 will also be the year where wearables are no longer a niche market in 2016 the third wave of wear devices will arrive there will be more options and less sacrifice which means more consumers will get on board with the wearable trend as far as specifics are concerned we can likely expect new wearables from LG and Motorola and possibly even Huawei and HTC now my personal prediction for a breakthrough wearable product would be an earpiece or two earpieces in stereo that are very comfortable discreet and can be worn in such a way that you actually forget that they're there allow you to here's phone calls music podcasts audiobooks and all that kind of stuff and still hear the outside world that would be fantastic who's gonna do it and we also expect that 2016 will be an even bigger year for mobile payments we expect a slower adoption rate for mobile payments among the older generation but according to Brian Yeager an analyst at emarketer younger consumers generally have fewer apprehensions when it comes to experimenting with new technologies ultimately mobile wallets will need to have a strong track record of security to attract more users across all demographics long-term all right now it's your turn let me know in the comments below what you think will be right around the corner in 2016 or beyond and back it up with some sort of evidence give us an intelligent argument and don't forget about my brothers and sister and Android who are working super hard to be your source for all things Android