Innovation, by definition, most often arises when you don’t expect it. We can nevertheless already bet on the major trends for 2022. First of them: “Green Tech”. With carbon neutrality in their sights, in 2022, the tech giants will intensify their environmental strategy. And finally, it does not matter whether it is a deep conviction of the leaders or an opportunism linked to a desire to display to serve purely economic issues. Microsoft already offers, for example, a plastic mouse recovered from the oceans and intends to offset, by 2030, all its carbon emissions since the creation of the company by Bill Gates and Paul Allen in … 1975.
2022 is also shaping up to be a year of questioning. Instagram and Tiktok have already promised to rethink, this year, their role in society, and the consequences of their use, especially by adolescents. From March, parents can, for example, set a maximum daily duration of Instagram use. On the other hand, do not wait for Apple Car this year. Its launch – if the project is confirmed – does not seem possible before 2024 or 2025. In any case, the autonomous car technology is not yet completely ready, despite the efforts – among others – of Tesla. The legislation is not ready either, in Europe in the first place.
Another strong trend for 2022: NFTs, these computer files made unique by Blockchain technology which creates their rarity. We saw it again, 10 days ago, with this very first “Merry Christmas” text message sent 29 years ago, transformed into an NFT, and sold by Vodafone for more than 100,000 € in Paris. Adidas has just collected 23 million dollars with its 1st virtual collection. Nike is also doing it. And let’s not forget the ambitions of the French Sorare with his virtual football player cards, after his fundraising of more than half a billion euros, last September.
In 2022, you will hear more and more about the metaverse imagined by Facebook, renamed “Meta”: this shows the importance of the project. On SnapChat, a new filter, Avatar, has made it possible for a few days to visualize your future appearance in the virtual world of Mark Zuckerberg. Rihanna and many other stars are already preparing for it. At the same time, we are expecting the release of a 1st virtual reality headset from Apple next fall.
In fact, the Tech 2022 year is really about to start, with the kick off of CES 2022 and its return to presencial in Las Vegas, with halls and stands from Wednesday: a show maintained in extremis despite the Omicron wave and while around fifty major exhibitors have canceled their participation. So yes, the aisles will be wider, and there will be half as many exhibitors as in 2020, but we are already announcing a robotic kitchen that prepares meals from A to Z, a new space shuttle and even a TV which we will be able to lick the screen: not very COVID, I grant you that, but innovation has no limit and we are expecting nearly 10,000 this week in Las Vegas so Happy New Year!