With nicer displays, sharper photos and longer battery, smartphones aren’t just getting better, their getting smarter. Apple ad Google have each been trying to make the smartphone experience more natural- Apple with proactive Siri suggestions in iOS9, and more recently Google with its “Now on Tap” available on Android Marshmallow.
“Now on Tap” is part of Google Now- an intelligent assistant to Android users. Have a bunch of meetings lined up, or a long drive ahead of you? Google Now will automatically tell you what time you need to leave in order to beat traffic, where your next meeting is and how to get there. According to Sundar Pichai, Google SVP, “You’re deluged with a lot of information on your phones. We have the biggest investment in machine learning over the last few years, and we believe we have the best capabilities in the world.”
“Now on Tap” functions as an opt-in feature, allowing users access to more information from directly within an application. For example, you no longer need to leave one app to run a search in another, or use a mobile web browser. The Verge says, “The most interesting part of Now on Tap might be that Google is actually giving you a way to eschew organic search; other options are right there for you.”
Google Now understands over 100 million places, and it’s not just simple business listings. Not just “geometry,” but when are they busy, when are they open, and what are you likely to need when you’re there? Users can easily ask for information relating to their favorite band, movie or musician and receive an instant response. If Now on Tap can bring someone from a restaurant page directly to an Open Table booking, it doesn’t appear unfeasible that the feature may eventually take you to more purchasing options.
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Today’s smart phones are much more than phones—they are powerful, networked multimedia computers, and over the next 10 years they’ll get far more advanced. As a result, mobility is
1. Your smart phone will have a 3D display and a 3D web browser, and you won’t need special glasses to view it. So instead of just viewing web pages on your smart phone, you’ll be able to go into environments (or stores or showrooms) and maneuver around in them, just as you do on devices like the Xbox. Alternatively, you’ll be able to see things sticking out from the screen, again without the special glasses. The 3D web on your smart phone will be a game-changer for business.
2. Rather than have to remember numerous passwords, you will be able to access data and sites on your smart phone using multiple biometric authentications. Advanced screen resolution and sensors on the phone will make this possible. For example, when you touch the screen, it will recognize you based on your fingerprint. In addition, your phone’s front-facing camera will use facial recognition to identify you. Everyone’s voice is unique, so voice recognition will also be part of the identification/security process. How you handle the phone—your keystrokes and touch/maneuver patterns—are also unique. The number of biometrics used will depend on the level of security you want based on what you are doing. For example, if you’re accessing your Facebook account, you may only want one biometric for authentication. However, if you’re doing a high-level security activity (such as banking via your smart phone), you’ll likely want to use multiple biometrics.
3. Your smart phone will become your wallet. Credit cards are easy, but e-wallets are easier. Currently, Google has a mobile wallet that works with Citi MasterCard, and in the future it will work with other credit cards. It is secure and enables you to make payments with your smart phone. In the near future, as every financial service firm gets into mobile payments, you will move very quickly from a leather wallet to a smart phone wallet. One example of an enabling technology is NFC, near-field communications chips, which are being built into smart phones as you read this article. They allow for secure and easy payment, so be ready for it. Not ready for e-wallets? How about payments using smart phones by adding a Square or similar system? Starbucks and others are using this already with great success.
4. Your ultra intelligent agent will get smarter. The first ultra intelligent agent was Apple’s Siri. As Siri-like agents advance, they will turn into personal assistants and will be able to search the web for you and bring back focused, highly relevant information based on how long you have used your e-agent and how well it knows you. In other words, your ultra intelligent agent will know your preferences, your likes, and your needs and will automatically compile, present, and share what’s pertinent to you. Additionally, your ultra intelligent agent will have a face when you are looking at the screen and a personality that you choose. You’ll even see celebrities licensing the rights to their digital likeness and personality to be used as ultra intelligent agents.
5. Some of your smart phones will be screen-less. The traditional smart phone with a screen will not go away, but you will have an option for a screen-less smart phone. This will be a very popular and highly adopted smart phone because without the screen, you get rid of much of the need for a big battery. Think of the screen-less smart phone like the little piece of jewelry people wore on the old Star Trek TV show. The screen-less smart phone will be touch and voice activated. When you tap it, you’ll be connected to your ultra-intelligent agent, which is part of a super computer in the cloud. Whatever you need, your ultra intelligent agent will be able to verbally give you the information, such as turn by turn directions, reading your email to you, etc.
6. Your smart phone will interface with smart surfaces. We are already seeing the beginning of using touch and voice-operated intelligent screens as tabletop computers that can access the Internet. Simply by placing your smart phone on these surfaces, the two will link together. Additionally, your ultra intelligent agent will flow from your smart phone to the screen. (Burris, 2013)
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