The new year signifies new beginnings in many cultures. The start of the new year is a time filled with new year resolutions and various technological and personal breakthroughs. It also is the time when new concepts, trends and technologies are pushed forward and are brought in the mainstream. While we can only guess what the new year holds for us, there are a few things that can be predicted to be ushered in this year. 2019 is an especially exciting year where many new trends will take the limelight. Here are some of the top predictions the year 2019 will bring us.

5G

5G is the 5th generation of cellular mobile networking and is the successor of 4G. 5G plans to exponentially increase the features of cellular communication. It boasts of higher data transfer rates, reduced latency and increased efficiency in energy consumption to name a few. This will invariably change the way we communicate by making things for the users faster and better.

Non-surgical procedures

Non-surgical procedures be it medical or cosmetic have picked up the pace over the past few years and in 2019, experts predict that the tend will only increase. There are many non-surgical procedures that are available as of now and with the breakthroughs in medical technologies, people are given a chance to bypass the need for surgeries.

Green travel

Travelling is one of the activities that brings joy to everyone. Visiting new places, learning about new cultures first hand and trying out new delicacies makes one shiver with anticipation. But one common thing about all popular travel places is is that the increased footfall of visitors is increase of human activities which tends to gradually break down the natural charm of tourist destinations. In order to prevent this, many tourists find a responsibility to visit new places but leave as little of carbon footprint as possible. Because of social awareness spread by news and social media, many tourists have started following the three R’s (reduce, reuse and recycle). This trend will only increase as many tourists have become conscious of the environment.

Foldable phones

One of the biggest breakthroughs in technology in recent years is definitely foldable screens. Being able to fold a screen and use it seems to be something directly out of science fiction novels. One of the industries that has taken leverage of this concept is the mobile phone manufacturing industry. In the highly competitive mobile phone industry, phone models have sort of stagnated over the past few years. But implementing this new technology will be like a breath of fresh air to the model concepts of phone manufacturers. Almost all the phone companies have started checking the implementation of foldable screens for mobile phones and the end winners will definitely be the phone users.

Plant based skin care

It is said that skin care products that are use natural extracts are extremely beneficial to the skin and are much better than the artificial lab produced ones. This is because natural products have little to no side effects if they are used as intended to be. This has created a new market of conscious companies that only manufacture natural plant based skin care products and they are only going to increase in the year because the consumers have come to like organic products over their inorganic counterparts.

Tech industry regulations

The past few years have been not so well for the image of giant tech companies as they have come under many allegations that they are using their products to either influence their consumers or use their data for other not so well intended uses. Facebook has had hearings in the US Senate and it was not as good as they hoped it to be. Other issues include how these tech company use their customer data and the legality of it has been put into question. Thus, it is quite possible that in the coming year, we will be seeing a number of regulations imposed on such companies with regard to the processing of the consumer data.

Realistic robots

How awesome would it be if you could have a robot accompanying you as your companion. It seems like something right of ‘Star Wars’ but this year, it could become a reality. The technological advances in artificial intelligence and machine learning are trying to make this happen as soon as possible with many prototypes already being tested and being made ready for us.

Solo travel

Many people say with respect to travel that the more the merrier. But sometimes that is not entirely the case. There times that you just want to pack a bag and go exploring on your own. This trend has seen a gradual increase over the years and more people are willing to venture out and explore the different landscapes by themselves. The experience of travelling solo is quite different compared to travelling as a couple or in a group. Because you are on your own, you notice things differently gain a new perspective of the places you visit. Lately, this trend has picked up a pace as more people are willing to get out of their comfort zone and travel with only a backpack as their company.