Smartphones of the next decade – Next 10 Years

Technology has transformed communication in the last 30 years more than it has in the past two centuries. We didn’t think that mobile devices would allow us to make calls wirelessly when we had wired telephones. Mobile experiences will continue to develop with the help of new technologies for the smartphones of the next decade.

1. Customer experiences will be merged digitally and physically

There are already companies using beacons to improve the shopping experience in-store (visualise a tiny sensor that sends coupons to customers when they use their apps). Facebook owner Mark Zuckerberg has already announced Meta, a network of 3D virtual worlds focused on social connection.

Developing an ultra-unified digital and physical experience with beacons is expected to become more common in the future. For example, amusement parks will be able to identify loyalty members who are currently waiting in line for rides and offer them a fast pass in a timely fashion. Using first-party and third-party data, companies can put themselves in the shoes of consumers, make informed decisions about them and deliver more personalised experiences.

2. Text and voice engagements will be on the rise

Current mobile customer experiences lack enough convenience. For things like ordering food or shopping, we ask users to click through too many screens.

Using text, push notifications, and voice commands in apps will become more common for brands in the near future like Siri with iPhone devices and Google assistant on Android devices. Eventually, an app like Starbucks will receive an alert asking if the customer would like their regular coffee order started even before they open the app, through geolocation and artificial intelligence (AI) activity tracking.

3. Companies will focus on tech first, then on data services

A company such as Peloton makes exercise equipment. They are a tech-first company. They sell workout equipment, but they have advanced technology and a digital ecosystem. Research and development will increasingly focus on creating the best customer experiences using digital technologies over the next decade.

In addition, many companies will shift from being goods and services providers to being data companies. Data science teams in every tier of a business will save companies years of effort and costs.

4. Partnerships with brands lead to more immersive experiences

In the not too distant future, brands will realise they can provide greater value to customers by sharing data with each other. It is highly likely that more companies will enter into multi-corporate data-sharing agreements since the data possessed by one brand can be very valuable to the other.

The convenience store at a gas station is often run by a third party, not the gas company. This results in different data collection (e.g., information collected by store apps is different from information collected by gas station pumps). Nonetheless, the number of gas stations and convenience stores sharing data already exists to improve customer experiences and drive sales. A convenience store customer could be offered a discount code for their favourite beverage when they pay for gas or get a gas discount if they purchase a slice of pizza at the store when they use the app.

For the smartphones of the next decade, there will be much innovation in mobile customer experience with human-centric design at the centre. The way we see how far things have come since the launch of the wired telephone is the same as how we see the adoption of smartphones today in the future. Perhaps we’ll look out the window of our virtual highrise in the metaverse. We’re just beginning to imagine what immersive environments will look like with this next evolution of the internet. Be prepared for exciting times ahead!