Top 10 Technologies released in the last decade

To celebrate the past decade, here are the technologies released in the last ten years that have changed the digital realm.

WhatsApp (2009)

The cross-platform messaging and messaging service released in January 2009 has changed the way we communicate with each other over text. The free service allows users from iOS and Android to text and send media files to one another without the standard traditional messaging charge.

WhatsApp also enables users to create chat groups so everyone in the group receives the same messages and share content with each other. It has allowed users to communicate more effectively and has dominated the messaging space since its inception in 2009.

Instagram (2010)

Introduced to the public in October 2010, the photo and video-sharing social networking service was launched exclusively on iOS however, an Android version was released a year and a half later. The service allowed users to post photos with a 1:1 aspect ratio which matched the display width of the iPhone at the time. In 2015 these restrictions were later eased to accommodate bigger screen sizes. The service later expanded to allow the messaging, uploading of multiple videos and photos as well as stories to compete with Snapchat. Users are able to tag their photos with hashtags and locations, where other users can also like photos and follow desired user accounts.

The photo and video sharing platform allowed individuals and businesses to share visual content with ease and the long scrolling feed of Instagram has followed the consumer trend of long scrolling content. This means that consumers will have an infinite amount of content to digest when using the platform. The platform over the years has had some negative criticism with issues like paid advertising and body image which they have dealt with clear messaging of paid advertising and removal of visibility of likes.

Uber (2012, London)

Launched in 2009 however made available to the UK market in 2012, the ride-hailing company has moved the traditional taxi market to the modern era with its ride-hailing application. The application allows anyone to hail an Uber Taxi from anywhere as long as Uber operates within the area. Within minutes an Uber Taxi is waiting to pick you up. One benefit of the app is that it will tell you the cost the journey and you can select the type of ride that can cater to your party.

Uber has disrupted the taxi landscape especially in London where the black London Cabs are part of the British culture. Currently, Uber is banned from operating in London at the current time of writing this post. As well as providing taxi service, the company has also gone into the food delivery service, which delivers fast food and restaurant dishes to the front door of your home.

iPad (2010)

Apple first released the iPad in April 2010, which saw an introduction of a new market for portable internet-enabled devices. Over the years the iPad has seen a number of iterations, the current iPad Pro delivers the power of a Macbook in a smaller form factor, catering more for consumers on the go that need to stay productive when in transit between destinations.

The iPad over the years has caused consumers to question their place in the market as smartphones have become more powerful and almost everyone has a smartphone in their pocket. However, Apple still feels that the iPad has a purpose and caters for a segment of the market that the smartphone market does not. That market is the power-hungry consumer/business people who need power but still needs that bigger screen size and power to carry on working.

Google Drive (2012)

Even though Dropbox released its online cloud storage service in 2007, the presence of Google introducing their own service and allowing their huge user base to access their service using their existing Google account. Allowing online storage accessible to the wider audience. The convenience of having a Google email account and the ability to save photos and files onto your Google drive using the same account has changed our workflow. Before we would carry USB sticks or have files saved on portable hard drives. The emergence of the online cloud storage service has changed how we save and access personal files and photos from anywhere in the world.  With big companies such as Google investing in this sector shows the value and importance that online cloud storage services have.

There has been some change in legalisation in Europe regarding GDPR. GDPR is a piece of legalisation that defines where information is stored and accessed. Online cloud storage servers are often located in a different country outside of Europe therefore this breaks GDPR. Cloud-based services are becoming more popular especially for businesses as this cuts costs on service maintenance as well as outage costs on businesses. One question remains is the location of the servers as well as who has control of the data stored on the servers.

Apple Smartwatch (2014)

Apple first released its iWatch device in April 2015 that incorporates fitness tracking and health-oriented capabilities as well as integrating with other iOS and Apple products and services. The iWatch wasn’t built to replace an existing product but to work mainly alongside the iPhone but has capabilities to run with other iOS products. The number 1 application of the iWatch is the fitness and health application of the smartwatch. The iWatch is able to monitor heart rate, steps, calories burned and active minutes. Apple also incorporated in the ability to detect a fall and contact emergency services with your location in later iterations of the product. The iWatch’s main objective is to aid in the improvement in the consumer’s lifestyle by helping the consumer achieve their daily step count and active minutes to remain healthy and fit.

Google Assistant (2016)

Google unveiled its Google Assistant service in May 2016. Google Assistant is an artificial intelligence-powered virtual assistant made available to everyday consumers. Google Assistant enables users to ask the virtual assistant to set reminders, notes, read emails, set a journey on Google Maps and many other functions. The Google Assistant is essentially a personal assistant for consumers. Before AI was just a fantasy, however the availability of Google Assistant has made the fantasy come true. Google has not stopped there, they are developing the virtual assistant even more to handle calls and to carry on a conversation like a human being would. The introduction of Google Assistant shows that we are one step closer to creating a smart home/city with the integration of the smart assistant with other smart devices like the Philips Hue light bulb and smart TV. Slowly commands via voice will soon be the norm.

A few things need to be ironed out for virtual assistants and that is privacy. The storage of all this information that is told by the consumer and whether the assistant is listening 24/7 as well as access to this information storage either on the device or servers.

SpaceX Falcon Rocket (2016)

As part of the Space X objective of making space travel commercial, Space X manufactured the Falcon Rocket is a two-stage orbit medium-lift launch vehicle, which is reusable. The reusability of the rockets means companies will save money in the construction of another rocket. The incorporation of thrusters to help guide the rocket back to the launch pad made the rocket easy to recover and reuse. The success of the launch of the first working iteration showed that Falcon rocket worked and the success of the reused rocket in 2019 was a major step to making space travel accessible to the public.

4G (2012)

4G became available in the UK in October 2012. 4G offered a faster internet speed of 100 megabits per second and 1 gigabit per second for low mobility communication such as pedestrians. The availability of 4G has changed consumer behaviours on how they digest content. More media-heavy sites and Youtube videos are now capable of loading within seconds which enable consumers to continue having access to online media on the go. With the emergence of online services such as phone payment, streaming services and social media, the availability of 4G proved pivotal to the success and uptake of these online services.

Oculus VR (2012)

The idea of virtual reality has been around for years however it's only until recently that virtual reality technology has been made available to consumers. One of the first companies to make this accessible is the company Oculus VR. The company first launched the VR on Kickstarter to raise $250,000, however they successfully raised $2.4 million, ten times over the original goal. In 2014, Facebook acquired the company for $2.3 billion. The company then purchased Surreal Vision and collaborated with Samsung to develop Samsung Gear VR. After each iteration, the Oculus VR price, started coming down making VR affordable to consumers. The affordability allowed the consumer to participate in VR gaming in the living room of his or her own home. The emergence of Oculus sparked up a huge influx of VR headsets saturating the market. The over-saturation of the market shows the demand and now there are many companies developing VR technology which will advance the market and improve the graphics and technology within this sector.