Delusions of grandeur often cause people to have inflated expectations. This is not our theory, in fact, this is an actual analysis done by research firm Gartner for recognising overhyped technologies. 2015 was a year full of them- ‘over-hyped technologies’.
So, we decided to come up with our very own picks of tech wonders and blunders that rocked 2015. The Hype or Gripe contest begins NOW!
Autonomous cars
As far as we know and can predict, driverless cars have arrived way before their time. In a world that still struggles with basic connectivity issues, ballooning traffic and a population explosion, getting these beauties on the road will be a herculean task.
Back in July, Google’s self driving car got into an accident where it was rear-ended. Then, in November, the car was pulled up for a traffic violation for driving too slowly.
So, we are calling it, at least for now, autonomous cars are all a hype and even though there’s great innovation going into these cars, the sheer madness surrounding this industry is totally unwarranted.
Microsoft Continuum for Smartphones
Can a Lumia phone ever give you a full-fledged PC experience? in 2014 it would have been a No, but in 2015, it’s very much true. With the launch of the Microsoft Lumia 950 and 950 XL, the company also announced a device that would forever change the way people perceive Microsoft- The Display Dock. The Display Dock lets you use the processing power of your phone which combined with I/O devices, gives you a PC like experience.
So coming to our verdict, we feel that Microsoft Continuum deserves all the hype surrounding it and we can’t wait for it to become mass market, here in India.
Digital India
Even though Internet usage in India is on the rise, the country contributes to only 8.33% of the world’s internet user base. If mobile was the play here, the Digital India initiative has failed even there. Mobile connectivity has gone from good to almost pathetic in urban areas and as far as rural areas are concerned, all we have been hearing is that 55,000 villages are set to get connected. When? How long will it take? Which villages? What about the on going mobile tower crisis? These are some of the many burning questions that still remain unanswered. In China, a 57 story building was made in 19 days! How long does it take to erect a mobile tower is beyond us.
Apple Music
Back in 2001, Apple took the music industry by storm and forever changed the way people listened to music, by introducing the iPod. 13 year on and 2015 saw Apple take music to a whole new level yet again, with Apple Music.
Besides handpicked playlists, the service also offers family subscriptions, using which playlists can easily be shared with other Apple users. Recently, Apple has even made the service available to Android users, something that’s an indicator of Apple willing to widen its ecosystem (it was about time!).
All in all, Apple Music is a great, refreshing service and we can’t wait to see what Apple has in store for its future.
Apple Watch
When Apple released the Apple Watch in April, it sold around 1.5 million watches in a week! This astounding number surely overjoyed everyone at Cupertino but the party came to town too early. Subsequently, When second quarter numbers for 2015 came in, sales figures showed a huge gap between what Apple expected and what they actually got. The company sold 3.6 million units versus its own estimate of 40 million units.
Yes, the watch is a stunner, it now also has a slick new magnetic charging dock, but looks like people are steering clear of the smartwatch for now and we are sure that’s not what Apple expected either.
The Order: 1886
The Order: 1886 was shown off as Sony’s answer to Microsoft’s Gears of War but failed to deliver. Sure the game looked beautiful, but that was about it. The constant 16:9 aspect ratio of the game was annoying and the shoot-cover mechanic was rinse repeat throughout the game. An ideal example of a game that delivered as little compared to as much as it was hyped.
The order 1886 was a good game visually and that was a bummer especially if you consider the promises the developers made pre launch.
Hololens
While a lot of game developers are turning to Virtual Reality as the next big thing, Microsoft is going the Augmented Reality way. At E3 2015, we had the opportunity to experience the device. Even though it was more like a tech demo, Microsoft has time and again shown off the potential of the device. We are taking these claims with a pinch of salt as Microsoft’s first generation Kinect made big promises, but delivered little.
The only reason we are skeptical with the Hololens is that Microsoft isn’t sure of the real world applications. The device can do so much that it may end up doing nothing. It works for every real world scenario. What also remains to be seen is the price of the device.
USB Type C
Why should you care about this new standard of USB? Well, firstly, the Type C connector, unlike the Type -A connector (which is the most widely known) can be plugged in from both sides. It is also really tiny and is ideal for the sleek device design philosophy of our times. The connector can support both USB 3.1 and USB PD (Power Delivery) at the same time.
USB Type-C port also uses alternate modes, which allows users to have adapters that can output HDMI, VGA, DisplayPort, or any other type of connection from that single USB port, lending to its universal nature. What remains to be seen is what will happen to all the older generation devices which do not have USB Type C connectors.