AI into 2024: The 6 biggest consumer tech trends
Qualcomm executives reveal future AI, consumer tech, and other trends.
The banana-peel-and-beer-fueled DeLorean in “Back to the Future” was once funny. Today, 10% of cars are electric.1 A year ago, talking to a computer in natural language was science fiction, but the next generation will need a personal AI assistant.
Generative AI was the game-changer in nearly every industry, and its effects will continue next year.
Business leaders developing and deploying cutting-edge AI, high-performance, low-power computing, and connectivity technologies to deliver intelligent computing everywhere.
Nobody knows how generative AI and other tech trends will unfold next year. As the end 2023, what Qualcomm executives thought would be the biggest trends of 2024.
1. AI PCs lead laptop replacement “super cycle”
In 2024, a “super cycle” of laptop replacements and PC AI advancements will transform the PC market.
Morgan Stanley predicts a major shift, with 40% of laptops replaced in 2024 and 65% by 2025.2
Qualcomm Technologies’ Senior Vice President and GM of Compute and Gaming, Kedar Kondap, says, “They anticipate a market-defining “super cycle” in the PC starting in 2024, where the need for new laptops and the advancement of AI will drive a new era of PCs
“This innovation is not just an evolution in the PC market, but a revolution, driving AI PC demand and reshaping the computing experience for businesses and consumers into the new year.”
Microsoft’s actions show that Intelligent PC and AI assistants like Copilot are coming.
They announced at Snapdragon Summit in October that Snapdragon X Elite would enable the AI PC, built to perform AI tasks. Microsoft, HP, Lenovo, and Dell joined us.
2. Personal devices will host generative AI from the cloud
While 2023’s generative AI conversation focused on the cloud, on-device AI can help solve privacy, latency, and cost issues.
According to Qualcomm Technologies’ Senior Vice President & General Manager of Technology Planning & Edge Solutions, Durga Malladi, personal devices such as smartphones, PCs, vehicles, and IoT devices will become hubs for multi-modal generative AI models as they become more integrated into our lives.
Doing many AI tasks on-device makes sense and expands consumer and enterprise access to these awesome capabilities.
“This transition will bring consumers and enterprises next-level privacy-focused, personalized AI experiences and lower cloud costs for developers,” Malladi said. The shift from cloud-based to hybrid or on-device AI is inevitable with large generative AI multi-modal models running on devices.
3. Your smartphone will become more essential
Personal AI assistants will become indispensable companions as smartphones gain generative AI capabilities and learn from our daily lives to provide tailored experiences.
Qualcomm Technologies’ Senior Vice President & General Manager of Mobile Handset, Chris Patrick, said smartphones, our most personal devices, will use multi-modal generative AI models and combine sensor data. He added,
“Your on-device AI assistant will become personalized, informative.”
Applications using LLMs and visual models will deliver personalized, meaningful content using sensor data like health, location, and hyperlocal information.
Patrick added, “These AI assistants will enable natural engagement and process and generate text, voice, images, and videos on-device by using different modalities. This will mainstream next-level user experience while addressing climbing cloud-based AI costs.”
AI showed on-device personalization on our Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 at Snapdragon Summit to meet this market need.
4. Creativity will increase
AI will become more integrated into creative and marketing.
Don McGuire, Qualcomm Incorporated’s CMO, said, “Generative AI is changing how to learn, how to play and how to work.” Qualcomm is one of the largest companies enabling this technology, and McGuire is deploying the tools throughout the marketing organization.
You are seeing an increase in productivity, time-to-market, and efficiency, so the team can focus more on strategy and creative collaboration and less on repetitive tasks.
It’s about enhancing people’s abilities, not replacing them.
Generative AI can offer advice and insights with massive data sets. It helps marketers target specific audiences and creates highly personalized content across mediums.
5. Consumers will want multi-device open ecosystems
Open ecosystems will allow consumers to choose the best devices from multiple brands for their needs.
Since brands compete on a level playing field to outperform each other and deliver better products, interoperability will boost innovation and consumer experiences.
Qualcomm Technologies’ Senior Vice President & General Manager, Mobile, Compute & XR, Alex Katouzian, predicts that consumers will drive device makers to open ecosystems and demand improved communication and functionality across devices.
The recent announcement of Apple’s rich communication services messaging integration and the rise of Link to Windows and Snapdragon Seamless experiences are driving interoperability across brands and platforms, he says. This shift toward open ecosystems will give consumers more choice, letting them choose the best device for their needs.”
6. Mixed Reality will change your life
Mixed reality, virtual reality, and extended reality (XR) will enter consumer products in 2024 as enthusiast technologies become mainstream.
Qualcomm Technologies’ VP/GM of XR Hugo Swart says,
Due to widespread adoption of mixed reality capabilities, smaller devices, and spatial computing, XR is progressing quickly.
Affordable hardware like Meta’s Quest 3 and Ray Ban Meta is just the start.
New tools will democratize 3D content generation and create more realistic and engaging virtual environments using generative AI to improve and scale XR experiences.
Personal assistants and lifelike 3D avatars powered by generative AI will become more common in XR, as will voice interfaces.
