2022 promises to be an interesting and exciting year for the latest technological products and even whole new tech classifications, contingent on the pauses.
From gaming to powered mobility to virtual gadgets, next year’s releases could signal a revolution in how we think about technology in our personal and professional lives.
We have come up with a compilation of the most important and expected of those tech projects.
It’s a mixed bag, to be sure. Some products have already been revealed and will be supplied next year, barring chaos.
Others are still only speculations, but they have a good chance of making it to market. Others are absolute longshots. However, a portion of them will appear.
Tech projects that are certain
Playdate with Terror
Following two delays, Panic’s new Playdate portable video gaming gadget should finally be free of day in early 2022.
The Playdate, which was first revealed in 2019, sports a 1-bit black and white screen and a four-way directional pad as the primary control.
It was created in partnership with Teenage Engineering, a quirky Swedish consumer electronics manufacturer and design house, which may explain its most fascinating feature: a game control hand crank on the side of the gadget.
Panic Games intends to distribute games in “seasons,” with new titles being released every week for a period of twelve weeks.
Steam Deck by Valve
In July, Valve and AMD announced that they had teamed up to create the Steam Deck, an innovative portable gaming computer.
The gadget resembles the Nintendo Switch in appearance, but it is the first PC-compatible handheld system, capable of playing the entire Steam library of Windows PC games.
After the Steam Deck was formally unveiled in July, demand for the gadget on the Steam website was so high that the servers were temporarily swamped.
Then, in November 2020, Valve informed customers who had placed orders that shipping would be delayed until February 2022 due to a chip scarcity.
R1T and R1S Rivian
This automotive just raised about $12 billion in an IPO, valuing the electric vehicle start-up at more than $65 billion more than some of the globe’s most well-known automakers.
Rivian is in the process of providing a series of local delivery vehicles to Amazon, which owns 20% of the firm. The company’s flagship offerings, however, are an electronic pickup truck and an electronic SUV.
The R1T truck is now in manufacturing, and the business hopes to start distributing it in bigger volumes in 2022 for a starting price of $67,500. The R1S SUV will be priced at $70,000.
Apple’s Universal Control
is a program that allows you to control your Universal Control isn’t a real product, but given the amount of hype surrounding it among Apple fans, it might as well be.
Apple announced at its WWDC conference in June 2021 that future models of its iOS and macOS operating systems would allow consumers to manage a Mac and an iPad with a single keyboard, mouse, or touchpad.
For instance, you could input text on the iPad’s screen with a Mac keyboard, or drag items from the iPad to the Mac with a mouse.
The recent feature was first revealed alongside iOS 15 and macOS Monterey, with a release date of “in the fall.”
However, as Six Colors’ Jason Snell points out, Apple’s website has been modified to state that the Universal Control feature will be available next year.
Magic Leap 2
Is the sequel to Magic Leap. Magic Leap has announced that it’s Magic Leap 2 virtual world headset will be the available next year 2022.
It will be thinner and lighter than the Magic Leap 1, as well as have a quicker processor and longer battery life. It also features a design language that is significantly more sleek and less steampunk.
In addition, the visual field of in-lens displays where digital images are mixed with the view of the actual global is noticeably larger.
The firm has shifted its focus to marketing its augmented reality spectacles to businesses, particularly in the healthcare, manufacturing, and defense sectors, where they’ll be utilized for everything from employee training to remote surgery.
Meta Quest 3
Meta formerly Facebook announced that it was currently developing virtual reality gadgets that would allow users to enjoy metaverse-like experiences.
Project Cambria is the nickname for the device. Some individuals were left to ponder what would happen to the Quest 3, the follow-up to Meta’s very popular Oculus Quest 2 headset.
Note that the Oculus brand is being phased away. Mark Zuckerberg, the CEO of Meta, acknowledged that his firm is still starting to work on the device, but gave no specific launch date.
If the present delivery schedule for the product holds, it will most likely occur in 2022. The Quest 3 will have a faster processor and probably a stronger battery, and it could cost even less than the Quest 2, which retailed for $299. It’s also feasible that Meta will release the Project Cambria device in 2022 under a different brand name.
Apple iPhone 14
is a smartphone from Apple. Apple isn’t speaking about next year’s iPhones, as is customary.
However, if it follows tradition, it will launch a new line of iPhones in the fall of 2022, dubbed the iPhone 14.
Apple is expected to release a 6.1-inch iPhone 14, a 6.1-inch iPhone 14 Pro, a 6.7-inch iPhone 14 Max, and a 6.7-inch iPhone 14 Pro Max, according to MacRumors.
The iPhone 13’s major design themes most notably the flat metallic edges are likely to be retained. However, some sources claim that the recent phones will feature a smaller “notch” on the front basically for cameras and sensors, while others claim that the notch will be removed entirely.
Some speculate that the camera lenses will no longer stick out from the phone’s rear panel, but will instead be perfectly flat.
The 120Hz screen refresh rate (120 times per second) that was enabled in the 2021 iPhone 13 Pro and Pro Max versions is expected to be included to a pretty lesser non-Pro iPhone 14 model for 2022, according to rumors.
All iPhone 14 versions will almost certainly get faster processors and better cameras. However, one report stated that the Pro models will get a 48-megapixel camera.
It’s not a certainty that an iPhone 14 Mini will follow the 2021 iPhone 13 Mini; sales of the 5.4-inch screen gadget were reportedly poor.
Tech projects that are uncertain
Google Pixel watch is in the works
Google’s primary contribution to smartwatches thus far has been the Wear OS operating system, which is fused with Samsung’s Tizen operating system.
However, Google’s acquisition of fitness wearable firm Fitbit in 2019 sparked speculation that the corporation would soon introduce its own wristwatch, similar to how it has developed its Pixel smartphones.
The smartwatch is also expected to be branded with the Pixel logo. Although Google hasn’t verified any of this, the buzz about the product is growing.
Apple’s augmented reality glasses (AR)
Apple is said to be working on a pair of mixed reality glasses for a long time. For a lengthy moment, the launch date was unknown, but analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, who is frequently correct about Apple launches, believes the product might be launched as early as late 2022.
According to Kuo, the device will be powered by two Apple-developed chips: one for the OLED screens integrated into the lenses, and a less powerful one for processing data acquired by the device’s cameras and sensors.
The analyst also mentioned that Apple is considering the device as a potential replacement for the iPhone as people’s primary computing device. According to Kuo, the glasses will also be able to show virtual reality activities.
Tech projects that will probably not happen
Microsoft Surface Neo
Microsoft announced in October 2019 that the Surface Neo, a dual-screen tablet, would be released.
It was meant to run Windows 10X, but Microsoft pulled the plug on the operating system.
It was supposed to be powered by an Intel Lakefield processor, which Intel eventually dropped in the midst of its problems.
The Neo has now been postponed until 2022. The Surface Duo, Microsoft’s first dual-screen phone/tablet, has now been launched in the first and second generation, but the gadgets are apparently not selling well. As a result, it’s possible that the Neo will never see the light of day.
Chevrolet Silverado E truck
E. Chevy Silverado GM CEO Mary Barra is anticipated to reveal the Chevrolet Silverado E truck, the firm’s newest all-electric vehicle, during an online keynote talk at CES on January 4.
The truck has a fixed-glass roof for the first time on any Chevy vehicle, creating a fishbowl-like aspect in the interior with the best view of the outside environment.
According to Chevy, the lack of a combustion engine allows for plenty of room in the front and rear seats.
Using the GM-developed Ultium modular battery technology, the vehicle, which can maneuver with all four wheels, can go 400 miles on a single charge.
The new electric vehicle isn’t expected to go into production until 2023.
Google’s augmented reality glasses
With Project Tango, Google began experimenting with augmented reality a long time ago. It published ARCor, an AR developer framework, in 2018.
And, of course, it rose to prominence in the 2010s with its groundbreaking but reviled Google Glass smart glasses. However, the business has never stated that it is developing its own pair of real AR glasses.
New job postings now strongly suggest that this is the case. “Our team is designing the software system that governs and controls the hardware on our Augmented Reality (AR) products,” according to one of the job postings.
What the listings don’t say is when Google will ultimately launch its augmented reality glasses assuming they exist. There’s a tiny chance it’ll happen in 2022.
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