Artificial intelligence, AR, voice assistants and 5G are among the themes that will dominate 2018, according to experts at the DTG 

For the tech and media industry the New Year is an exciting time with various conferences and summits showcasing the futuristic developments which will soon become part of our everyday lives.

Awash with product demos and insight the DTG has seen a wealth of predictions for the technology and media industry in 2018.

The Group has gathered key themes coupled with our own predictions to provide you with a snapshot into what’s in-store for this year.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) – Focussing more on narrow intelligence, we are already seeing cars and social media platforms, such as Facebook, utilise the niche functionality of AI to improve user experience and to provide practical solutions to the mundane tasks of life. With AI comes an even greater investment for big-data analysis; the gold-mine of information is ready and waiting to be deployed into a useful functioning tool. 

Augmented Reality (AR) – With its ability to incorporate with our waking lives Augmented Reality is set to be the reality technology that grips us. With the swift uptake of Pokemon Go! from adults and children alike, augmented reality is a firm favourite to develop into a real-time interactive platform; be-it targeted advertising, gaming, navigation or education.


Voice Assistants – Siri, Cortana, Alexa and beyond. Voice control functionality has taken a leap in 2018 and is in-line for a strong up-take in the year ahead. CES brought us smart cars, major televisions, speakers and household appliances, all with the functionality of voice control, providing just a teaser of how voice-activated digital technology will incorporate into our everyday habits. Anticipation is high for where this type of technology can take us, particularly in the realm of accessibility.


Consumption Trends – Mobile content consumption is forecast to remain on the rise with pay as you go short-term subscription services, such as Now TV, Netflix and Amazon, becoming more popular than the traditional long-term contracted subscription-based platforms. Despite the technology showcases for smartphones being pretty quiet at CES this year, their part in the majority of the technological developments is pivotal and sales are still expected to be as high and mighty as ever.

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Around the buzz of FIFA World Cup this summer, 2018 will be the year of the television; competitive prices, top specs and the latest technology (4K, UHD, OLED and so on). This is the time when retailers compete aggressively with their best deals and consumers shop anxiously to secure the best price for the best technology. With this in mind will we see a rise in the uptake and production of true UHD content across all platforms and providers?

5G – As 2020 is fast approaching, 2018 will be the year of trial, error and improvement. The Winter Olympics in Korea will see the first major rollout, setting the bar for a more realistic implementation of 5G, followed by Verizon in the USA. Deployments of ultrafast broadband and Government trials, testbeds and innovation networks will reveal the true capabilities of 5G and how these will be rolled out in real time by 2020.

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