2020 is going to be a huge year in technology and there is a lot of products, announcements and services we can look forward to in the first year of the new decade.
Here’s a look at what we can expect to see in 2020:
COMPLETION OF THE NBN
The rollout of the NBN started in 2009 with a completion target set for 2020 which, at the time, seemed so far away.
Well, it’s now 2020 and the good news is the NBN is on track to make this deadline.
In fact, the NBN has named the date of June 30, 2020 as they day it expects to complete the network build.
This means more than 11.5 million homes and business will be ready to connect to the NBN.
NBN Co will then transition from infrastructure builder to a service delivery organisation.
We suspect, though, that a massive project like the NBN could never be completed because there would need to be upgrades and servicing in certain areas.
INCREASED 5G FOOTPRINT
The 5G network rollout began in 2019 and while it won’t be completed in 2020, it will increase significantly.
Telstra and Optus are already underway with their 5G deployment and customers can already enjoy 5G services.
Optus is also offering 5G Home Broadband services in areas where they have established 5G coverage with download speeds that leave the NBN in the shade.
Telstra, meanwhile, hit the line first with 5G mobile coverage in June 2019 and also offered Australia’s first 5G smartphones to use in its new network.
Vodafone will also offer 5G to its customers in the first half of 2020 after recently announcing a partnership with Nokia.
Naturally, there will also be a lot more 5G devices on the market in 2020.
MORE 8K TVS
Samsung announced its first 8K TVs back in 2018 and were joined by LG in 2019.
In 2020, Samsung and LG will be joined by several other TV brands like Hisense and TCL who will also add 8K TVs to their product line-ups.
8K TVs have four times the resolution of 4K TVs and while there is virtually no 8K content to speak of at the moment, the real battle will be how well these TVs can upscale existing content to near 8K quality.
What will give 8K a boost is the Tokyo 2020 Olympics kicking off in July. Some of the events will be broadcast in 8K.
The second half of 2020 is likely to see the introduction of 8K games and an 8K streaming services.
MORE FOLDABLE PHONES
Samsung’s Galaxy Fold was the first and only foldable smartphone to hit the market in Australia in 2019.
But we can expect a lot more foldable devices in 2020 including the new Motorola Razr which should be available in the first quarter of the year.
Huawei unveiled the Mate X foldable phone literally a few days after Samsung revealed the Galaxy Fold back in February but the company has not yet managed to bring the device to market.
There have already been reportedly leaked images of the Galaxy Fold 2 which looks like it can be folded in half.
There are two approached to foldable phones.
One approach is, like the Samsung Galaxy Fold, having two devices in one – a phone and tablet in one – and the other approach is having a large screen smartphone that can fold down to a smaller size.
Expect to see folding phones from Samsung, Oppo, Huawei, TCL and Alcatel in 2020.
5G iPHONE
Apple didn’t offer 5G compatibility with the iPhone 11 because 5G networks were still in their infancy in the US, Europe, Asia and Australia.
2020 will be a different story with 5G coverage expected to explode.
The iPhone released in 2020 – which will either be called the iPhone 11S or the iPhone 12 – will almost certainly include 5G radios so they can be used on Telstra, Optus and Vodafone 5G networks.
And on top of the inclusion of 5G, we’re expecting the 2020 iPhone to also be radically redesigned.
MICROSOFT SURFACE DUO AND NEO
Microsoft, at its latest product launch in late 2019, teased a couple of 2020 products – the Surface Duo and the Surface Neo.
Rather than using folding screens like Samsung did with the Galaxy Fold, Microsoft is taking a different approach by attaching two screens with a hinge which can be folded in a number of ways.
Microsoft is also developing a special version of Windows for these devices and for products from any other company who want to follow Microsoft down this path.
PLAYSTATION 5
The PlayStation 5, which is expected for release before Christmas 2020, will reportedly include an SSD (solid state drive) to speed up loading times and game installation.
The PS5 will also ship with a re-imagined controller that will offer much more detailed and relevant haptic feedback that will change depending on the game you’re playing.
XBOX SERIES X
The Xbox Series X will have an all new tower design and will be like a combination of a powerful gaming PC and a console.
And, like the PS5, there will also be a redesigned controller to go with it.
