A lot can change in five years, especially when it comes to mobile technologies, which are always evolving and improving.

So, what developments can we hope to see in mobile technology by 2020, and how is it expected to affect our lives day to day?

To begin with, it looks as though Android will most likely release a maps App, which, alongside recent maps app releases from Apple and Nokia, Google must continue to update and improve in order to stay ahead. Therefore, Google Maps is in general increasing their personalisation and customisation for your personal searches, and it seems likely that this will continue to be a trend in the future.

Following on from the Android developments, it will become possible to have your favourite drink ready ordered for you when you arrive at a bar, provided that the bar has and Android powered bar installed within the premises. With increased automisation and personalisation being adapted for Maps apps, features such as this will become commonplace.


What’s more, it looks as though we are likely to see more wearable technology appearing on the market. Everyone has been excited about google glass and the google watch, as well as versions of these technologies being developed by android and iOS. It seems very likely that these will become normal and expected within the mobile market. What’s more, texting with thoughts using eye movements looks like it could be on the cards. After all, when we already have technologies which can read eye movements like this, and glasses which can access the internet, it only seems like one of the next logical steps. It also means that you’ll be able to buy things and even play online games such as bingo and casino games online, via your watch or glasses.

Chances are 4G technology will become the norm within the next few years, particularly in the West and in America. This means that most people will be able to benefit from increased mobile bandwidth and accessibility both on cloud-based and web-based services.

But it’s not just 4G we should be keeping an eye on. It would seem as though 5G networks will probably augment the user experience for mobile users to far more than just data transfer speeds. In the future, 5G is likely to also focus on factors such as service quality and lower battery consumption, as well as an increased number of supported devices along with decreased latency characteristics.


It is very likely that within the next couple of years, sensors on a chip, designed for measuring the environment, will become far more widely available and cost effective. This will allow for there to be measurements taken on mobile devices, tallying up chemical and environmental factors as well as the temperature in the local area. These devices will have untold benefits for industrial and medical use, so we have a lot of reasons to be excited about them.

One of the big changes which we are likely to see in mobile technologies is the impact on how way buy and pay for things. Paying via mobile is becoming increasingly popular, with apps and websites now being designed to assist with helping players to pay for things online with their mobiles. But it’s not just paying companies – apps like venmo are allowing more and more consumers to carry out transactions using their mobile phones, being able to pay money directly into other people’s accounts. What’s more, technologies which allow people to pay for items in a store simply by scanning their phone, for example, on the Apple phone app. There have also been phone apps developed to allow people to pay for their clothes and items by scanning the mirror in the changing room.


As you can see, there are many changes to mobile technologies anticipated for over the next few years, which will have a significant impact on our lives. We’ll just have to wait and see exactly how the future pans out!