TMT Predictions 2018

Machine learning, a core element of artificial intelligence, will progress at a phenomenal pace in 2018, the appetite for digital subscriptions among consumers is on the rise, and the smartphones will mentain their dominance. The 17th edition of Deloitte Global TMT Predictions, the annual report that provides an outlook on key trends over the course of the next 1-5 years in the technology, media and telecommunications industry, presents eleven predictions for the year to come.

Deloitte Global’s 2018 TMT predictions include:

• Augmented Reality: over a billion smartphone users will create augmented reality (AR) content at least once in 2018
• The future of the smartphone: by the end of 2023, penetration of smartphones among adults in developed countries will surpass 90%
• Smartphones are useful, but they can be distracting. 45% of global adult smartphone users in 2018 will worry they are using their phones too much for
  certain activities, and 45% of all adult smartphone users will try to limit their phone usage in various ways
• The next generation of machine-learning chips: by the end of 2018, over 25% of all chips used to accelerate machine learning in the data center will be FPGAs (field programmable gate arrays) and ASICs (application-specific integrated circuits)
• Machine learning: in 2018, large and medium-sized enterprises will intensify their use of machine learning
• Live thrives in an online world: live broadcast and events will generate $545 billion in direct revenue in 2018
• Digital media: The subscription prescription: by the end of 2018, 50% of
  adults in developed countries will have at least two online-only media subscriptions, and by the end of 2020, that average will have doubled to four
• Ad blocking across media: 10% of North Americans over age 18 will be engaged in four or more multiple, simultaneous advertisement-blocking behaviors in 2018
• TV viewing trends: traditional TV viewing among 18-24 year olds will decline by 5 to 15% per year in the US, Canada and the UK in both 2018 and 2019
• Mobile-only: wireless home internet is bigger than you think. 20% of North Americans with internet access will get all of their home data access via cellular mobile networks (mobile-only) in 2018
• In-flight connectivity: in 2018, one billion passenger journeys on planes (about a quarter of the total) will be on aircraft equipped with in-flight connectivity (IFC)