SIX FOR '26

SHAPE OF THINGS TO COME OVER THE NEXT 12 MONTHS

- JUSTIN CONNOLLY

WELCOME to our annual roundup of what we see coming down the tech tracks over the next year.

The direction of travel might be a little easier to see than in recent years, with some really clear trends developing over 2025.

Now that the year has drawn to a close, let's take a look at six things that will come next.

1. AI

The progress of artificial intelligence - rammed into all areas of our digital lives whether we like it or not - seems unstoppable.

And while it's obviously here to stay, I think 2026 will see something of a slowdown in its rollout.

By now most people will likely have heard the term "AI bubble" and must be wondering if that's going to burst...

AI is not a single thing; of course, it's a lot of different technologies which have the general aim of doing some of the more mundane work that humans would rather not bother with. That and creating ridiculous video slop for YouTube that virtually no one actually wants to watch.

The problem with the actually useful AI - the help with searching for information especially - is that it is not yet reliable enough to be useful enough. You still have to check if it's got things right, and it quite often has not.

Apple has rolled out its Apple Intelligence AI features much more slowly than others, and 2026 might see that decision vindicated.

AI will, of course, continue to improve with new models and systems, and it will continue to be high on the list of features big tech companies want to push... but I think we're still some distance from it being the panacea they would have us think it is.

Also in this area, we're looking forward to seeing the fruits of the collaboration between ex-Apple design boss Jonny Ive and the makers of ChatGPT. I find it hard to imagine what kind of device they could come up with that would rival the success of what Ive has done before, but he has beaten those odds several times... so I wouldn't bet against him.