This article first appeared in The Edge Malaysia Weekly on December 30, 2019 - January 5, 2020
IT would be a relief in a way not to be bothered with it any more. It has been so growing on my mind lately. Sometimes I have felt it was like an eye looking at me. And I am always wanting to put it on and disappear, don’t you know; or wondering if it is safe, and pulling it out to make sure.
I tried locking it up, but I found that I couldn’t rest without it in my pocket. I don’t know why. And I don’t seem able to make up my mind.
— Bilbo Baggins in The Lord of the Rings
As it turns out, J R R Tolkien was way ahead of his time.
The one ring to rule them all, that object we are loath to part with, is the smartphone, our “precious”. Before the smartphone emerged, the primary devices we interfaced with were desktops and laptops.
The first iPhone was launched by Steve Jobs in 2007 and it set the stage for the modern smartphone, ushering in an era in which one device combined communication, entertainment and work, followed by the launch of Google’s Android in 2008.
But the iPhone models that changed the world were iPhone 3GS and iPhone 4, which were released in 2009 and 2010 respectively. Both set a new benchmark for how art and science can be combined to create an elegant device. That inspired other smartphone manufacturers to come out with better-designed devices.
In fact, many people still consider the iPhone 4 one of the most beautifully designed smartphones to date.
Looking back on the past decade, a lot of change took place during the 10 years, much of it enabled by the smartphone.
As the decade comes to an end, let us look at how the smartphone came to rule the world, the disruptions it has caused and how our lives have been changed by it.
Now, just imagine what our lives would be like if we did not have WhatsApp, Waze, Spotify, Facetime, messenger calls and Gmail at our fingertips, not to mention the photos and videos that we take everywhere and share such moments instantly with our loved ones and friends on social platforms.
And do not forget, thanks to the smartphone, we literally work 24/7 nowadays.
Making our lives better
Malaysian Digital Association (MDA) president Serm Teck Choon points out that one of the most significant effects the smartphone has had on the world is to bring down the technological barrier, leveraging its touchscreen technology.
“Smartphone is a device that can be used by a 1-year-old to a 90-year-old. Remember how difficult it was to teach people, especially the elderly, to use a PC (personal computer) in the pre-smartphone era? And now, take a look around us and see how our parents and senior citizens are using smartphones in their daily lives,” he says.
VSTECS Bhd CEO Soong Jan Hsung opines that the smartphone evolution has enriched people’s lives in helping bridge the digital divide and acting as a catalyst for the digital economy.
In the near future, he says, we can expect the smartphone to evolve further as a lifestyle enabler of cashless payments, home automation, augmented reality experience and other forthcoming innovations.
“We can see the smartphone becoming an everyday companion, like how PCs and laptops became commonplace in the home and workplace two or three decades ago,” says Soong.
He adds that the smartphone is the enabling tool for users to realise the digital transformation from bricks and mortar to clicks and mobile.
According to Innity Corp Bhd executive chairman Peter Phang Chee Leong, the smartphone has a lot more features and usage not originally associated with telephones, such as social media connection and unified messaging with friends and family, camera, digital video, gaming entertainment, GPS, health tracking and other applications.
“Virtual assistants such as Siri and Google Assistant already exist and have been used on smartphones for some time now. It is just a matter of time before the virtual assistant becomes smarter. Ultimately, the smartphone will become a truly personalised and artificial intelligence-integrated smart virtual assistant device. By then, it would be an understatement to call it a smartphone,” he says.
PUC Bhd managing director Cheong Chia Chou highlights the fact that as technology advances, the smartphone is evolving towards users with shorter attention span and fast-changing expectations and demands.
“A smartphone evolution attached with ‘fast’ and ‘convenient’ elements has led to the rise of the Super App concept, which is expected to propel a digital ecosystem via mobile apps and elevate our lifestyle,” he says.
Business disruptions and tech war
Technology itself is neutral. It benefits mankind but it can also be adopted to manipulate or for other disruptive purposes.
Innity’s Phang believes that disruption is inevitable for all businesses and it will continue for the next 10 years.
“Technology innovations such as smartphones merely provide new opportunities while internet-enabled business models shake up established industry structures with new markets and value networks. It is the customer who is driving the disruption,” he says.
He opines that we will see more partnerships, mergers and acquisitions (M&A) between the disrupting and established companies.
As for smartphone users, we will enjoy higher quality products, solutions, services and enhanced pricing models through digital disruption, he adds.
Phang also talks about the ongoing tech war between China and the US that is showing no sign of easing. “The US is pushing China into becoming more reliant on its own technologies. A technology divide will slow down the pace of global innovation and likely raise prices. China will forge ahead no matter what the outcome in order to end the era of US global technology dominance.”
VSTECS’ Soong believes that from a global perspective, the tech war is part and parcel of classic human competition in innovation and feels that the whole of humanity will benefit from it.
“What’s unhealthy, and even economically damaging in the short term, is the exertion of political and unnatural economic levers that will stymie or give rise to unfair competition, such as tariffs and preferential protection, which in the long run will be detrimental to everyone everywhere,” he says.
PUC’s Cheong concurs, saying that competition is good as most of the time, it breeds improvement and innovation.
Today’s giants, he adds, have to continue to be innovative in order to stay ahead in the market. Otherwise, they will be easily replaced by rising stars.
Localisation is also key to business sustainability as the integration of unicorns that focus on fulfilling local needs and technological inventions like smartphones can create great synergies in each local market.
“Having said that, we see more M&A happening in the future, enabling technology giants to penetrate a bigger market and unicorns to continue to strengthen local market position,” says Cheong.
Is the smartphone ruining our life?
Like it or not, the smartphone has become an important conduit for the free flow of information and social interaction, mainly due to the emergence of social media.
Today, most people get their news from social media and through the smartphone as their main news consumption device. That is because social media as a platform and the smartphone as a device provide an effective and convenient channel to share information and engage with the public.
Evidence of the efficiency and immediacy of this channel was seen in the mobilisation of crowds in countless protests worldwide, most notably at the start of the decade with the Arab Spring movement where Facebook, Twitter and other major social media were credited with fomenting political change in Northern Africa.
More recently, demonstrators in Hong Kong have been using various apps to outsmart the authorities.
But just as the channel empowers the masses, it can also be exploited by opportunists with far-reaching consequences, for example, claims that Cambridge Analytica won the White House for Donald Trump by targeting carefully tailored messages to US voters through digital platforms such as Facebook, Google, Snapchat, Twitter and YouTube.
MDA’s Serm agrees that while technology can help advance the world, it can also change the way people see the world.
“The smartphone is like a window opening up instant communication for everyone. Information travels so fast, creating a domino effect, even on global politics. The closest example for us is before and after the 2018 general election. Social media platforms played a crucial role in disseminating information, causing a significant impact on the outcome of the election,” he says.
Serm adds that the Cambridge Analytica scandal has become a classic case to illustrate how data and fake news can work hand in hand to create unprecedented effects on an election. Such incidents have also alerted the whole world on how ubiquitous technology and data can be and have prepared it to face the challenges arising from such phenomena.
“The fact is, you can use a knife to cut and also to kill. While we have enjoyed so many conveniences via the smartphone and mobile internet, the rise of fake news and how data is used have become two major concerns globally,” Serm says.
VSTECS’ Soong stresses that targeted misinformation, fake news and biased reporting are not so much a problem caused by the smartphone itself. Rather, it is an issue arising from unfettered means and new ways of communication.
“The smartphone is only a tool and we believe social behaviour is the root cause that should be addressed instead. This could be by way of better educating our next generation and instilling stronger values in them as part of a society’s maturity, and having the necessary legislation in force,” he says.
It is worth noting that Malaysia passed the Anti-Fake News Act 2018 just before the watershed 14th general election and the current government has said it intends to repeal the law.
Incidentally, the term “fake news” was popularised by US President Donald Trump.
The next big thing
So, what is next after the smartphone? What does the future hold?
MDA’s Serm says the buzzword that will depict the next big thing after the smartphone is “ABC” — a combination of AI, big data and cloud computing.
“In fact, the next big thing after the smartphone has yet to emerge. In the next 10 years, AI, big data, cloud computing and 5G will work together and become the four technology drivers of our daily life. The combination of these four drivers will generate a greater impact and give birth to various new applications or even the next big thing after the smartphone,” he says.
Innity’s Phang says “AI” is his chosen buzzword because ultimately, the smartphone will become a truly personalised and AI-integrated smart virtual assistant device. “And yes, it will rule the world no matter what it is called.”
Soong also does not see the smartphone being dethroned as our “precious”.
“The implementations of big data, AI, robotics — served via a smartphone even — would be the next wave. If I could pick a buzzword for tomorrow, it would be ‘algorithms’,” he says.
Soong adds that the convergence of key technologies — 5G, AI, the Internet of Things and data analytics — is poised to transform the face of ICT, dramatically altering experiences and enabling us to realise the potential of a fully connected world.
PUC’s Cheong says “digital money” could be the buzzword. “We see the next big thing to be the transformation of physical cash into digital money. The smartphone will be the key tool for these digital money transactions. When a digital ecosystem is large enough, it can be the next digital bank. Hence, the smartphone and the digital ecosystem are inseparable.”
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