Namaste everyone! Winter has officially arrived and so is the festive season. And as we are approaching towards the end of the infamous year 2020, there has been many tech launches in this year, and many tech companies have launched their product virtually and in the most creative way possible, may it be OnePlus Nord, iPhone 12, PS5, Xbox Series X and many more. But we tend to forget the small things being launched too, the things which make the experience of these main players even more impressive, interactive and smooth. So, let’s shed some light on these amazing techs and how they help build the future of a company or the tech industries in general.
Introduction to Techosystem:
By now, I guess everyone must be familiar with the term IoT, OnePlus recently hosted an Online Open Ear Forum on this topic too. And for those who doesn’t know what it is, this segment is for you guys.
So, what is IoT?
IoT stand for “Internet of Things”. It basically is a system of objects that interconnects with each other via internet, to exchange data, transfer and collect data wirelessly, without the intervention of any human. Though it is a very well-known term these days, the possibilities are still endless.
One of the words that is related to IoT is “Ecosystem”. We all know what ecosystem is in an environmental context, but when technology is concerned the term changes to Tech Ecosystem – a virtual environment created by technological objects connected with each other to make your lives easier. These objects may be accessories like earphones, watches, etc. and then come bigger things like TV, laptops, PCs or even home appliances like fridges.
There are variety of such objects in the world these days and they are growing exponentially. But now a question arises – why was there a need to create such ecosystem of technologies in the first place? If you seek the answer to this question, all you have to do is scroll down.
Why create an ecosystem?
Natural ecosystems are all about long term survival. Similarly ,ecosystem of technology helps the technology to grow and survive a long time, along with us, making our life much easier every passing year. Two decades ago, who would have thought that one could just check ones’ heart rate, blood oxygen level, calories, pick up calls, reply to messages, just by flicking ones’ wrist.
Well, here we are now, complaining how they don't have Always on Displays. It's funny how we get bored of these amazing things easily. This boredom of ours is making this industry grow even more, with something new coming up every day and smartwatches are just one example. Having an interconnected web of things is always convenient than having to figure out how to untangle your earphones. There are broadly two kind of needs to create an ecosystem:
1.) For users like me – We want to be as lazy as possible. Jokes apart, with this busy life of ours’, we all need to be in sync with our work and life, we don’t want to miss out on important updates or news. We also don’t really want to go off the grid with all this social media stuff, so instead of having to be glued to our smartphones, there is an easier way of doing things without having to carry them around. Imagine you are cycling and you need to check time or know about the traffic ahead, you can’t take out your phone every time you need to check for this, but when you have wireless earphones plugged in, you can always ask your virtual assistant to help you out.
This even applies to smart appliances – like light bulb. Since I don't have a light switch beside my bed, this one is a personal favorite of mine. I always had to get out of my bed to turn off the light, which was particularly bad in the winter, having to get out of the comfort of your quilt and submitting yourself to the coldness. But then came the smart bulb and all my problems were solved, now the light bulb turns off on my command 😉 These are only some of the examples, there are many more but you get the gist of the importance of having a technological ecosystem from the viewpoint of a user.
2.) For tech industries: This is how these industries grow. If the OS is top notch and clean, why not let the users have the taste of it in everything and with this the company can set more money aside from selling the smartphones and do more research and come up with better products in the future. When the OS is fine-tuned, like the Oxygen OS, iOS, etc. people are ready to throw in their money to try that OS experience in other gadgets and accessories too. And with the sync being flawless across devices, these industries build up their reputation and gain the trust of their users, which helps them stay competitive and come up with new innovations.
But should a user be restricted to this virtual ecosystem or left free to roam around and explore new and more amazing stuff? Well the heading of next segment will pique your interest regarding this matter.
Android v/s iOS ecosystem:
Well, no matter how much anyone love or hate Apple for their out-of-the-box money-making strategies, they sure do deliver a smooth and seamless OS experience across all their devices. The downside is how they restrict or bind users in their ecosystem and build up walls across the boundaries with fences on, so that the user will never leave their ecosystem and keep purchasing whatever they throw at them.
It’s a very clever tactic but a risky one too. For example, let’s talk about the Apple watch – most people using Android devices love it but can’t use it because it's only compatible with iPhones. This is how bold Apple are with making a statement and knowing their user base. But on the downside, people don’t get to use an amazing technology unless they own an iPhone.
On the other hand, there is Android ecosystem. I like to think it as an open playground, where there is no limit, no boundaries, you are free to choose anything, with no strings attached and zero terms and conditions. There are so many things to explore in here, but not all are good, a filter is needed between good and bad and that filter is called the Android OS, whichever company builds a cleaner and smoother OS, their users have their back.
The drawback with having so many options is that the competition is so strong that only a handful of companies could deliver such a smooth-running ecosystem and then the competition narrows down to only few of the companies. Google is trying hard to integrate these things and companies like OnePlus, Samsung, OPPO, MI and some other known brands are working with them to provide us with a playground where we could choose the smart products manufactured by any of them, no matter which device you use.
I could go on and on in this Android vs iOS ecosystem war but I want to hear your thoughts too on this, so, feel free to share your thoughts in the comments.
Techosystem: Harmful or useful in long run?
Creating an ecosystem consisting of smart devices is the only way forward to the future, it is inevitable *snaps fingers*. And if you ask me, I see no harm in having this in a long run. Creating an ecosystem always compliments the OS you are using in your smartphone and gives an overall better experience. I’m always looking forward to the companies launching more and more tech accessories rather than smartphones, we have reached a limit where companies can easily focus their research on these products for the time being, rather than launching a new device every month with minute changes (but that’s just my opinion). Imagine a world where every small thing you could imagine would be operated by just your thumb or your voice, yes that! This is not so far from being a reality.
And here a question for you too: What do you think about this ecosystem? Would you love living in a smart home or just a regular one?
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