Body language, facial expression and intonation will augment voice and touch to control consumer interaction with tech devices, according to Ericsson's Consumer Trends report.
More than half of current users of intelligent voice assistants believe we will use body language, expression, intonation and touch to interact with tech devices as if they were humans. Close to 70% think this will happen within three years.
Nearly 63% of consumers said they would like earphones that translate languages in real time, and 52% said they would like earphones that block out a family member's snoring.
One-third of respondents surveyed say new technology makes it hard to keep their skills up to date. However almost half say the internet allows them to learn and forget skills faster than ever.
Social media is being captured by traditional broadcasters, and half of consumers say artificial intelligence would be useful to check facts posted on social networks. Along this line, half of augmented reality/virtual reality (VR) users think ads will become so realistic they will eventually replace products themselves.
There are still worries about the increasing intrusion of digital life into the physical sphere. Half say not being able to tell the difference between humans and machines would spook them, and 40% would be spooked by a smartphone that reacts to their mood.
More than one-third of students and workers do not think they need a job to develop a meaningful life. Close to half say they would like a robot that works and earns income for them, freeing up leisure time.
The line between reality and digital life will become increasingly blurry, according to a majority of consumers. More than 75% believe that in five years they will use VR to walk around in smartphone photos, and 39% think their city needs a road network for drones and flying vehicles. But almost as many worry that a drone would drop on their head.
Lastly, the report notes the connected world will require mobile power. More than 80% believe that in only five years we will have long-lasting batteries that will put an end to charging concerns.
"We are entering a future where devices neither have buttons and switches nor need to be controlled digitally via your smartphone. In fact, this may be a necessary change, as it would be difficult for people to learn a new user interface for every device that gets connected to the Internet of Things," said Michael Bjorn, head for research at Ericsson ConsumerLab.
In the future, the devices will know you instead of you knowing them. "For this to become a reality, devices must be able to relay complex human interaction data to cloud-based processing, and respond intuitively within milliseconds, increasing requirements on next generation connectivity," he said.
The 10 Hot Consumer Trends for 2018 report is based on an October 2017 online survey of 30 million advanced internet users in 10 cities across the world.
