2016 was a year full of possibility. From new wireless earbuds to virtual assistants built into speakers a lot of what we saw seemed like a glimpse of a better future. But what if someone actually made the tech we dream of? Here’s the products we’d love to see in 2017.
A full-body Dyson Airblade
Scraping the water off your hands with blades of air is great, but what if Dyson’s hand dryer technology could be applied on a larger scale? What better way to wake up in the morning than walking out of the shower through a human-sized Airblade? From soaking to super in just five seconds. Make it happen, Sir James.
A fitness band that makes you fit just by wearing it
Fitness bands have long promised a revolution in public health, but simply tracking your steps or your heart rate is not really making the strides one might hope. Surely a true smart fitness band would do all the work for you so you don’t actually have to do anything. Maybe by firing tiny electric pulses or something – there must be a way. Slap it on, press a button and be transformed into Brad Pitt in Fight Club.
Self-walking shoes
Self-driving cars will be great, but what about that last mile? You step out of the car, train, plane or bus and, what, you have to manually walk to your destination. Hoverboards exploded, so let’s count them out, but what about shoes that know where they’re going? All you’d have to do is take the first step and the shoes will do the rest – leaving you safe to stare down at your phone without fear of walking into a lamppost.
Waterproof laptops
Waterproof smartphones have been a thing for a few years now. There have even been a few waterproof tablets, but why not waterproof laptops? Coffee, beer, wine and vodka gets spilled on laptops just as much as tablets and smartphones. You (probably) can’t drop a laptop down the toilet, but you can douse it in your quad-venti soy latte with hazelnut syrup and whipped cream just as easily as you can your phone. Fixing this one is simple. Maybe.
Elon Musk to actually become Tony Stark
With electric cars, rockets to space and more money than you can shake a stick at, Elon Musk is only lacking a mechanical suit in which he can blast into the air with a snarky remark about being a billionaire playboy philanthropist. Because with Donald Trump in the White House, the world needs a real-life Iron Man with all the trimmings.
Synthahol, the alcohol you can take a pill to get rid of
Silicon Valley has attempted to solve the problem of the human need for food with a liquid mulch called Soylent – which eventually made people sick. But there’s a first-world problem that needs solving and Sci-Fi has promised a solution for decades. Where is the alcohol substitute that you can drink, be happy and merry but then take a pill and be genuinely sober within minutes so you can just drive home at the end of the night? They have this in Star Trek, so why not in 2017?
Just one more thing, an iPhone with a battery that lasts a day
OK, OK so we know this one is pure fantasy, but indulge us. What if the iPhone was slightly thicker so the camera lens didn’t stick out of the back and the battery could actually last a day? Sorry, we’ve gone beyond the realms of even science fiction, haven’t we?
