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As the technology industry closes the books on 2025, experts are looking ahead to a transformative 2026 defined by the mainstreaming of generative AI in entertainment, significant shifts in mobile hardware, and the erosion of digital walled gardens. During the annual prediction showcase on the Daily Tech News Show (DTNS), panelists outlined a year where Apple finally enters the foldable market, smart glasses achieve mass adoption, and regulatory pressure fundamentally changes how mobile operating systems interact.
Key Forecasts for 2026
- AI in Cinema: A major Hollywood studio is expected to release a feature film starring a fully AI-generated lead actor, potentially sparking more boredom than ethical outrage.
- Hardware Evolution: Apple is predicted to release a "Fold" iPhone that reinvigorates the form factor, while smart glasses move from niche gadgets to mainstream wearables.
- Platform Shifts: Meta’s Threads is projected to overtake X (formerly Twitter) in daily active users, driven by advertising integration and user migration.
- Interoperability: European regulations will likely force further dismantling of the barriers between iOS and Android, normalizing cross-platform file sharing and messaging.
The AI Entertainment Frontier
Artificial Intelligence continues to dominate industry forecasts, but the focus for 2026 is shifting from backend tools to consumer-facing products. Sarah Lane predicted a watershed moment for Hollywood: a major studio release featuring an AI-generated protagonist. Unlike previous uses of de-aging technology or background generation, this prediction anticipates a complete AI construct taking a lead role.
The panel noted that while ethical debates will persist, the consumer reaction might be unexpected. Rather than outrage, the primary risk for studios may be audience apathy if the technology fails to capture human nuance.
"The controversy will be not so much that it's unethical, but that it's boring... It will be a thing that will be interesting as a strange little footnote for a while."
Complementing this shift in content creation, Rob Dunwood forecasts a resurgence of blockchain technology focused on provenance rather than speculation. As AI-generated content floods the internet, blockchain is expected to become the industry standard for verifying the authenticity and authorship of digital media, separating human-created work from synthetic media.
Hardware: Foldables and Smart Glasses
After years of Android dominance in the foldable sector, 2026 is tipped to be the year Apple enters the fray. Lane predicts the launch of an "iPhone Fold," arguing that Apple’s entry will finally propel the form factor into the mass market. While the panel acknowledged the likely high price point, the consensus is that Apple’s marketing power will validate the category for general consumers.
Simultaneously, wearable technology is expected to reach a tipping point. Tom Merritt predicts that 2026 will see smart glasses achieve "iPhone 4 era" adoption levels. The market is projected to expand beyond current offerings from Meta and Ray-Ban to include viable competitors from Google and other major tech players.
"By the end of 2026, consumers will be able to buy multiple smart glasses with real built-in visual displays... It’s going to be a vibrant marketplace."
On the power front, Ron Richards predicts that 7,000 mAh batteries will become standard in flagship smartphones, normalizing two-day battery life on a single charge. This shift is expected to be driven by innovations in battery density rather than increased device thickness.
Platforms, Security, and Walled Gardens
The landscape of social media and mobile operating systems is poised for disruption. Dunwood predicts that Meta’s Threads will definitively surpass X in daily active users and other key metrics by the end of 2026. The introduction of advertising on Threads is viewed not as a deterrent, but as a signal of a maturing platform that attracts marketers and creators.
In the security sector, Scott Johnson argues that 2026 will be the year passkeys finally kill the password for the average user. As major platforms like Google and Apple refine the user experience, biometric logins are expected to become the default, reducing friction and improving security posture for non-technical users.
Finally, the "walled garden" era of mobile computing continues to crumble under regulatory pressure. Richards forecasts that interoperability between iOS and Android will increase significantly, driven largely by the European Union's Digital Markets Act. This trend, which began with USB-C adoption and RCS messaging, is expected to expand to seamless file transfer and deeper system integration.
The industry will get its first glimpse of these trends in action immediately following the New Year, with major announcements expected at the upcoming CES in Las Vegas.
