Biggest Tech News Trends in 2022

While we don’t claim this is the definitive list of top tech news stories in 2022, these are certainly some of the bigger headlines that caught our attention this year.

As there’s so much to wade through, we’ve broken it down by the trends we’ve kept our eyes on, whether on behalf of our clients or for our own interest.

Think we missed something? Let us know in the comments!

Big Tech & General Tech

Supply Chain Shifts

China remained mostly locked down and the world’s two largest economies continued to jostle for position in 2022. As a result, supply chains continued to shift to (supposedly) calmer shores in a move called ‘friendshoring.’ Such shifts have been a boon primarily for India and Vietnam, which are seeing manufacturing supply chains shift in their direction.

SCMP – Tata, India’s top conglomerate, in talks to make iPhones with Taiwanese manufacturer Wistron

Reuters – Apple supplier Foxconn to invest $300 million more in northern Vietnam, state media reports

Social Media Wars

Elon took over Twitter. TikTok is making Meta panic. The metaverse has failed to gain the wider public’s actual interest (so far). What’s coming next in the social media space is anyone’s guess. For now, we’re enjoying watching the show (and keeping an eye on how it affects our clients' communications strategies.)

Washington Times – TikTok hiring while U.S. big tech companies slash workforces

Reuters – Musk orders Twitter to cut infrastructure costs by $1 billion - sources

Job Cuts

During COVID, tech giants amassed armies of additional workers to meet surging demand. Now as the world has reopened, consumers didn’t stick to their digital worlds as much as expected. As spending shifts back into real life experiences, i.e. travel, and consumers batten down the hatches to cover their now soaring daily costs, tech companies are slashing their headcounts back down to size.

Bloomberg – Amazon CEO Says Job Cuts Will Continue Into 2023

The New York Times – Meta Is Said to Plan Significant Job Cuts This Week

Consumer Tech

AR/VR Ascendant?

Maybe we’re biased, but there was a lot of exciting AR/VR news this year. Nreal [our client] launched their lightweight, sunglasses-style Nreal Air AR glasses in multiple major markets. So far, Chinese brands seem ahead of their US competitors, as Huawei and ByteDance both launched headsets in their domestic market. Global launches are presumably to follow. Apple’s device is likely also to follow, next year. And Qualcomm is preparing for a bumper AR/VR 2023, with the launch of its smart-glasses-friendly Snapdragon AR2 Gen 1 platform.

Engadget – Qualcomm's new Snapdragon platform is built for slim augmented reality glasses?

The Verge – Nreal’s $379 AR glasses launch in the US today?

The Battle for Semiconductor Dominance

A shortage of computer chips, driven by COVID lockdowns, brought the highly technical industry into the limelight in the past couple years. In 2022, the focus was on which regions dominate production of the most high-tech chips. The US has been pushing for closer tech alliances with dominant producers Taiwan, South Korea, and Japan, while also convincing major players like TSMC to build fabs on US soil.

Bloomberg – Shortages of Some Chips Drag On Even Amid Signs of Industry Rout

CNBC – TSMC to up Arizona investment to $40 billion with second semiconductor chip plant

The Smartphone Wars

Apple, Samsung, Xiaomi are all throwing everything they have into the ring to be #1. Meanwhile budget-friendly brands such as Oppo, Vivo, Poco, and Honor are carving out their own brand value. Amongst all this, Nothing came charging onto the scene with a unique angle of its own. These tech titans are also reconsidering their supply chains, as demand sags.

TechRadar – Nothing has already vaulted a major hurdle that both Xiaomi and Oppo struggled with?

Forbes – Oppo And Honor Look To End Samsung’s Monopoly On The Foldable Phone Scene?

Crypto & Web3

Critical Failures

Since the collapse of Terra/LUNA in May this year, we’ve seen a near constant parade of critical failures. Three Arrows Capital and Celsius failed after UST depegged, leading to a secondary wave of bankruptcies thereafter. Then toward the end of the year, FTX imploded out of nowhere, taking much of crypto’s remaining market cap with it. And that’s not to mention a bumper year for hackers/attackers, with the Ronin, Nomad, and Mango Markets debacles just a few prime examples.?

The New York Times – The Crypto World Is on Edge After a String of Hacks

BBC – FTX crypto exchange owes biggest creditors $3.1bn?

Infrastructure Development

Amid the near daily drama of the 24/7 crypto markets, builders continued to grind diligently in the background. Ethereum’s Merge finally actually happened, and without apparent disaster. Institutions continue to pile into crypto en masse, even speeding up their efforts to snap up projects and tokens amid discount prices.?

CoinDesk – The Ethereum Merge Is Done, Opening a New Era for the Second-Biggest Blockchain?

Bitcoin.com – JPMorgan, DBS Bank, SBI Complete Live Defi Trades on Public Blockchain?

Regulatory Developments?

Given the chaos frequently enjoyed by the crypto markets, it’s no wonder regulators are increasingly looking into the matter. Hong Kong and Singapore continue to fight for the crown as Asia’s crypto finance hub, while France is hoping to make a name for itself in Web3. And crypto companies are increasingly seeing the benefits of securing regulatory licenses, especially if they want to cooperate with TradFi.?

CoinTelegraph – Hong Kong to subject crypto exchanges to the same laws governing TradFi?

CoinDesk – Binance Secures Regulatory Approval in France?

Who knows where 2023 will take us. But we’ll be here, keeping an eye on it all, to help our clients navigate the ever-changing tech landscape.