Things that seemed science fiction in 2006 and became reality in 2016

In the last 10 years, a lot has changed, especially in developed countries and upcoming developing countries. The internet revolution, the decrease cost of hardware and smarter software have made things possible in 2016 that were science fiction in 2006.

A book can be written about this subject as there a hundreds of things that are now a reality. Here are a few things that seemed science fiction in 2006 and became reality in 2016.

1) Smartphones

We cannot live without smartphones and it is even hard to image life without them. Smartphones have made a huge impact on our lives in the last decade. 2.1 billion people have a smartphone and the number keeps on growing annually!

Nokia launched one of the first smartphones in 1996, but the technology was not ready then. In 2006 feature phones, or dumbphones dominated the market. It was not until the launch of Apple iPhone and Android phones that smartphones truly became smart and people started using them on a large scale.

Now in 2016 hardware running Android OS and Apple iOS dominate the market with our phones being more advanced and more powerful than laptops where back in 2006. Combined with mobile internet, we now have a supercomputer in our pockets that we can use to access movies, videos, audio and anything online. A smartphone is also our GPS device, camera, mobile wallet and much more.

Smartphones and mobile internet became a catalysis for many other things that seemed like science fiction in 2006 and became real in 2016.

And it’s only the beginning. In the coming years you will see more sensors, advanced cameras for augmented reality, more powerful hardware, smarter software and more smart devices connected to each other using 5G high speed internet. More devices will become smart and changes our lives.

2) Social Media

One September 26, 2006 Facebook was opened to the public. A year later it had 50 million users. 2 years later 300 million and by September 2016 it reached 1.7 billion users and is worth 350 billion USD. Just as with smartphones and partly thanks to mobile internet and smartphones, it started to dominate the world.

Facebook is not the only Social Media platform. WhatsApp, QQ, WeChat, Instragram, LinkedIn and Twitter all because major social media platforms. Some locally, while others globally.

In 2006 being able to lookup people, connect with them, take a look at their pictures, their lives and share experiences with them would have sounded like science fiction.

Social Media has reshaped how we connect with each other, how we communicate and even how we view news and entertainment. It has become part of our life.

3) E-Commerce

You can buy anything you want, pretty much from anywhere around the developed world and have it delivered to your house. In some cases within the same day. E-commerce did exist in 2006, but the adaption and the possibilities we now have were just a dream. Think of all the things you buy online and see if that was possible back in 2006.

Amazon went from a 14 billion USD company to a 360 billion USD company. It wasn’t until 2010 that Alibaba launched Aliexpress. The European retailer Zalando did not exist in 2006 and buying and paying with your phone was just a dream.

Technology is going to reshape retail in the coming decade, as I described in the article: How retail will be transformed in the coming 10 years.

4) Drones

An Unmanned Aerial Vehicle has always been a subject for science fiction books and movies. Attempts to build a UAV started in 1916 and the military stared investing in them from the 30s. The US and Israel stared using them in the late 60s and early 70s for reconnaissance. The most advanced UAVs are still found in the military and are not only used for reconnaissance, but also for combat. The media started popularizing the term drone for UAVs and the term was adopted by others.

If the last decade drones went from a military tool to a consumer product. Becoming popular among travelers, real-estate agents, adventurers, professional and amateur movie makers and others. By 2016 they have become so common, that you can buy one for your kids at a toy store.

In the next decade, drones are going to be smarter and more autonomous. Able to do jobs in maintains security and research that are not possible or are being done by humans.

5) Online video

YouTube, the biggest online video platform, was launched in 2005 and acquired by Google in 2006. Now it has 1.3 billion users that watch 5 billion videos a day. With a growing group of people that watch videos on their smartphones. YouTube is not the only platform with video. Dailymotion, Facebook, Twitter and many other have the option to upload, view and share video online.

Thanks to services such as Netflix, Amazon, Hulu and many more, you can watch TV shows and movies anytime and anywhere you want.

Having access to millions of channels and videos at any time was science fiction back in 2006.

The next 10 years

Unless there is a world war or another major event that slows down progress, I am convinced that in the next 10 years we will see more technological change than we have seen in the last 20 years. There are many existing developments that will advance us as a species and challenge how we view life, income and each other. It is up to us to make sure that they improve and enrich the lives of all people, without destroying our environment and each other. 

Which of these made the most impact on your life?

---

I am Arash Rahmani, a digital strategist and public speaker on the subject of digital development and digital transformation.

The images used for this article are under CC0 Public Domain and made by the talented Sasin Tipchai from Amphoe Pho Chai, Thailand.