Year in review: From metaverse to 5G, here're tech trends that defined 2022

From 5G launch in India to ChatGPT's inception in November, take a look at the top technology trends that defined the year 2022

The year 2022 was full of surprises for tech enthusiasts, from an AI that went beyond enabling the automatic deduction of tolls from your bank accounts to a digital currency. Take a look at the top technology trends that defined the year 2022.

Metaverse

Metaverse trends grew exponentially in 2022 as we entered a new digital revolution era. Adidas, Burberry, Gucci, Tommy Hilfiger, Nike, Samsung, and Louis Vuitton have all staked their claims in it, as have banks like HSBC and JP Morgan. The world's first Metaverse Fashion Week, launched by Decentraland, saw a host of labels from around the world embrace the virtual realm. Fashion brands adopted the metaverse and even offered NFT clothing. Surprisingly, a $4,000 Gucci virtual bag outsold its physical counterparts.

Back home, the Ministry of Electronics & Information Technology (MeitY) and Meta launched a programme to accelerate XR technology startups across India.

5G launches in India

On October 1, 5G services were launched in India at the 6th edition of the India Mobile Congress. Within the span of 2 months, telecom service providers—Bharti Airtel and Reliance Jio—rolled out 5G services in select cities with a plan to cover all of India by 2024.

Tokenisation in India

For smooth and secure digital payments, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) introduced tokenisation services for all types of card transactions, QR code-based payments, and token storage mechanisms. Tokenisation refers to the process of replacing actual card details with a unique alternate code known as the "token," which will be unique for a combination of the card, token requestor, and identified device.

India's Digital Currency

In December, RBI launched the e-rupee pilot, India’s Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC), covering four banks—the State Bank of India, ICICI Bank, Yes Bank, and IDFC First Bank.

According to the RBI, CBDC is the legal tender issued by a central bank in digital form. It is the same as a fiat currency and is exchangeable one-to-one with the fiat currency. Only its form is different.

Uniformity in charging

To cut on electronic waste and streamline charging cables for consumer ease, the European Union mandated the use of USB-C ports for a whole range of electronic devices by 2024, including mobile phones, tablets, and headphones.

India became one of the first countries to adopt uniformity in charging. For smooth adoption, stakeholders have agreed to a phased roll-out of a uniform charging port.

Automatic Number Plate Reader System in India

Despite the introduction of FASTags, congestion at toll plazas remained a major concern for commuters. The Automatic Number Plate Reader System (ANPR) was, therefore,  introduced to replace toll plazas with cameras, which will read number plates and deduct tolls directly from the account.

With automatic number plate readers, the processing time is expected to fall further but is subject to implementation.

Open AI chat

Since its inception in late November, ChatGPT has taken the internet by storm. Developed by San Francisco-based OpenAI, a research company led by Sam Altman and backed by Microsoft, LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman and Khosla Ventures, it crossed 1 million users within a week of launch.

The AI technology automatically generates text based on written prompts in a way that is more advanced and creative than the likes of Siri and Alexa. Currently a prototype, it sometimes writes plausible-sounding but incorrect or factually incorrect answers.