- 6 days ago
2026 is shaping up to be a turning point for technology. So in this special episode of Tech Today, we move beyond individual gadgets and look at the bigger picture. The ideas, systems, and intelligence that will define the next phase of tech.
From smartphones evolving beyond the traditional slab, to AI agents that anticipate intent instead of waiting for commands. From robots stepping into real-world roles, to cars becoming fully software-driven machines. This episode breaks down what’s coming next, and why it matters.
We also hear directly from our anchors as they share their best tech picks of 2025, what they’re most excited about in 2026, and take on a fun true-or-false challenge.
This is Tech 2026: What’s Next?
From smartphones evolving beyond the traditional slab, to AI agents that anticipate intent instead of waiting for commands. From robots stepping into real-world roles, to cars becoming fully software-driven machines. This episode breaks down what’s coming next, and why it matters.
We also hear directly from our anchors as they share their best tech picks of 2025, what they’re most excited about in 2026, and take on a fun true-or-false challenge.
This is Tech 2026: What’s Next?
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NewsTranscript
00:00Welcome to a brand new episode of the Tech Today Show and firstly, Happy New Year to everybody
00:19because it's a new year, we want more tech and I hope we get to see some extravagant technology
00:26from different parts of the world. 2025 was indeed a good teaser for what we can expect
00:33because we had foldable phones, we had electric cars, we had so much of technology but what do we
00:39have in store for 2026? It's all about the idea, right? Because I'm going to be exploring the world,
00:45I'll be going to CES to see a preview of what tech will be coming this year. However, I just wanted
00:51to show you what 2026 is going to be about when it comes to technology. So this show is going to be
00:58about a teaser of what 2026 holds in terms of tech. Now, there's going to be the foldable iPhone,
01:04could probably be a walking or talking robot entering your home. So let's kick off a brand
01:10new tech today, the first episode of 2026 with me, Cyrus. If 2024 was the year that we started
01:22having conversations around the AI, then I feel that 2026 is certainly being positioned as something
01:29bigger, the ear of the AI agent. Now, this is a technology that doesn't really wait for instructions
01:36but automatically understands, anticipates and also acts on your behalf. Now, we have seen in the past
01:43several examples of these agents pop up in, you know, pop culture, Hollywood and all of these, you know,
01:50dystopian movies and off the top of my head, I can maybe think of Jarvis from Iron Man which is a great
01:55example and there's so much more happening on the hardware side that we have already seen a glimpse of
02:02in 2025. So, what does the future actually look like across the ecosystem of devices,
02:09platforms, machines that we use in everyday life? Let's begin with the most personal piece of tech
02:15we all own which is the smartphone.
02:24For nearly 20 years, smartphones have followed one rigid formula, glass, metal, a fixed slab.
02:32Each passing year brought upgrades that felt familiar. Better cameras, faster chips, thinner bodies,
02:39but the form itself stood still.
02:43That ends in 2026. This is the moment the industry moves towards fluid form factors,
02:49devices that adapt to usage, not the other way around.
02:53The strongest signal of that shift is the mainstream arrival of the Trifold.
03:00After early experimentation in 2025, 2026 is when dual-hinged designs are expected to scale globally,
03:07led by Samsung and other major players.
03:10The promise is direct. A phone that fits in your pocket like a 6-inch slab then unfolds twice into
03:20a near-seamless 10-inch canvas.
03:23And the logic is obvious. Why carry a phone and a tablet when one device can now replace both?
03:30This design for spectacle is a calculated attempt to collapse an entire product category.
03:37However, the real transformation is also happening in silicon.
03:422026 marks the arrival of the 2nm era.
03:46TSMC and Samsung are racing to power Apple's A20 and the Snapdragon 8 Gen 6,
03:53the engines for on-device intelligence.
03:59Thanks to 2nm efficiency, your phone can now run massive AI models locally
04:04without overheating or killing your battery.
04:08Powering this shift is another quiet breakthrough.
04:11Silicon carbon batteries.
04:13By 2026, we expect to see standard flagships pushing 7000 mAh capacities
04:19in designs that are thinner than the AIR models of 2025.
04:25This extra juice is necessary to power the most anticipated device of the decade,
04:30the foldable iPhone.
04:32Supply chain theorists have been tracking Apple's patents for years
04:36and 2026 is the year the iPhone Fold is predicted to finally hit the shelves.
04:43The iPhone Fold is predicted to set the luxury standard with a zero-crease display
04:48using liquid metal hinges and chemically-strengthened glass.
04:53When Apple enters the Fold in 2026, the experiment is over
04:57and foldables will be officially mainstream.
05:01And that makes us think about another aspect of it.
05:04The cost.
05:05AI-first smartphones demand massive amounts of high-speed memory,
05:09advanced cooling and the most expensive silicon ever shipped.
05:13And prices will surely reflect that.
05:16The 2026 premium reset suggests flagship prices will climb higher than ever.
05:23And more than just the hardware, brands will be selling intelligence.
05:30Because in 2026, if you are buying a phone, then you are buying a pocket-sized system
05:36that thinks, adapts and unfolds around you.
05:40The slab era is coming to an end indeed.
05:48Now, this is kind of a fascinating paradox.
05:50As our smartphones become more physically complex with these new folding designs coming in,
05:56I feel the way we actually use them is becoming quite simpler.
06:00People are now talking to phones more than they are typing
06:04and I feel this is really the way ahead.
06:06Now, when I was in Computex 2025 last year,
06:09I saw a phone that had absolutely no operating system in it.
06:12It was purely running on AI and it was automatically opening apps
06:17and performing tasks on your behalf.
06:19And I feel phones and any kind of hardware that you are using
06:23is going to become more interactive thanks to a tech called AI agents.
06:28And somehow in 2026, I feel AI is going to evolve
06:32and it's going to be more about agents.
06:34And here is a teaser of what you can expect.
06:37We've all been there.
06:45It's late.
06:46You're trying to plan a family trip and you're drowning in tabs.
06:50One for the flight, three for reviews and another for your office calendar
06:55just to make sure you aren't missing a meeting.
06:58This is digital fatigue.
07:01But as we head into 2026,
07:03the big theory is that you will never have to plan a trip
07:06or a meeting manually again.
07:09We are moving away from the chatbot you talk to
07:12and towards the AI agent that works for you.
07:15Think of it like this.
07:17If 2025 AI was a search engine with a voice, 2026 AI is a digital intern.
07:23The theory of agentic AI means your phone now has the agency to act on your behalf.
07:29And this isn't just a vision.
07:31It's already happening.
07:33Take OpenAI's Operator or Google's Project Jarvis.
07:37These computer-using agents can literally see your screen, move the cursor, click buttons,
07:42and fill out forms exactly like a human would.
07:47Real-world examples are already hitting the mainstream.
07:50Amazon's Alexa Plus is now integrating with services like Expedia and Uber to handle end-to-end bookings
07:57through voice alone.
07:59Meanwhile, Microsoft's co-pilot agents are acting as office assistants, summarizing 50%
08:05email threads and drafting replies while you sleep.
08:12The 2026 theory of outcome-based intelligence suggests that the app as we know it is becoming
08:19a background service.
08:22You won't open Uber.
08:23Your agent will simply call a ride because it sees your meeting is ending early.
08:33And all of this, what we spoke about, is like having a personal assistant 24-7, which is great.
08:39And if having a digital assistant in your pocket feels like a game-changer, imagine what these
08:46assistants would be able to do if they would be able to make you breakfast or even clean
08:51your room.
08:52Well, that could be a reality because next we are looking at robotics.
08:57And let's be real.
08:58When we talk about robotics, we talk about the basics of robotics.
09:02Most of the advanced robots right now are being deployed outside of India.
09:07Despite that, robots are kind of making it mainstream in the industries when we talk about the
09:12Indian ecosystem.
09:13And in 2026, these machines, I believe, have already started to move into our homes as house
09:19help, companions and even friends.
09:27For years, we have treated robotics like a science fair project.
09:33Full of immersive demos but lacking a real job.
09:37But in 2026, the theory of the great deployment is finally here.
09:46Look at the real-world math.
09:48In 2008, 2025, BMW wrapped up a trial with the Figure-02 Humanoid.
09:54The result, a 400% speed increase in inserting sheets of metal parts.
10:05At Amazon, the goal is even more aggressive.
10:0975% automation across the entire operations.
10:15The bipedal colleague, Digit, has moved from the research lab to the fulfillment floor.
10:22This what's next moment is hitting India harder than anywhere else.
10:27Indigenous systems like the SSI mantra are moving into tier 2 cities, democratizing robot
10:32surgery.
10:33But the 2026 trend to watch is companion robots.
10:38As our population ages, robots are becoming partners.
10:42And then there's the wildcard.
10:45Tesla's Optimus Gen 3 hits mass production in 2026.
10:49Elon Musk calls this the hardest year as they scale from prototypes to thousands of units.
10:55The theory of universal labor suggests the cost of a humanoid will soon drop to the price
11:01of a small car.
11:03I swear, I can see a future where robots are walking in the streets among us and assisting people.
11:11Now, whether that turns into a dystopian future where robots are trying to take over humanity
11:16by defining the laws of robotics is something that we will reserve for science fiction for now.
11:22However, from hospital floors to factory lines, we are watching robots move out of the prototype labs
11:30and into actual workforce.
11:32But as these machines take up space in our physical world, the gadgets that are in our pockets
11:37are doing the exact opposite because they are disappearing.
11:42In 2026 alone, we are moving away from an era of the screen and into an era of ambient tech.
11:49We are talking about devices that really don't ask for attention but quietly take care of you.
11:56From rings to your health trackers and anything that basically helps you have a better life
12:02is something that we will focus on in this segment.
12:06Let's look at the invisible revolution happening in our gadgets.
12:11For the last decade, gadgets meant screens.
12:14We measured progress by pixels and brightness.
12:17But in 2026, the theory of ambient computing has finally arrived.
12:24It starts on your finger.
12:26In 2024, smart rings were a luxury fitness toy.
12:30But by 2026, they are the digital pulse of the modern consumer.
12:36Companies like Ultrahuman and Samsung have turned these bands into medical-grade monitors.
12:43It's moving us from tracking to prevention.
12:51But the real what's next moment is in our faces.
12:552026 is the year smart glasses finally beat the clunky curse.
13:03Meta's Ray-Ban Gen 3 and Google's Android XR glasses look like standard eyewear.
13:08But they possess visual agency.
13:10They don't just record video, they see what you see.
13:14Hey everyone.
13:15Right now, you should be seeing exactly what I'm seeing through the lens of my Android XR glasses.
13:21That is the 2026 theory of augmented living.
13:25This leads to the biggest trend of 2026.
13:28Screen-free freedom.
13:29As AI agents get better at handling our emails and bookings, we don't need to stare at 6-inch gloss slabs anymore.
13:36Your ring handles the health, your glosses handle the information, and your voice handles the action.
13:42The 2026 gadget is a filter that lets you stay present in the real world while keeping the digital world one whisper away.
13:52I love it that tech is becoming less and less invasive and more invisible.
13:57Because as we move forward, tech needs to become like that.
14:01Work in the background of our lives and not be in our faces.
14:04But there is one place where technology of 2026 is impossible to miss.
14:11And that is on the road.
14:13For a decade, the conversation around cars has been dominated by range anxiety and charging times.
14:20But as we head into 2026, the industry is chasing what they call the holy grail of energy.
14:27Let's take a look.
14:28For a decade, EVs were held back by their stomach, the liquid lithium-ion battery.
14:36Heavy, slow to fill and heat sensitive.
14:39But in 2026, the solid-state battery officially hits the pavement.
14:45This is the holy grail of energy density.
14:48Toyota and Stellantis are now proving we can hit 1000 km on one charge.
14:55The proof is public.
14:57Mercedes-Benz EQS fleets, powered by factorials, solid-state cells are now 30% lighter and infinitely safer.
15:09But convenience in 2026 isn't just about the battery.
15:13It's about the plugging in or rather the lack of it.
15:18This is the year wireless EV charging goes mainstream.
15:21The theory of frictionless power means you will never touch a heavy, dirty charging cable again.
15:27Companies like Y-Tree City are now integrating magnetic resonance pads into garage floors and public parking spots.
15:35In France and US, we have even seen the first electric roads, highways with coils embedded under the asphalt that charge your car while you drive at 100 km per hour.
15:47Yet, the biggest shift isn't under the hood.
15:55It's in the brain.
15:57Welcome to the software-defined vehicle.
15:59In 2026, your car is a smartphone on wheels.
16:03Through over-the-air updates, your car gets new physics while you sleep, improving braking distance or boosting horsepower at 2 am while you sleep.
16:13Even here in India, the SDV theory is changing the market.
16:17Companies like Tata Motors and Mahindra are using digital twins to monitor every vehicle on road.
16:25As we look at the dashboard of this year, the final trend is hyper-personalization.
16:31More than just a mode of transport, a car is now a proactive partner in your day.
16:37This year, the drive is finally catching up to the dream.
16:41You see, all of the tech that we just talked about, all of these advancements and the hype, all of these is of no use, I feel, until it makes our lives better in 2026.
16:56All of the tech that should be about one thing, that is empowerment, should also make our lives easier.
17:04I hope all of it really helps because people have been doom scrolling and tech has really made some people dumber than they actually are.
17:13And I hope that 2026 is going to be the year when tech actually improves our lives and makes us smarter.
17:20And people should really stop saying that AI will come for our jobs.
17:25Instead, people should have the narrative that AI is going to make me more productive.
17:30Okay, this next segment is going to be about conversations around AI, but it's going to be a lot more fun because it is an absolute cracker.
17:40What I did is I went around the newsroom and started asking our India Today anchors about what they really felt was the tech that redefined 2025.
17:50I also asked them some very interesting, puzzling questions around their favorite technology and also what they look forward to in 2026.
17:58Please watch this segment because you are in for a lot of fun.
18:10Come, come, come, join us, join us.
18:16I'm a tech reader.
18:20AI enabled battlefield.
18:22So, Gharu sir, which tech of 2025 you thought was the most impressive for you?
18:28Operation Sindhoor, the technology enabled warfare is an absolute game changer.
18:34Look at the way India was able to network, the way Pakistan may respond and how India was prepared.
18:40The one tech of 2025.
18:43Take your time.
18:47AI enabled battlefield, the use of satellites, the use of space, the use of integrated air defense networks.
18:57All of that is absolutely amazing.
18:59And for the common man, affordable electric cars and mobile phones.
19:02Okay, first one is, of course, the rise of AI that we all witnessed in 2025.
19:07But with that, saying that, there's also another technology that blew my mind, which is the smart glasses.
19:14I am mostly hooked to Instagram at all times.
19:18I think the one thing that blew my mind, in a good way and in a bad way, I'm also scared of the unregulated advancement in tech.
19:27I know what's coming.
19:28I know what's coming.
19:29The kind of AI reads that can really fool you to believe that it is true.
19:34I'm a tech reader.
19:35I mean, I don't know if I can answer that question.
19:38That's one of the reasons people like me have a job today.
19:41Yeah, yeah.
19:42So, I usually just look at what features are there and then I pick it up.
19:45So, I mean, I don't know about the tech and what's new or all of that, but I got the new iPhone.
19:49Oh.
19:50I'm happy with it.
19:51Okay.
19:52Because all I look for is, is it big enough?
19:53Okay.
19:54And it is.
19:55From whoops to Apple watches to rings to everything that can monitor my heart rate to my blood pressure to how my sleep is.
20:04to when I'm getting stressed when I'm not.
20:07I think for me that was a big win.
20:09I'll ask a question.
20:10You'll have to let me know whether it's true or false.
20:13Okay.
20:14It could exist or not.
20:15A soda can with a special button on the bottom that when pressed instantly chills the drink.
20:22Should be false.
20:23I hope it's false.
20:24The world should not have soda bottles.
20:25It should have pure food.
20:27It should have pure liquid.
20:29It should have water.
20:30It should have hydration and electrolytes.
20:32Nobody needs soda water.
20:33I hope it's false.
20:34Kids are watching this.
20:35They're going to be so upset.
20:37Upset?
20:38They should be thankful.
20:39This world of processed food and factory food.
20:42No, no.
20:43I hope it's false.
20:44That's coming from someone who does health for a living.
20:46I will ask you a question.
20:48You'll have to tell me whether it is actually a tech or not.
20:51Whether it's true or false.
20:52No, it's amazing.
20:53So you have these little beepers and wallets.
20:54It's a good idea.
20:55So you think it's true?
20:56I know it's true.
20:57You're actually right.
20:58It is true.
20:59It is absolutely true.
21:00The next one is true or false.
21:01Okay.
21:02I'm going to talk about a technology which you have to guess whether it is actually true or not.
21:15I think it's true.
21:16I think with the way we are advancing, I think it's possible.
21:17I've seen something on the kind of robots that, if I'm not mistaken, the Chinese robots.
21:31Yeah.
21:32Or I've seen something on the internet.
21:34So I think this is true.
21:35Is it?
21:36It's actually true.
21:37You're right.
21:38You're right.
21:39Okay.
21:40Next is a fun segment that we will do.
21:41I'll basically give you a question.
21:42You have to tell me whether it's true or false.
21:44Okay.
21:52Sounds very useful.
21:54Actually true.
21:55It sounds like something that watch in a real.
21:58Okay.
21:59Even if it doesn't exist, you would want?
22:01Yeah.
22:02I mean, it depends on how much it costs.
22:04Sorry.
22:05But yeah.
22:06I'm so sorry to tell you.
22:07It doesn't exist.
22:08Why would?
22:09Maybe in 2026.
22:10Maybe in 2026.
22:11I will toss a question to you.
22:13You'll have to let me know whether this technology really exists or it doesn't.
22:17Okay?
22:18Okay.
22:19It's tough, but try.
22:20Okay.
22:21Okay.
22:22Okay.
22:23Okay.
22:24Okay.
22:25Okay.
22:26Okay.
22:27Well, I haven't heard of any such technology so far.
22:30So I think it's false.
22:31It's actually true.
22:32Oh my God.
22:33Technology is doing wonderful.
22:34In 2026, which is the one technology that you are looking forward to?
22:41It could exist or not.
22:43But you think that 2026 should definitely have this check.
22:47AI enabled anchors.
22:49It's already happening.
22:50I want to see more AI anchors.
22:52I want to see.
22:53Okay.
22:54Liar.
22:55Liar.
22:56Okay.
22:57So come, come, come.
22:58Join us, join us.
22:59Now you have to come.
23:00Now you cannot come.
23:01Liar.
23:02Liar.
23:03So I think a tech that can really help me understand authenticity of food.
23:09So for example, this year, I don't know the eggs I'm having are pure or no.
23:13I don't know if my spinach is pure or organic.
23:16I don't know if the watermelon I'm having has been injected with something or no.
23:19So I really hope there's a tech, there's a device in which I can figure out the purity
23:25of my food.
23:26I think if this can come true, I think it will be a game changer.
23:31If one, like through the click of a button, you can make out whether this is true or false.
23:38This might sound lame or random.
23:40I don't know because we're in the newsroom all the time.
23:42I think one of the things I keep wondering about India is about our weather predictions.
23:47I mean, I don't know if that counts as tech or whether it's cool enough for your show.
23:50No, of course it's.
23:52I just feel, you know, we need to up the game there.
23:54Because very often we're like above normal monsoon and then it's like a deficit monsoon
23:58and then we're told that tomorrow it's going to be heavy rain, tomorrow it's going to be
24:01supremely cold and then nothing.
24:03We've cracked jokes about this from when I was in school to now.
24:06Okay.
24:07Nothing's changed, right?
24:08Like you say that tomorrow schools will be shut because it's going to rain.
24:10Right.
24:11Everyone knows it's not going to rain the next day.
24:12Please, Apple do something with the iPhones, some innovative designs so that we can flaunt
24:17our iPhones even more.
24:18So we've heard from our favourite anchors about what they expect in 2026 about the tech
24:24that they want.
24:25As far as I go, I have certain, let's just say, picks of my own.
24:30I want 2026 to be about agentic AI.
24:34I do not want to have tasks on my smartphone, be manual.
24:38I want an AI agent to take over and do the work from me, not make me lazy, but just improve my life.
24:44And that is what I am looking forward to in 2026.
24:47But what you can do is let us know what kind of tech are you looking forward to in 2026.
24:53And hopefully we will be able to feature it in our future episodes.
24:58So that was a quick look of what you can expect in 2026.
25:03Remember, almost 70 to 80% of this technology we will cover on the show.
25:08Because there is some elusive tech that we might not get to see on the show.
25:12But I will try my best to get it on the Tech Today show.
25:16Next week is a special one because I will be in CES getting you all of the latest updates from there on.
25:23Till then, this is Cyrus signing off.
25:25Take care.
25:26Oh again, Happy New Year.
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