The end of TYPING? Expert says voice search will replace keyboards by 2022
It's only a matter of time until we ditch the QWERTY keyboards and starting shouting at our devices for our most inane requests instead
YOUR computer keyboard could be gathering dust by 2022, as voice-controlled tech starts to dominate your home and work life.
That’s according to a top tech expert who says we’re just a few years away from “voice search” replacing typing for most people.
We’ve been using keyboards to input commands into computers for decades.
And even with the smartphone revolution, we still use virtual keyboards to send texts or search online using Google.
But top tech analyst Ben Wood believes that the days of typing are numbered.
Speaking at a briefing hosted by tech firm Lenovo at this year’s Mobile World Congress, the CSS Insights tech expert predicted: “By 2020, we believe that voice will overtake typing as the main search input method.”
“Voice as a technology, we think is huge,” he explained.
“We think voice is the knobs and buttons of a future generation.”
Lots of this voice-searching will be done through smart speakers like the Amazon Echo, Google Home, or Apple HomePod.
Speaking to The Sun, Wood said: “We think there’s over a million smart speakers in homes in the UK already.”
“Amazon has done a lot with pricing of their product to make them accessible,” he told us.
He’s not wrong, either – you can currently pick up a smart Alexa-powered Amazon Echo Dot for just £49.99, which is far cheaper than Apple’s rival £319 HomePod speaker.
It’s made it possible for lots of people to start dabbling with smart home tech – and potentially ushering in the death of keyboards.
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“It’s going to happen faster than you think,” he told The Sun.
“I reckon we could see 20% of households having a smart speaker within three to five years.”
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