What’s next? The tech trends steering 2026

Tiyiselani Rikhamba, software delivery lead at BET Software.

Return of dumbphones

Smartphones play a very important role in keeping us connected to our family and friends, and these days we can work almost from anywhere using smart devices or phones, as well as manage our finances, keep track of our health or sleep activity and control our smart homes.

While our smartphones are an important aspect and have improved how we run our daily lives, they are not without vulnerabilities. Advances in technology also open new vulnerabilities for unethical people to exploit, and with smartphones and their many features, it's easy for any feature to become susceptible to exploitation. Bluetooth and Wi-Fi connectivity can allow hackers to maliciously access your device without your knowledge.

More and more people in tech spaces have started adopting so-called dumbphones that are much simpler with limited to no internet access, longer battery life and better privacy protection since network access is limited. Ease of use for a lot of these devices also makes them popular amongst the elderly.

Passwordless authentication growth

Over the years, passwords have been vital in ensuring our digital safety. However, they’ve also been at the centre of many data leaks, with plain text passwords to weak password rules. Due to this, we’ve seen a rise in various means such as 2FA and passwordless auth, where users now depend on technologies like biometrics and passkeys to access their accounts. This form of authentication still has to overcome user hesitancy, but with more people understanding the importance of digital safety, more people are likely to adopt it in the year 2026.

AI governance

There have been various new acts that have come into effect in the year 2025 when it comes to AI, and its general usage. Many of these acts aim to provide a better experience for users, as well as ensure that companies can prove that their AI is free from bias, is transparent and fair without any discrimination. This will help AI become more dependable and provide better user experiences. Organisations will start moving from a reactive governance model to a proactive one. In sectors like health care and finance, models must be properly trained because algorithms can directly impact people’s lives. By ensuring this governance is followed, companies can gain early trust from their consumers as well as gain a competitive business edge.

Meta’s smart glasses

Around 2013, Google introduced Google Glass, which was something from the future. Whilst it was cool tech, it didn’t take off as well as Google had hoped, with people citing various concerns, such as their high price, privacy concerns and no clear use cases. In recent years, Meta’s Smart Glasses have been making a buzz and have done a few things slightly better. They’re working in partnership with Ray-Ban sunglasses to make them look more like natural fashion. They also made simple, limited and clear use cases – making them more practical, unlike the Google Glass that tried to do too many things.

There’s also transparency when it comes to recording, so people’s privacy isn’t invaded. The truth is Google was a bit ahead of its time, and Meta waited for society to grow accustomed to things like wearing AirPods and smartwatches in public. I believe better research was done in the development of Meta’s glasses, and they will rock the tech market in 2026.

Back to on-prem… well, slightly

The adoption of cloud over the years saw a significant rise, with products like Microsoft Azure and Amazon Web Services, many companies started centring their applications around cloud, and keeping everything in the cloud. Every company rapidly moved their services to the cloud without understanding the cost implications around the use of cloud. Due to these high costs, many organisations are slowing down on cloud and using hybrid architectures like OpenShift, Kubernetes, etc, where it’s a mixture of cloud service and on-prem.

This allows companies to have better management of their costs and services by having more predictable service and service usage. Whilst this has been forging on over the years, companies will continue to do so in 2026, but most will still retain their cloud services to take advantage of data recovery and other types of rapid scaling.

Going into 2026, many people may opt for a dumbphone as a primary device, whilst keeping their smartphones as well. This is especially likely with tech-savvy users who understand the risks of smartphones.