Howdy 👋🏾. This time last year, the anticipation for Apple’s mixed reality headset was through the roof. As 2024 winds down, the Apple Vision Pro feels more like a speed bump than the revolutionary device we imagined.

As the year comes to a close, I thought it’d be fun to revisit my predictions from Issue #30: 2024 Tech Trends That Will Shape Our Future and see how they held up.

Passwords Dethroned

In 2023, passkeys and passwordless logins were building momentum, and I predicted they’d finally dethrone traditional passwords. In 2024, that momentum accelerated with major players like Amazon, Apple, and Best Buy rolling out passkeys for authentication.

But the transition hasn’t been smooth. Passkeys, by design, require users to store them in secure places like password managers or device-based systems. For users navigating mixed environments—like Windows for desktop and an iPhone or Android for mobile—this setup can feel complicated.

Instead, a simpler alternative has gained traction, passwordless logins using second factors like email or text messages. Services like ChatGPT and Anthropic’s Claude have leaned into this approach, offering an easier, more accessible way to verify users. It’s not perfect, but it’s clear that passwords are finally starting to lose their grip.

Matter Standard Comes Together

The smart home landscape in 2024 continued to be a frustrating mess. Every vendor has an app, proprietary protocols, and, of course, monthly subscription fees. Even worse, when companies go out of business, their hardware often turns into useless brick.

Matter promised to fix interoperability and unify smart home devices, but the rollout has been slow, buggy, and filled with false starts. That said, Matter 1.4 arrived in November, addressing major setup issues and smoothing over some of the biggest pain points for users.

Adoption has been a slow burn, but companies like Apple, Amazon, Google, and Samsung have begun to integrate Matter. Hardware support is growing, and while we’re not there yet, the foundation is being laid for a truly interoperable smart home. My prediction? In another year or two, we may finally see Matter’s full potential realized.

New Digital Assistants Arrive

If 2024 had a theme, it’d be the rise of AI-powered conversational assistants. Tools like ChatGPT’s advanced voice mode and ElevenLabs’ conversational AI showed what’s possible—and, honestly, it’s amazing how much progress has been made.

That said, the big players—Apple Siri, Google Assistant, and Amazon Alexa—have mostly stuck to incremental improvements. Apple promised big things with Siri powered by Apple Intelligence, but the beta still feels underwhelming. Google continues to confuse everyone with two separate AI assistants (Gemini and Google Assistant), and Alexa is stuck in limbo as Amazon struggles to find a profitable path forward.

These tools are undeniably powerful, but they’re still missing basic functionality. I can use ChatGPT to have a conversation, but I can’t use it to turn off my lights, set an alarm, or order a pizza, and until these assistants can answer and do they just won’t be there yet.

Post-Phone Devices Emerge

This was probably my biggest miss of the year. At CES 2024, devices like the Rabbit R1 and Humane’s AI Pin promised to revolutionize personal computing. Then reality hit. Both devices were riddled with usability issues and failed to live up to their hype.

Even Apple’s Vision Pro once hailed as the dawn of mixed reality struggled to gain traction. While Tim Cook remains committed to its development, early sales suggest it’s more of a niche product than a mainstream hit.

Still, there’s hope. Humane and Rabbit are releasing updates, and Meta’s Orion AR glasses have shown a glimpse of what’s possible. The vision for post-phone devices is still alive—it just might take a few more years to materialize.

Mixed Reality Steps Into the Spotlight

Mixed reality had its moment early in the year with Apple Vision Pro and Meta’s Quest updates. But as 2024 went on, AI stole the show, relegating mixed reality to the background.

Meta deserves credit for keeping the dream alive with its Orion prototype and the continued evolution of its excellent Ray-Ban glasses, it will be a few more years before Mixed Reality earns its spot back in the spotlight.

Web3 Submits to Web4

Web3 shows no signs of fading away, and enthusiasm is higher than ever as Bitcoin surpasses the $100,000 mark.

Nevertheless, platforms like Bluesky, Mastodon, and Threads are pushing interoperability, enabling users to connect across different ecosystems. These developments hint at a more connected, decentralized future.

AI Models Keep Getting Better

Guess what? Water is wet, and AI models improved this year.

The big news is that the pace has slowed compared to the leaps we saw in previous years. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing—it’s allowed more focus on practical applications, better memory systems, and tools that enhance usability – but it does make you wonder what we should expect in 2025 and if the lightning-fast release cycle in the AI world might slow.

Now, my thoughts on tech & things:

🚗 GM Cruise Hits the Brakes on Robotaxis
Cruise paused its robotaxi service in 2023 after a tragic accident and restarted with safety drivers in April, but now they’ve officially shut down operations. With Cruise out, Waymo and Tesla are left as the frontrunners in the race to dominate autonomous taxis. Read more.

🎁 OpenAI’s 12 Days of Ship-mas Continues
OpenAI is rolling out daily launches, including a $200 reasoning model, the Sora video AI tool, and expansions to Canvas. I’m eager to see what surprises the remaining days bring. Read more.

🔑 WP Engine Wins Key Ruling
WP Engine regained WordPress.org access for its customers and control of the ACF plugin after a preliminary injunction against Automattic. While the ruling is significant, the case is far from over. Read more.

This weekend, I had the privilege of serving as a judge for the University of Maryland’s EMBA pitch day. It was inspiring to hear so many innovative business ideas and to be part of an outstanding panel of judges.

This week, I’m in NYC for the AI Summit. If you’re attending, come by and say hello!

Looking ahead:

• CES 2025: January 7-10 in Las Vegas
• Social Media Summit 2025: January 31st in North Carolina
• SUNO AI Workshop Series: Starting in January, covering everything from prompt writing to building conversational AI agents
• WTCI AGILE Series: February 19th panel on how technology is transforming human interaction

I hope to see you in New York, or one of these future events!

-jason

P.S. Whether you love him, hate him, or land somewhere in between, Elon Musk is undeniably a character who leaves an impression. Now, you can channel that energy into your documents with the new Elon Musk font. Yes, it’s a thing. Enjoy!