The 12 Biggest Tech Changes of the Past 12 Years | WSJ

Overview

Over the past 12 years, the WSJ narrator reflects on major technology changes—roughly from ~2014 to the mid-2020s—with a focus on consumer products and platform shifts.

Key Tech & Media Changes

Smartphones: bigger, more capable, and tougher

• Phones have grown larger and more powerful.
• Water resistance becomes standard.
• The narrator revisits/retells early risk examples, including:
  • Samsung Galaxy Note 7 (2016) being reviewed underwater
  • Later recalled due to explosive batteries

Legacy hardware and media formats fade

• Headphone jacks disappear over time.
• BlackBerry is cited as fading (implied decline in relevance).

New communication norms emerge

• Emojis become a dominant language for messaging.

Voice assistants and smart speakers go mainstream

• Amazon Echo + Alexa arrive, followed by Google with similar assistant/speaker ecosystems.
• A noted limitation:
  • Alexa initially can’t set reminders (mentioned via the narrator’s “future message” bit).

Wearables expand into health and safety

• The Apple Watch is framed as Apple’s major post–Steve Jobs product moment.
• Health/fitness tracking grows in importance.
• Later updates include:
  • Fall detection
  • An exaggerated “stunt review” concept for demonstrating it.

5G: hype vs real-world value

• The narrator argues 5G is overhyped by carriers and phone makers.
• The “actual” benefit is described as:
  • Slightly faster speeds
  • Occasional standout use cases (e.g., specific video examples)
• Coverage and availability are emphasized as limited.

Foldables and brand controversy

• One story beat references being branded a “public enemy” over a controversy involving:
  • a hotdog
  • early Samsung foldables

Social platforms pivot toward VR / the “metaverse”

• Facebook becomes Meta, aiming for VR headsets and “Metaverse” lifestyles.
• The narrator signals skepticism about adopting that vision.

AI platforms and conversational models transform work

• GPT-4 is referenced as a world-changing milestone.
• The segment includes examples of Siri smart control (e.g., garage/lights/messages).
• It also touches uncertainty around data and training, such as discussion of:
  • licensing
  • public datasets
  • “YouTube? … not sure”

Home robotics stall

• The narrator predicts many home robots will be tried, but by 2026 they still mostly do basic tasks like vacuuming.

EVs become “computers on wheels”

• Electric vehicles gain:
  • advanced batteries
  • improved charging tech
  • self-driving features
  • large interior screens

Generative AI becomes the defining craze

• ChatGPT / OpenAI are described as producing human-like writing and image generation (and similar outputs).
• Subtitles reference “cloning yourself” and other “deeply weird” uses—framing novelty alongside disruption.
• The narrator makes a point of not being “AI,” even while the segment shows AI-like persona interactions.

Closing Retrospective Tone

• The narrator addresses their WSJ run, thanking readers/viewers.
• They joke about production/tech tropes like green screen and the idea of laptop-only browsing.
• The segment ends with meta-humor about nonstop product speculation—“what are you going to sell us next?”

Main Speakers / Sources

• Primary speaker: the WSJ narrator/host (speaking first-person; described as a former Wall Street Journal employee).
• Referenced/depicted assistant sources: Siri, Alexa (and an “Assistant”).
• Referenced tech entities/models: Samsung, Apple, Verizon (5G), Facebook/Meta, Google, OpenAI / ChatGPT, GPT-4.