10 Personal Tech Enhancements We All Wish Existed

Published by D Girma on 2024-10-272024-10-27

Demessie Girma Yahii
PhD CEng MIET SMIEEE
Cloud Solutions Architect ☁ Azure Cloud Solutions ☁ Digital Transformation Consultant ☁ Tech Evangelist

Here’s a list of ideas that could take our everyday tech experiences from “just okay” to seamless, intuitive, and—dare I say—enjoyable. Some focus on health and safety, while others aim at refining what’s already out there. And for a twist, I’ve given ChatGPT the freedom to surprise us with idea #10. Think of these as wishlist items for tech developers.

Automatic Volume Reset for Earbuds: Imagine this: You pop in your Bluetooth earbuds, and instead of blasting at 100% volume (a potential health hazard), the device auto-adjusts to a safe starting volume of around 10%. From there, you can tweak the volume as needed. While smartphones try to limit Bluetooth volume, it’s surprisingly easy to override these controls. A safety reset feature would be a valuable addition to save our ears.
Profile Switching for ChatGPT: Sometimes, we have multiple roles: personal, work, or maybe even different clients. A profile-switching feature on the ChatGPT app would make life easier, much like Google Chrome’s desktop profile system. Switching effortlessly between multiple user profiles would improve flexibility and keep content separate without logging in and out.
WhatsApp’s Broadcast List as a Power Tool: WhatsApp’s Broadcast List feature has so much untapped potential. Imagine if this could be more than a basic text-sharing tool and become a full-blown broadcasting platform for curated content or professional updates. This could make WhatsApp the ultimate messaging application—beyond just a one-on-one or group messaging app. I believe that enhancing the Broadcast List feature could make it a killer messaging app (or rather, a killer messaging application++). Feel free to contact me for more details.
Better Video History on Facebook: Is it just me, or does Facebook lack a way to show what I last watched in chronological order? Facebook’s content trail can be difficult to navigate. YouTube sets a high bar, keeping a chronological history of your last-watched videos, making it simple to pick up where you left off. Facebook could stand to improve in this area, letting users revisit previous videos with the same ease.
Ditch Location-Based Security: Is it too much to ask for security that doesn’t treat us like fixed-location creatures? It’s time apps rely on robust authentication methods that don’t hinge on IP addresses, which are often inaccurate and can restrict access. You can read more about this in my LinkedIn article ([defanged URL] www.linkedin.com/pulse/internet-has-made-us-global-village-software-app-should-girma-hgs9e).
Stop Locale-Based Language Switching: When I travel, I set my preferred language in my OS for a reason, yet browsers still take it upon themselves to switch languages based on my IP. This becomes a genuine barrier when I encounter a language I can’t understand. If we can lock in language settings in our operating system, why can’t browsers respect that?
SIM-Free Messaging Accounts: I’ve been waiting for this for ages, and finally, it’s starting to happen: moving messaging accounts away from SIM card dependencies. I recently read that WhatsApp is planning to introduce features allowing accounts to function independently of a phone number by using usernames instead. This move is overdue, and it could set a new standard for privacy and user freedom.
Persistent eSIM Profiles: eSIM technology feels like freedom from physical SIMs, but it comes with a catch: once deleted, eSIMs are gone for good. Unlike physical SIMs, they can’t be easily reinstalled. I’d love to see a solution where once an eSIM profile is created, it can be securely stored and reactivated when needed, offering the best of both worlds. As an aside, I was pleased to discover that Ethio Telecom has been supporting eSIM for some time. This was a pleasant surprise, as the latest Samsung smartphones (I believe starting with the S21 models) no longer support dual physical SIMs but can accommodate two or more eSIMs along with one physical SIM.
Bring Samsung Notes Back to All PCs: I’ve long been a fan of Samsung Notes. It syncs beautifully across my devices, providing the versatility I need. But here’s the catch: Samsung decided to limit the app to Samsung-branded PCs only, excluding other Windows users. This feels like a bait-and-switch tactic, given that it was once available across all PCs. I’d love to see Samsung reconsider and bring this back to all Windows devices. Microsoft Notes, I still love you, but the lighter weight, faster speed, and streamlined navigation of Samsung Notes give it a slight edge.
ChatGPT’s Take: Unified Smartwatch Notifications: Here’s an idea to wrap things up: a unified notification filter for smartwatches. Smartwatches could filter notifications by urgency or context, only alerting you to what matters most based on your settings or time of day. So, if you’re in a meeting, you’d only get essential alerts—no random app notifications or low-priority emails. This could be a game-changer for focused productivity without missing anything important.