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Are you ready for a really cheap smartphone? (The Next Big Thing, Episode 5)

Brian Cooley explains why the next big thing in smartphones may just be a small price, how home security gets interesting for the first time, and wearables that go way beyond fitness.

Brian Cooley Editor at Large
Brian Cooley is CNET's Editor at large and has been with the brand since 1995. He currently focuses on electrification of vehicles but also follows the big trends in smart home, digital healthcare, 5G, the future of food, and augmented & virtual realities. Cooley is a sought after presenter by brands and their agencies when they want to understand how consumers react to new technologies. He has been a regular featured speaker at CES, Cannes Lions, Advertising Week and The PHM HealthFront™. He was born and raised in Silicon Valley when Apple's campus was mostly apricots.
Expertise Automotive technology, smart home, digital health. Credentials
  • 5G Technician, ETA International
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Brian Cooley

Awaiting you in this episode:

Smartphones go small - in price.
Much of the talk around the smartphone business this year is about driving down the price to capture the next billion users. It's a trend that doesn't just speak to developing markets, but also value-based users in rich countries who have yet to switch from a feature phone. Handset makers and wireless carriers are hoping to convert all of them in droves.

Home security might need a new name.
The old monitored home alarm system looks pretty stale by today's standards: Difficult to expand, costly to monitor and hard to get excited about in terms of what it does. But CNET's connected home editors will give you a taste of how new tech is changing all of that and, in the process, moving from "home security" to the broader "home control".

Fitness wearables are getting more invasive.
It's actually not as creepy as it sounds. The bands that measure our stairs, steps and sleep are soon to be joined by devices that measure our blood sugar, gait and muscle tone. I think it's a welcome trend as I show you how it could move the fitness devices into the more serious "health & medical" category.

E-mail me your thoughts and suggestions. Thanks for watching The Next Big Thing.