介绍:
每年，科技领域都会有些新兴技术抢占我们的注意力。但是《纽约时报》却预测，在2021年，比起那些酷炫前卫的概念，可能会有一些听上去平平无奇的技术主宰我们的生活。究竟是哪些技术赢得了《纽约时报》的青睐？它们又会对我们的生活有何影响？一起进入今天的讲解。
英文原文
The Tech That Will Invade Our Lives in 2021
2021年即将强势进入我们生活的技术
By Brian X. Chen
This year, the technologies that we will most likely hear the most about won’t be fancy devices like smartphones or big-screen television sets. It will be the stuff we don’t usually see: workhorse software and internet products that are finding their moment now.
2021年，我们将听到最多的技术可能不会是那些智能手机或者大屏电视之类的高端时髦设备。它会是我们不常看到东西：现在，主力软件和互联网产品迎来了它们的高光时刻。
Before the coronavirus transformed our lives, the lists of tech to watch each year were often dominated by whiz-bang gizmos like smart speakers and curved televisions. But the pandemic has pushed us to embrace useful technology that was often overlooked. Once lame or gimmicky apps on our devices suddenly became central tools.
在新冠疫情改变了我们的生活之前，每年我们要关注的科技榜单常常被智能音响和曲屏电视之类的新巧装置垄断。但是这次疫情促使我们去接纳那些常常被忽略的实用技术。过去那些乏善可陈或者华而不实的应用突然间成了重要工具。
Take mobile wallet apps like Apple Pay and Square. While these have been around for years, some people stuck with credit cards and cash. But new germaphobia finally pushed more of us to try the contact-free phone payments as opposed to a card swipe.
就以Apple Pay和Square这样的移动支付应用为例。虽然它们问世已经有几年了，但一些人仍旧执着于使用信用卡和现金。但新近出现的“细菌恐惧症”终于迫使更多人尝试使用了无需接触的手机支付，而不再刷卡。
Then there’s augmented reality. The technology, which lets us interact with digital objects superimposed on our physical world, has been more than a decade in the making. For years, it seemed more futuristic than useful. But now that we can’t easily go to a physical store to try things on, snapping a selfie to see a digital rendering of makeup on your face sure seems like a better idea.
此外，还有增强现实技术。这种技术已经发展了十多年，通过它，我们可以与叠加在现实世界之上的数字化物体进行互动。多年来，比起实用性，它似乎更像是一个前卫的概念。但现在既然我们不能随便到一个实体商店去试穿、试戴，那么拍一张自拍，然后在脸上化个虚拟妆看看，似乎肯定是个更好的办法。
“All those things we started to see a need for during Covid,” said Carolina Milanesi, a consumer technology analyst for Creative Strategies. “Think about how neglected video calling has been for so long. Finally, we get it. It’s not sexy, but it does make a difference.”
来自创意战略公司（Creative Strategies）的消费者技术分析员卡罗莱纳·米兰尼斯表示：“对所有那一切的需求，我们都是在新冠疫情期间发现的。想想看这么久以来，视频电话被忽视到了何等地步。终于，我们意识到了。它可能不那么新颖诱人，但是它能带来改变。”
