Smartphones the next big machine learning platform, Deloitte says

Usually machine learning is discussed in terms of its impact on marketing or enterprise data, but its next frontier could be considerably more mobile, according to a research director with consulting firm Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Ltd. In fact, in its annual technology, media, and telecommunications predictions for 2017, released this month, Deloitte's global arm has predicted that some 300 million smartphones – more than one fifth of all units sold – will incorporate machine learning, Duncan Stewart, director of technology, media, and telecommunications research for Deloitte Canada, tells ITBusiness.ca. The present numbers are being driven by smartphone chip manufacturer Qualcomm Inc.'s latest Snapdragon processors, Stewart notes, but Apple is rumoured to be developing a similar technology for their next iPhone too. "It's a boon for smartphone users," he says. "It means you get results faster, use less data, and can even complete certain tasks without being connected to a network."