Is hidden technology the new luxury?

There is a new trend shaping the way companies are designing spaces: shy tech.

Shy tech is about fewer gadgets and gizmos. By integrating technology into the environment, it stays out of sight.

Car companies have been at the forefront of the movement. Interiors of Teslas, for instance, lack traditional buttons and knobs, with a single touchscreen controlling most functions. Key fobs become unnecessary because the car recognizes the driver’s phone, unlocking and starting the car as the owner approaches. Even the doorhandles remain flush with the body; they extend only when needed.

The concept is now extending to homes, offices, shops, and restaurants.

"The goal now is to create high-tech places, but more importantly, they need to work well for the people using them every day,” says Yuehan Wang, leader of JLL's technology research program.

To answer those questions JLL experts, Yuehan Wang, Flore Pradere, global Work Dynamics research director, and Ruth Hynes, EMEA Work Dynamics research and strategy director – who also led JLL’s recent Experience Matters survey – sat down for a Q&A.

WANG: I really like smart whiteboards in office meeting rooms. They digitize notes, making them searchable, and translating languages in real-time without requiring new skills.

PRADERE: We’re already seeing facial expression recognition in retail environments. It can assess customer satisfaction without manual feedback – like those buttons we see in airport bathrooms that ask how happy you are with the cleanliness. You don’t need to push a button to say if you are satisfied or not. Just look at their face and you know. This intuitive design can easily translate to the office.