Batteries will be getting smaller and more energy dense, so I see a shift towards smaller form factors. Reflectors will gradually be phased out for optics of various kinds, and LEDs will get more efficient with better cd/mm² so you won’t need a big xhp70.2 to efficiently make 5000 lumens and throw far. Drivers are also improving. I think we will see more buck/boost drivers soon.
Thinking back to my youth in the early 1980s, my first flashlights were these from radio hack:
Lights have come a LONG ways since those days. I owned the 2AA incan shown on the right in the second pic, it was my first EDC… LOL. Radio hack would practically give these away as a way to increase battery sales. I was also a member of the battery club. You get a card every year and each month bring it into the store and they give you a free alkaline battery and punch a hole in your card. There was 2 stores in my area so I got double free batteries!! FWIW the store employees were real A-holes too BTW… they hated serving anyone who did not help them make commission. You couldn’t even browse the store without that annoying door buzzer triggering them to run out to harass you. Especially as a kid. I’m amazed they remained in business as long as they did.
I don’t see significant changes or advancements until LED efficiency improves. Basically incremental enhancements as Lumens per watt and thermal heat/BTU per watt improve.
I took my 2 week old Sofirn IF25A and 10+ year old 6P + Malkoff M60. Both lights are cold tint, so they both favor Lumen output over CRI & tint. The M60 is copper foil taped so it fits very tight tight with the 6P host for thermal conduction.
I ramped the Sofirn down to about ~210 Lumens to match the M60 on a bathroom ceiling bounce. Ran them for 15~20 minutes. Both lights got warm to the touch, and both matched each other in output as they warmed up. So if there is any thermal dimming it was equal to my eyes. The Sofrin did get warm to the touch, but not as warm as the 6P. It was maybe ~half as warm feeling… slight but noticeable. Neither light was hot to the touch.
Biggest difference was the color tint and current draw. The 6P/M60 draw was .87A while the Sofirn drew only .2A after 20 minutes of constant-ON warming. The SST20 LEDs at low output have an awful green tint. I am not a tint-snob at all so for me to notice… it has to be really bad.
Lol, fire! Proper old school. If only we could improve the light:heat output ratio. In favour of light of course…
For the future i reckon… non-flat LEDs dies with optics built in to produce a specific beam pattern from a much smaller footprint, powered by a supercapacitor that can be charged veeeery quickly from a variety of sources, such as a portable (aforementioned) graphene powerbank, or ubiquitous solar-powered wireless power points.