Tech moves fast. Real fast. And in no category is this more prevalent than in the smartphone industry. Brands are relentlessly trying to meet the needs of customers and are adding game changing features every year. This continuous effort is making the smartphone market diverse and in the process, are making our choices somewhat convoluted. So why not take a stroll around tech-park and check out the trends that drive the features in today’s (and tomorrows) smartphones.
1.FINGER PRINT SCANNER
This one’s simple. All flagships have this now. The iPhone 5s brought it under the limelight. Previously laptops sported this feature but it wasn’t as effective as it has been in the smartphone industry in the past few years. Suddenly the fingerprint scanner became a must have feature for everyone. And it’s easy to see why. It offers a level of security that is second to none. The key is your finger. It’s unique and you can’t forget it. Simple. Effective. Game-changer.
Celebrities and general people alike, everybody started buying phones with fingerprint scanners. It was a great feature and is standard now. New technology and new materials are being implemented to increase the efficiency of the system. All these spell good for this technology. It’s here to stay and be sure to see it in all new flagships for many more years to come.
No not Dropbox, or Google drive . I am talking about a particular ecosystem that simultaneously sinks in your storage with a cloud server. Enter the Nextbit Robin. It’s a normal smartphone with a good screen and all. Good speakers and this and that.
But what’s the selling point?
Why do I believe it to be the next big thing?
Unlimited storage. Well almost.
So it comes off the shelf with 32 GB of storage. Not bad. But what it also has secondary storage, if you will. Cloud storage to be specific. What happens is that the custom OS (android based) is smart enough to understand which apps are least used and are least likely to be used based on the habits of the user. It then offloads the unused apps to the 100GB cloud storage.
The offloaded app icons are greyed out and every time you tap them, it will initiate a quick download and return it to the state you left it in. You can choose not to get certain apps offloaded if you need them to be there the whole time. The whole process takes a good second or two. But with the advancing technology it’s only going to get better. It’s for the future. With 4k videos and heavier games and so many more detailed pictures being taken its definitely something to look forward to.
So why will it be in future phones? Because it’s convenient.
You don’t have to deal with the problems of expandable storage such as compromising the build of the phone. And you don’t have to feel stranded with internal storage. And we all have so much stuff inside our phones that we use. So why not.
3. DUAL LENS SYSTEM:
HTC was the first to try it out in the big league. And it failed. Critics said it was more gimmick than functionality and it’s hard to disagree. But dual lens systems are back. And I believe they are here for the long run. Huawei have recently released the P9. They’ve partnered up with camera and lens giants Leica for a new dual lens system. They claim it lets 200% more light in. Makes sense. More sensor equals more light. The cool Instagram like features are there.
Post re-focus being the most eye catching. But if that was all then it wouldn’t be in this list. The system has been shown to compete with the Samsung s7 and iPhones sensors and the images do look better overall. The thing to not here is that its less processing and more usable data. More flexibility. So you’ll have more leeway with the composition and better dynamic range. It has been heavily rumored that the iPhone 7 will also sport a dual lens system. If so is the case, then all other cameras will soon seem obsolete.
Dual lens systems are here to stay and they are right around the corner. We will likely be seeing augmented reality games that use the extra information such as distance, to make for more entertaining experiences.
4. WATER-PROOFING:
People like taking photos underwater okay? No, seriously. It’s an important feature. Let’s be real, what’s the point of buying a $700 phone if it can’t handle a small dip? You can’t treat it like jewelry all the time. I am not saying you should leave your phone in the sink or something. You just need assurance for when you make a mistake.
Samsung has been using this feature for many years now. It wasn’t there for the S6 but they were quick to realize how important it can be in allotting the user the proper freedom. Although the iPhone is not labelled to be water-proof, a few tests were conducted to see how much submersion it could handle and the results were certainly suggestive of the fact that water-proffing is taken seriously. It will take a bit more time to creep into the hands of the average customer. Because the sealing has added costs and compromises. But it’s going to stay. Phones have become too close to us for us to not take them everywhere all the time. They are simply too important. The occasional drizzle shouldn’t be holding us back from anything.
So there’s my list of things that we are seeing right now and will see more of in the near future. These features are crucial selling points and will shape the smartphone industry of tomorrow. Tech is so fast that these features might way before expected. The future might mean as soon as next year. Or maybe next month?
This is just a list of things I believe will be here sooner or later. If you disagree or would like to add something, please do comment below.
