Now that we’re well into 2012, we’ve caught a glimpse of upcoming smartphones at CES and Mobile World Congress is just around the corner, we stop to ask: what direction are smartphones really heading? What trends are we faced with and what new technologies will we see in 12 to 24 months from now?
This guest post aims to answer these questions and briefly discusses the emerging trends and upcoming technologies that will give us a glimpse of the future evolution of the smartphone.
Smartphones go on a diet
Look at the massive success of the Samsung Galaxy S2 and you’ll know that thinner is better. Huawei has gone one step further with the announcement of the Huawei P1 S at an incredible 6.68mm thick. Expect to see Samsung fight back in the sveltness department with the Galaxy S3 however.
Faster Processors
Dual-core processors on a phone? Now quad-core? I remember when computers ran at 20 megahertz! One thing is for sure though; phones will find a way to consume this power, and gaming will be the way. With Nvidia’s Tegra 3 quad-core monster and Intel’s Medway processor, phones are speeding up at an accelerating rate.
Bigger, Brighter Screens
How large is too large? One should look towards the Samsung Galaxy Note for that answer. Last year we saw many screen sizes creep up to 4.3 inches. Now with the Samsung Galaxy Nexus at 4.65 inches and the HTC Edge at 4.7 inches, the average is increasing. Add hi-def and Super AMOLED to all these monsters, and brighter and bigger is better.
Games Galore
As processors are becoming more powerful, people are ditching their gaming consoles and using their smartphones for a bit of game escapism. People with kids are well too aware of this with the regular ‘dad, can I play on your phone?’ on the way home from school. Proper phone gaming has arrived.
Cloud Storage
Once the IT industry’s favourite buzzword, “The Cloud” has now shifted over to the smartphone world. China’s Alibaba has the Aliyun Cloud OS, Apple has the iCloud, BlackBerry has a Cloud based music service and Android constantly syncs with Google’s Cloud based services. The smartphone Clouds are gathering.
Better Battery Life
Manufacturers are finally responding to consumers needs and shipping with larger batteries. Companies like Huawei are even talking about using their cell-mast infrastructure expertise to further optimise phone battery life. Expect tweaks and tune-ups, but don’t expect to go back to the good ‘ole days of charging once a week.
Cheaper Phones
As we saw at CES 2012, China is taking on the world with cheap smartphones from the likes of ZTE and Huawei. Competition can only be a good thing and this means millions of consumers from both eastern and western markets will soon be able to afford the latest smartphones.
Cameras
Optical zooming on smartphone is still a thing of fantasies, but megapixels are increasing. Look at the HTC Titan with its 16 megapixel and we can all see where this trend is heading. How many more mega pixels do we need though?
=== About the Author ===
Bryan Hunter is the founder of Phone Tips and Tricks which provides the world’s largest database of tips and tricks for smartphones and tablets. Bryan is based in London, UK and regularly writes about the mobile phone industry.
