2016 was a abundant year to be a smartphone fan. 2017 was alike better.
Smartphone displays are now narrower and taller than before, and the cameras in our pockets now battling some DSLRs. We additionally saw some zany, agrarian smartphone designs, added OEMs adopting dual-camera setups, and a bigger focus on architecture affection (even if that means $1,000 smartphones).
But there’s consistently allowance for improvement! Here’s what we’d like to see in 2018.
Smartphone architecture afflicted a lot in 2017. It was the aboriginal year we saw 18:9 aspect arrangement displays, and now phones with added acceptable 16:9 screens are acceptable scarcer. Those all-inclusive screens are additionally consistent in beneath bezel, which can be acceptable or bad depending on how you use your smartphone. This accomplished year we additionally saw the addition of the notch, acutely displayed on the iPhone X and Essential Phone. We alike got a smartphone with a 120 Hz display.
Phones are accepting sleeker and added innovative, and in 2018, we don’t appetite that addition to stop.
We appetite to see manufacturers advance the boundaries as to what a smartphone can be; added crazy actuality like the foldable Axon M or titanium-clad, near-bezel-less Essential Phone. We appetite phones that can shoot Nerf darts and accomplish lattes. Okay, maybe not, but you get the idea. Crazy, agrarian account are what accumulate the smartphone apple interesting.
Should we acquire the apparent bonbon bar phone architecture as aiguille smartphone? Maybe for the masses. But hopefully this time abutting year we’ll be able to allocution about all the foldable smartphones that launched in 2018.
If manufacturers are accepting agitation advancing up with new phone designs, there are still a few agency they can innovate above smartphones:
Seeing as best of the affordable phones on the bazaar can accomplish the aforementioned basal functions as the $1,000 phones, OEMs charge to anticipate of new agency to attract users into their ecosystems. In 2018, that could beggarly new articles that enhance the functionality and go hand-in-hand with our adaptable devices.
Samsung’s DeX was one of the best underrated artefact launches of 2017. For $150, you can bang your Galaxy smartphone into the berth and use it as a desktop computer. It wasn’t perfect, but it was a atypical abstraction with a abundant execution.
Samsung isn’t abandoned in this space, either. Huawei launched an alarming affection with the Mate 10 and Mate 10 Pro that about does the aforementioned affair as DeX after the dock. All you charge is a USB Type-C to HDMI cable and you can about-face your Mate accent into a computer.
When talking about air-conditioned things that affix to your phone, let’s not forget Moto Mods. Some of them ability be difficult to absolve for the price, but there are some really air-conditioned account out there. Do you appetite to book Polaroid pictures from your phone? Check. Record 360 video? Check. There are affluence added advancing bottomward the pipeline, too. I don’t own a Motorola phone, but Moto Mods absolutely accumulate me aflame for the approaching of the company’s smartphone lineup.
The Essential Phone does commodity like this too, but there’s alone one add-on accent for it appropriate now: a 360-degree camera. Essential says a charging berth and high-end audio accent are on their way, admitting we still don’t know when those will appear to market.
These are the articles that accumulate the adaptable apple interesting. We’re accepting to the point area we can about adumbrate what new processors, awning technology, and software flourishes anniversary architect will barrage with their new phones, so it’s nice to see some companies cerebration alfresco the box.
When you buy a new smartphone, it’s an investment. Not alone is it actually an advance of money, but you’re additionally advance in the aggregation that fabricated your phone. When those companies don’t accumulate you up to date on software updates and aircraft times it can be cool arresting — abnormally if you’ve aloof spent $1,000 on a smartphone.
One OEM in 2017 is accepting an A in my book aback it comes to advice and transparency: Essential.
Ever aback the Essential Phone aboriginal came to market, the aggregation fabricated it a point to authority bi-weekly AMAs on Reddit to acknowledgment any questions its users may have. In the AMAs, Essential barter get the befalling to ask Essential advisers about anything: camera updates, software amend timelines, aback new colors will appear to market, why Essential fabricated assertive decisions aback authoritative its phone. It’s a abundant way for Essential to appearance barter it cares.
Andy Rubin additionally affected on accuracy in a contempo account with Time, aback asked how he affairs to anticipate aircraft delays in the future:
Transparency is activity to be way easier and added important for abate phone brands to focus on. Essential and OnePlus aren’t Samsung or LG, and they accept almost baby user bases. They charge to booty the best affliction of that user abject to accomplish abiding it doesn’t vanish.
It’s not that Samsung or LG don’t affliction about their customers—they do. But assured them to keep all bajillion of their barter up to date on software updates and aircraft delays is way harder. That doesn’t beggarly they shouldn’t try, though.
We’re not activity to go through all the pros and cons of removing the headphone jack from our smartphones, or why it was a abhorrent idea. Its abatement was conceivably the better customer boycott of 2017.
This accomplished year, abounding OEMs followed Apple’s advance and removed the headphone jack from their 2017 smartphones. They didn’t accept to and consumers absolutely weren’t allurement for it.
In fact, already Apple ditched the 3.5 mm plug, consumers all about the apple appear their abhorrence for Apple’s decision. Sure, some association were accept with it, but abounding bodies weren’t. So what did Google, HTC, Essential, and Razer do? For some reason, they all launched phones sans-headphone jack.
We charge to accord acclaim area acclaim is due — LG, Samsung, and OnePlus‘ new smartphones still accept the headphone jack, and OnePlus has decidedly fabricated it a point to accept to its barter this year.
It’s aloof adamantine to blanket accept why so abounding OEMs absitively to avoid consumers. In 2018 we don’t appetite annihilation like this to appear again.
When Google debuted the Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL this year, the aggregation mentioned that both accessories accept congenital eSIMs to accredit users’ cellular accounts. That agency as continued as you accept Project Fi, you don’t charge to use a concrete SIM card.
This technology has existed in LTE-enabled tablets and smartwatches in the past, but never central smartphones. Essentially, the new Pixels accept an anchored SIM which doesn’t charge to be physically removed from the phone. Aback added carriers and smartphones jump on lath with eSIM, you’ll be able to go to your settings menu, baddest the carrier to which you appetite to connect, and that’s it.
That’s appealing awesome, and it’s the future. Unfortunately the alone carrier that supports it is Project Fi, but Google says it’ll allotment what it learns during this action to animate the acceptance of the technology with OEMs and carriers.
Using a concrete SIM agenda can be a appealing big hassle, abnormally if you about-face your accessories generally or frequently biking out of the country. Plus, SIM tray slots generally feel bargain (and I can never appropriately position the SIM tray aback putting it aback in).
Who knows, we could be active in a SIM card-less apple in a few years.
Design innovation
Thinking alfresco the box
More accuracy from manufacturers
Keep alert to consumers
Wider eSIM adoption
See Also: hack facebookAny others?
As acceptable as it gets: has the smartphone peaked?
Essential vs Moto Mods – two actual altered takes the aforementioned modular idea
Nobody asked for this.
Was ditching the headphone jack a acceptable idea?
A abridgement of accuracy and advice can be frustrating— abnormally if you've aloof absorb $1,000 on a smartphone.
“If you were a fly on the bank in the Apple or Samsung boardroom, or anywhere else, they don’t about advertise their commitment timeframes until they’re accessible to advertise the product. I do that. I’m a startup company. I like actuality transparent.
I appetite to accomplish abiding we’re aircraft a affection product. I appetite to be almost transparent. I don’t anticipate clandestineness helps accumulate any assurance in a company. I appetite to accept a added communicative accord with my customers. And they accept to accept that if I’m two or three weeks late, that’s not a big accord in the admirable calibration of we started designing these articles two years ago. And I anticipate the alone aberration amid us and the blow of the industry is we told people.”
The abatement of the headphone jack was conceivably the better customer boycott of 2017.
Who knows, we could be active in a SIM card-less apple in a few years.
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