Every year, we see new advancements and developments in the technology sector. As you can probably tell, one area that sees the most attention is the smartphone industry. Pretty much everyone you come into contact with will have a smartphone. They run our lives, they run businesses, and they’re capable of so much.
Consequently, a lot of investment gets pumped into this industry. Manufacturers are looking for crazy and innovative ways to upgrade smartphones and be the first to release new features. This is wonderful news for tech enthusiasts, as it means we have plenty to look forward to every year!
What are the main smartphone features to look out for in 2020? Some may exist already, while others are being developed as we speak. Either way, you can find the most anticipated ones right here:
Foldable Screens
A few years ago, the concept of a foldable phone was absolutely laughable. In fact, we kind of had them already. Remember the old school flip phones? They were a thing once, but they died out. Now, it seems like we’ve come full circle – but with a twist. As it mentions in this article titled How To Choose A New Phone, screens are a significant buying factor. We pay close attention to the screens, and they need to be big and vibrant. Therefore, flip phones aren’t useful as they mean your screen-size will be reduced considerably.
But, the twist is that foldable phones will fold the screen in half. We’ve already seen a few concept phones that include this feature, and some that have been released to the public. The Motorola Razr is the most high-profile foldable phone out at the moment, and it looks pretty cool! The whole idea behind folding screens is that you can still get a large screen-size, but you can make the phone smaller and easier to carry. It makes a lot of sense, particularly seeing as smartphones have evolved to the point where they’re almost too big to fit in your pockets!
Obviously, this technology is still in its infancy, so expect to see some issues. Still, it’s well worth looking out for more foldable phones as they could be the next big trend in the smartphone industry this year.
5G
Some countries still don’t have full 4G coverage, so it seems strange that 5G is on its way this year. It’s a feature that only the latest phones are capable of handling, largely due to how much processing power is required to run 5G on a small device. There are a few 5G concerns circulating around the web, but this is expected whenever a new piece of technology comes out.
So, what’s so great about this feature? Well, it can supercharge your phone and make it possible to do so many new things. Streaming and downloading will be faster than ever before. This means no buffering and seamless 60fps video quality. Plus, 5G is capable of making AR and VR a big thing. You may have seen viral videos of AR displays using 5G, and they’re incredibly impressive.
Many people think that 5G can also transform the way people work. The sheer speed of connectivity can make working from home an absolute breeze. In a world where remote working is more popular than ever, this feature can be essential for the modern businessperson.
If you live in a big city with excellent technological communications, then you might see 5G very soon – or, it might exist already. Then, you need a new phone to take advantage of this technology. For others, it could be a year or two before this technology exists for you.
Multiple Camera Lenses
Smartphone cameras continue to evolve every year. We’ve seen them go from modest features to the unique selling point of a device. These days, you will find smartphones with cameras that are capable of competing with some professional digital cameras. It’s absurd how good your photos can turn out when using a mobile phone – absurd!
For years, cameras seemed to improve in quality. Now, there’s a new trend. Look at any flagship device from the big smartphone manufacturers, and they’ll have one thing in common – multiple camera lenses. This is what everyone is looking for. Smartphones are being made with different lenses that are capable of providing new features.
As an example, we have phones with telescopic lenses to offer better zooming capabilities. We have macro lenses for more details, and we have loads of other ones as well. As of right now, four different camera lenses seem to be the main trend. But, by the end of 2020, we may see this rise to five, maybe even six!
Fast Charging
Batteries are a massive thing for smartphone users. We all hate it when a phone dies after just a few hours of constant use. Ironically, we depend on our phones more and more. If you run a business, then your smartphone is basically a virtual assistant! As such, you need it to stay charged for as long as possible.
You’d think this means that manufacturers are working on developing larger batteries. While some are improving battery life, most are focusing on a different piece of technology; fast charging. A lot of phones come with chargers that can take you from 0 to 100 in under half an hour. The idea is that this stops your phone from running out of charge because you can quickly add a little boost to the battery percentage whenever you like.
So, keep an eye out for fast chargers in 2020. 30 minutes, from 0 to 100, seems to be the fastest right now. As the year progresses, I expect this to reduce!
It’s utterly fascinating to look at smartphones in 2020 and compare them to previous years. Even if we look at smartphones at the start of 2019, they seem completely outdated! Technology in this sector moves on so fast. As a result, you need to stay updated to ensure that you don’t fall behind the trends.