What the tech community has dubbed as Techtober is finally over. It was a flurry of new devices all vying for a spot on your holiday shopping list. All of this year's devices have, more or less, launched. November is the month when consumers will soon crown the best of this year's tech. But more importantly, it's the final quarter of the calendar year to boost the company's sales numbers.
As consumers, after we've checked out these new phones, we'll be looking forward to the next. And the cycle will begin again.
If you're one to stay on top of the latest trends, there are things to be gleaned from these current releases. Here are a few smartphone feature trends that seem to be going mainstream in next year's releases.
In-Display Fingerprint Scanner
Reducing the bezel seems to be a central theme in most manufacturer's thought process. One way they tried to make that happen is by transferring the home button/fingerprint scanner to the back of their smartphones. But for some, that move meant having to lift the phone up from the table before gaining access to it. Some users aren't willing to make that extra move.
Apple seems to understand this better than anyone else. They never caved under pressure to put their fingerprint scanners at the back. They went their own way this time. The iPhones X, Xs, and Xr, all chose to use infrared cameras for facial recognition. They work perfectly but, it's not something to write home about. There's just something about actively touching a fingerprint sensor that makes the whole unlocking process feel both more secure and efficient.
To this end, some of this year's releases have begun introducing in-display fingerprint sensors. These effectively drop the need for screen space in front for the fingerprint sensor. It still also provides that same feeling of security and efficiency.
But, because they're essentially the first generation of the tech, they're still imperfect.
Retractable Front-Camera
In the spirit of bezel reduction, manufacturers have started introducing retractable cameras. Some of the hottest manufacturers such as Vivo and Xiaomi are just some of the notable ones who have done this.
The implementations are different though as Vivo uses motors to pull their cameras up while Xiaomi uses a slider type system to do the same thing. In both cases, the cameras can be hidden within the phone in order to achieve a completely bezel-less smartphone.
Multi-lens Camera Systems
Speaking of cameras, new smartphones have been releasing with more and more cameras. The previous max number of cameras on a single smartphone was 4 with 2 at the back and 1 in front for selfies.
The Huawei Mate 20 Pro raises by another lens by introducing a third rear-facing camera. The three lenses specialize in different things. It has a telephoto lens for subjects from far away, a monochrome for better contrast, and a 40-megapixel RGB main shooter. Other phones have different implementations of the multi-camera system.
Whatever, the implementation, multi-camera systems make smartphones extremely versatile shooters. Smartphones, because of it, has become more and more, camera replacements rather than just optional cameras that they once were.
Smart A.I. Integration
A.I. on smartphones isn't new. We've been toying around with Alexa, Siri, and Google Assistant for years now. They're all voice-activated and we may have already reached a what seems like a plateau in the voice controls. It's not that every possible command is readily available to them. It's more on the level of customization available to them.
Today's smartphones seem to be diversifying the ways we can interact with and use artificial intelligence. First one is the most obvious - a dedicated button.
But, a more noteworthy way of using A.I. is through the camera. Google lens is now built-in in Google's Pixel phones. Others choose to use A.I. to automate mode selection on certain photos. But, some let A.I. fill in the blanks in photos when the lighting conditions aren't optimal. Google's Nightsight and OnePlus' Nightscape are prime examples of this. They both use A.I. to enhance photos taken at night resulting in less grainy snaps at night.
A.I. also powers the Google Pixel 3's category topping selfie cam portrait photography. This allows to phone's single front-facing camera to shoot portrait photos even with a just one lens.
Folding Screens
Technically, they're not here yet. But rumours have it that major smartphone players such as Samsung, Apple, and Huawei are developing foldable screens. It's an exciting prospect because as smartphones become bigger and bigger, the more unwieldy they become. A foldable option for large smartphones, therefore, brings about a welcome development.
But, it's proving to be a tricky endeavour for these manufacturers. As of now, only Samsung with its vast resources seems to be close to a market-ready foldable smartphone. They also have the impetus to do so because their Galaxy line of smartphones is about to celebrate its 10th year of existence. With it, they should bring some truly earth-shaking new features such as what the almost bezel-less iPhone X did for Apple.
The General Trend
Techtober has come and gone. For smartphones, that meant tomorrow's groundbreaking smartphone technologies becoming today's current flagship features. A.I. is now mainstream and dual cameras are actually becoming a thing of the past.
From how things look, it seems that screen innovation is the way smartphones are going. Manufacturers are still trying to perfect going bezel-less. From in-display fingerprint sensors to infrared-assisted face recognition, they're being pushed to innovate. At the moment, bezel-less looks like the ultimate goal.
However, foldable screens look to be knocking just beyond the horizon. What we're sure of is that it doesn't matter who gets there first. It only matters who implement it best. That's what's so great about the smartphone market. It's still somewhat meritocratic.
As consumers, after we've checked out these new phones, we'll be looking forward to the next. And the cycle will begin again.
If you're one to stay on top of the latest trends, there are things to be gleaned from these current releases. Here are a few smartphone feature trends that seem to be going mainstream in next year's releases.
In-Display Fingerprint Scanner
Reducing the bezel seems to be a central theme in most manufacturer's thought process. One way they tried to make that happen is by transferring the home button/fingerprint scanner to the back of their smartphones. But for some, that move meant having to lift the phone up from the table before gaining access to it. Some users aren't willing to make that extra move.
Apple seems to understand this better than anyone else. They never caved under pressure to put their fingerprint scanners at the back. They went their own way this time. The iPhones X, Xs, and Xr, all chose to use infrared cameras for facial recognition. They work perfectly but, it's not something to write home about. There's just something about actively touching a fingerprint sensor that makes the whole unlocking process feel both more secure and efficient.
To this end, some of this year's releases have begun introducing in-display fingerprint sensors. These effectively drop the need for screen space in front for the fingerprint sensor. It still also provides that same feeling of security and efficiency.
But, because they're essentially the first generation of the tech, they're still imperfect.
Retractable Front-Camera
In the spirit of bezel reduction, manufacturers have started introducing retractable cameras. Some of the hottest manufacturers such as Vivo and Xiaomi are just some of the notable ones who have done this.
The implementations are different though as Vivo uses motors to pull their cameras up while Xiaomi uses a slider type system to do the same thing. In both cases, the cameras can be hidden within the phone in order to achieve a completely bezel-less smartphone.
Multi-lens Camera Systems
Speaking of cameras, new smartphones have been releasing with more and more cameras. The previous max number of cameras on a single smartphone was 4 with 2 at the back and 1 in front for selfies.
The Huawei Mate 20 Pro raises by another lens by introducing a third rear-facing camera. The three lenses specialize in different things. It has a telephoto lens for subjects from far away, a monochrome for better contrast, and a 40-megapixel RGB main shooter. Other phones have different implementations of the multi-camera system.
Whatever, the implementation, multi-camera systems make smartphones extremely versatile shooters. Smartphones, because of it, has become more and more, camera replacements rather than just optional cameras that they once were.
Smart A.I. Integration
A.I. on smartphones isn't new. We've been toying around with Alexa, Siri, and Google Assistant for years now. They're all voice-activated and we may have already reached a what seems like a plateau in the voice controls. It's not that every possible command is readily available to them. It's more on the level of customization available to them.
Today's smartphones seem to be diversifying the ways we can interact with and use artificial intelligence. First one is the most obvious - a dedicated button.
But, a more noteworthy way of using A.I. is through the camera. Google lens is now built-in in Google's Pixel phones. Others choose to use A.I. to automate mode selection on certain photos. But, some let A.I. fill in the blanks in photos when the lighting conditions aren't optimal. Google's Nightsight and OnePlus' Nightscape are prime examples of this. They both use A.I. to enhance photos taken at night resulting in less grainy snaps at night.
A.I. also powers the Google Pixel 3's category topping selfie cam portrait photography. This allows to phone's single front-facing camera to shoot portrait photos even with a just one lens.
Folding Screens
Technically, they're not here yet. But rumours have it that major smartphone players such as Samsung, Apple, and Huawei are developing foldable screens. It's an exciting prospect because as smartphones become bigger and bigger, the more unwieldy they become. A foldable option for large smartphones, therefore, brings about a welcome development.
But, it's proving to be a tricky endeavour for these manufacturers. As of now, only Samsung with its vast resources seems to be close to a market-ready foldable smartphone. They also have the impetus to do so because their Galaxy line of smartphones is about to celebrate its 10th year of existence. With it, they should bring some truly earth-shaking new features such as what the almost bezel-less iPhone X did for Apple.
The General Trend
Techtober has come and gone. For smartphones, that meant tomorrow's groundbreaking smartphone technologies becoming today's current flagship features. A.I. is now mainstream and dual cameras are actually becoming a thing of the past.
From how things look, it seems that screen innovation is the way smartphones are going. Manufacturers are still trying to perfect going bezel-less. From in-display fingerprint sensors to infrared-assisted face recognition, they're being pushed to innovate. At the moment, bezel-less looks like the ultimate goal.
However, foldable screens look to be knocking just beyond the horizon. What we're sure of is that it doesn't matter who gets there first. It only matters who implement it best. That's what's so great about the smartphone market. It's still somewhat meritocratic.