Do Last year brought an excellent new smartphone? Meanwhile, the manufacturers are already busy with the technological wonders of tomorrow. Over the next four trends will undoubtedly have some ink flowing in 2019.
1) Triple cameras become the norm
Where is the time that we were impressed by that one camera on our smartphone? Several cameras are now the standard, thanks to the latest roll of brands such as Huawei and Samsung. The trend is being followed by virtually all other brands, including in the ‘middle class’ of the smart phone segment. Some brands, such as Apple and Google, now swear by the so-called ‘computational photography’, where optical processes are improved with the built-in computing power of the smartphone. The pure optical advantage of several cameras is unmistakable: it provides better depth and width, because the different cameras also have a different focal length and can work together.
2) Augmented Reality
The recently mentioned triple camera systems bring another advantage: better augmented reality (AR) applications. Up until now they mainly supported the built-in GPS. Consider, for example, the enormous success of Pokémon Go!, the first application of augmented reality that really made chunks. With multiple cameras on one smartphone, you potentially develop the depth required to accurately conjure virtual objects right in front of the user’s nose.
3) 5G: 100 times faster internet than 4G
We are on the eve of a new generation of mobile internet, which will also usher in a host of new applications. 3G triggered the app revolution a decade ago. 4G made mobile video big. And then it is now the turn of 5G: a connection that promises a hundred times faster than that of 4G. Downloading a Netflix movie to your smartphone now takes a few minutes; with 5G that job is done in seconds. The first smartphones with 5G connectivity are very likely already on the market in 2019, although the first 5G networks are probably only laid in 2020.
4) Everything will be screened
The screen-body ratio of smartphones has increased considerably in recent years. That trend is likely to continue in 2019. The edges or ‘bezels’ of an average smartphone are getting thinner, until they just disappear at a certain moment. Smartphones with rounded sides have already become a bit of a standard in the more expensive segment, and will probably also seep into the middle class. Manufacturers are now also busy working on everything that used to be in the housing – think: loudspeakers, fingerprint scanner, home key – on the screen itself. We already see that in the recent models of Huawei and LG Electronics. Also, the notch or notch for the selfie camera is getting smaller.
