Upcoming smartphone features

5G connectivity

With most countries around the world gearing up to set up their 5G networks, smartphone makers are also preparing by launching smartphones with 5G capabilities.

As of now, 5G capable phones are rare and expensive. They also can’t be used to their full potential since 5G networks are yet to fully roll out.

A few companies have taken the leap and launched their 5G smartphones like the — Oppo Reno 5G and the Samsung Galaxy S10 5G — but their availability is limited to their home markets.

Other 5G phones like the Huawei Mate 20 X, Xiaomi Mi Mix 3 5G and the Motorola Moto Z4 also have limited reach.

5G will mean faster network connectivity and lower latency for smartphone users.

Nano-Tech Batteries

In 2015, at the Mobile World Congress event, Israeli tech company StoreDot revealed a customized Samsung Galaxy S5 with a nano technology-utilizing battery that could charge from 0 to 100 percent in less than a minute.

The technology evolved out of research being conducted in the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease. Through their study, scientists learned that peptide molecules, which are responsible for the disease, have an incredibly high capacitance—making them excellent little electrical storage units. The only catch is that, in its current state of development, the StoreDot battery only lasts about two-thirds of the time of a conventional lithium-ion smartphone battery. However, it shouldn’t take too long for the company to improve the technology. StoreDot has already received substantial investments from Samsung and is in discussions with manufacturers about integrating its battery into future smartphones.

More cameras, more megapixels and more depth

It’s the year of the cameras as smartphone brands hone in on the triple camera and quad camera design. The Samsung Galaxy Fold boasts six cameras while Nokia has already launched their ‘pentacam’ PureView smartphone with five cameras.

It’s not just the number of cameras that are increasing but also the megapixels that they can capture.

Sony’s IMX 586 camera sensor was a boon allowing cameras to shoot up to 48 megapixels. Samsung’s ISOCELL GW1 sensor takes that same technology — the quad pixel array — forward to deliver a maximum output of 64 megapixels.

Upcoming Xiaomi and Samsung smartphones will have the capability to shoot more than 100 megapixels.

Another unique feature that we might see on phones more often is 3D depth sensors for cameras. “It uses the known speed of light to measure distance, effectively counting the amount of time it takes for a reflected beam of light to return to the camera sensor,” according to Samsung. The sensor is already available on Samsung Galaxy S10 5G.

Liquid Buttons

Years ago it was the norm that most phones had physical keyboards and any mobile device without one seemed “out of touch.” But currently, the opposite is true, and most people think that tactile keyboards look old-fashioned. Well, that’s all set to change again thanks to Tactus Technology and their development of a keyboard that looks like it came from some sort of advanced alien civilization.

The keyboard uses special microfluidics technology which drives small amounts of liquid into invisible pockets that rest over the typing pad on a smartphone. When the user brings up the touchscreen keyboard, the pockets instantly fill with liquid which has the effect of physically raising the buttons. The technology has already been incorporated into a new Phorm case for the iPad Mini, but it wouldn’t be too much of a stretch to see it directly built into future smartphones and tablets.

More power and better graphics

Smartphone users want more power on their phones. A few are even buying ‘gaming’ smartphones, even though they don’t game, for the additional processing capacity.

Companies are also integrating Qualcomm’s ‘gaming’ chipset, the Snapdragon 855 Plus, into their flagship mobile phones. The OnePlus 7T and 7T Pro, Vivo Nex 3, Xiaomi Mi 9 Pro and Xiaomi Redmi K20 Pro are some devices that aren’t necessarily marketing themselves as gaming smartphones but come equipped with the new chipset.

More phones will employ more powerful chipsets and their accompanying GPU’s as games become more graphic intensive but they may not necessarily launch gaming smartphones.

Augmented reality and virtual reality (AR and VR)

There’s already a lot being done to bring augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) technology to smartphones.

Google’s Pixel 3A deployed some of ARCore’s technology — Google’s platform to build AR solutions — to bring users AR maps. It allows directions to pop up as a part of the scene being captured by the camera lens along with a distance countdown.

Apple has plans to launch the AR-enabled ‘Apple Glasses’. The company has been heavily investing in ARKit to develop AR use cases for mobile devices and Apple’s Glasses would be positioned as an iPhone accessory.

The technology is already available, the question is how creatively can developers apply it.

Graphene

Since its development for practical application in 2004, graphene has been praised as a “wonder material” by nearly everyone in the electronics industry. It’s thin, lightweight, flexible, transparent and over 200 times stronger than steel. It’s also one of the best materials for conducting electricity, which makes it ideal for use in electronic devices.

Incorporating graphene into smartphones could allow for designs to be ultra-thin, transparent, flexible and virtually indestructible. Recently, there have been a few breakthroughs by phone manufacturers who have been playing around with graphene. Most notably, Samsung’s Advanced Institute of Technology (SAIT) produced graphene in a way that allowed it to retain its outstanding electrical qualities—a problem that had proved to be a serious challenge up to that point. This development should make flexible, transparent smartphone displays commercially viable within the next couple of years.

No SIM Cards

Although manufacturers have made efforts to reduce the size of SIM cards, they still feel very much like a leftover relic of the ’90s. Thankfully, Apple and Samsung are making strides to rid the world of the physical presence of SIM cards by replacing them with an electronic version.

By having a programmable SIM integrated into your phone, you’ll essentially be able to switch between network providers at the drop of a hat without having to request a new SIM card. This should come in quite handy for anyone travelling or living abroad who wants to get set up with a local number. It’s said that the technology could be available in new smartphones as early as next year.

Pressure-Sensitive Screens

The Force Touch on the Apple Watch has demonstrated that companies already have the ability to manufacture screens that are capable of sensing pressure. Controls that can distinguish between a light tap from a firm press will give users even more ways to manipulate their phones and has obvious benefits for the gaming community.

In addition to Apple, Samsung has filed a patent for something called “Touch Display Apparatus Sensing Force,” which clearly uses the same technology, and in July 2015, Chinese manufacturer ZTE revealed the ZTE Axon Mini which also features a pressure-sensitive touch screen.

Innovative Medical Apps

Recently, scientists developed an app called Athelas which makes use of a lens attachment to track malaria and cancerous cells as they move through a patient’s blood. This innovation has prompted scientists to look for other ways that smartphones could be used to track highly infectious diseases, such as Ebola, to gain a better understanding of how they move and spread.

Using an inexpensive phone add-on called PCR that’s able to tag and track pathogens in the blood, diseases should be able to be diagnosed within hours or even minutes. The data gathered would then be automatically uploaded from the phone to an online database where other scientists can analyze it.

When you combine this emerging technology with other existing applications that are able to track things like blood pressure and heart rate, it’s easy to see how smartphones could soon bring about a revolution in medical care.

Reference

1. https://www.goliath.com/tech/12-futuristic-features-coming-soon-to-smartphones/
   
2. https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/mobile/news/five-key-features-to-expect-in-future-smartphones/articleshow/71577761.cms