As the year-end approaches so do our last phones before the holidays, but any true geek will tell you that’s it not about what’s coming out tomorrow, it’s all about the the next best thing after that. When looking into the future it’s hard to think that today’s form-factor would be replaced overnight, which is why I’ve decided to stay reasonable and not expect anything major, rather, I’d like to share some insight on what to look forward to in 2012.
Displays
Today’s phones are bigger than ever and are sporting some of the nicest displays to date, but what makes them so nice? We believe it’s a combination of things like: size, clarity, pixel density, viewing angles, touch sensitivity, and several other traits. When you look at even the most recently released phones like the Samsung Galaxy S II, or the Motorola Droid Bionic you’re left wondering why they didn’t at least meet the 326ppi on Apple’s iPhone 4 that was released in 2010. The Sprint Epic Touch 4G has a density of 206ppi on a 4.52-inch display, while the Droid Bionic sports a 256ppi on a 4.3-inch display. Both are great displays, and yes they are larger than the iPhone 4′s screen, but a year has passed and we’re dangerously pushing the line where we need to at least match the competition that is now undercutting most of the other smart phones in it’s class.
The solution? Simple. Crank out phones with higher pixel density displays like the ones expected to ship out from Hitachi that sport a 329ppi at 4.5-inches. If there’s one thing you don’t want to skimp on, it’s the screen. Future phones will continue to look the same, but improved display technologies can impress even the most average consumer.
Materials
People relate to hardware differently. Some look at their gadgets as prized possessions and do everything within their power to make sure that their beloved tech toy doesn’t get scratched, smashed, or dropped. But sometimes the biggest culprit is what the phone was made out of. It’s a controversial subject when you look at something like the iPhone 4, and it’s sandwiched between two sides of glass — you drop that, and it’s over. However, from an aesthetics point of view it’s much more pleasing to hold and look at when it’s not made out of cheap plastics. Sure, you don’t need to manufacture all the new phones with glass, but consider the fact that materials play a major role for future gadgets.
Lately, it’s common to see laptops encased in aluminum, and I’d really like to see that carry over to phones. Aluminum is good at hiding finger prints, takes scratches well, looks good, and is lightweight. If I had any say in the matter I would choose aluminum as a material for my company’s next flagship phone.
Connectivity
One thing is for certain, today’s phones are crippled by data speed. We’ve got devices that can edit 1080p video, but can’t stream it because a majority do not support 4G connections. Verizon and AT&T are expanding their 4G LTE network everyday, which is a telling sign that 4G phones will be in full swing by at least the end of 2012. You don’t even have to understand technology to realize that your phone is much “slower” when you’re not using WiFi. Video calling, movie uploading, and higher quality audio streaming are just a few things you’ll be able to do with a faster connection. Phones of the future will not be plagued by constant load screens.
4G LTE is going to make a huge difference in our lives. And the ones who own something like a Thunderbolt or Bionic already know and see how awesome a faster connection is. Verizon is already talking about LTE-Advanced which claims speeds up to 1GBps. Of course these speeds are achieved through best case scenarios, but the ground work is being laid down to bring LTE to everyone.
Processors
One of the geekier components to a great phone is the processor. Currently, ARM is the chip architecture of choice and it doesn’t look like that will change much in 2012. Qualcomm has already unveiled their plans for their S4 class of Snapdragon processors which will use less power, be smaller in size, and will range anywhere from 1GHz dual-core to 2.5GHz quad-core.
Essentially, the roadmap has already been put into place to make sure that quad-core phones become a thing of 2012, so expect to hear that as a way to separate the old from the new. It’s not a concrete way to distinguish a phone, but it’s definitely one way.
I’ve always thought of processing power as one of those things company’s use to steer you away from devices with smaller numbers. A lot of the time processors are not used correctly used by the software, which in turn creates a poor experience for the user — even though he or she may have the top-of-the-line phone.
Battery
Arguably, battery life is one of the most important aspects of a phone. If your phone doesn’t last you a whole day — fail, fail, fail. But for whatever reason battery technology is the one thing that has a hard time improving because of our desire to make devices thinner and lighter. We want bigger screens, more connectivity, and faster processing; however, all those things require more power.
One thing to consider is that most things are not perfect. You might be happy with 9 out of 10 things, but if that 10th thing prevents from using the other 9 that’s a huge problem. One thing I admire about Apple is their ability to consider all these “real-world” problems and innovate from them. They picked a smaller screen because they could achieve a higher pixel density, improve battery life, and make it easier to use with one hand. By building their own processor they achieve better results in the form of power and efficiency. And by using the best materials they were able lure you in on appearance alone. This is by no means a “give Apple a pat on the back post”, but it is strangely peculiar that this company escapes most of the troubles that other phone manufacturers deal with.
Simply put, I can’t wait to see some of these technologies and I just hope they are well implemented and are not as disappointing as some of the devices released this year. We still have a couple more phones to look forward to, so I’m not giving up on 2011 yet. It’s exciting to see what’s in our near future.
This post was written by...
James Lenhart – who has written 671 posts on allGeek.
Editor-In-Chief of allGeekTV -- Aside from my blogging adventures I love to listen to music of all kinds. I'm always thinking of something new, so keep an eye on me, but keep in mind I'm human and make mistakes.
