Smartphone Trends In 2020: What Will Ignite At Apple And Co.?

2023 Author: Sheila Hailey | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-08-25 04:29

Foldable displays: In 2019, smartphones with flexible displays were still a gimmick with considerable initial difficulties. For example, the Samsung Galaxy Fold initially threatened to become a disaster, but then came on the market and is said to have been sold almost half a million times. This year, the replenishment comes in new forms, for example as a classic folding phone.

My assessment: wait and see - the fundamental difficulties have still not been resolved. These include extremely scratch-sensitive plastic displays. Will the customer accept this in favor of (expensive) coolness?

Graphene batteries: This year, after years of research and development, there may be the first cell phones with the promising, extremely powerful graphene technology. It is rumored that the Huawei P40 could have such a power dispenser.

My assessment: Does not ignite yet - at the earliest I would speak of a trend in 2021; this year, only with luck, will there be a spark to see the future.

My thoughts on the weekend: The column wants to provide food for thought, call for discussion and reflect on the “news surge” of the week towards the end. A small selection of the previous articles in the column:

Apple Watch Out? A look into the possible future of the smartwatch
Going back in time with smartphones: are retro phones cool or embarrassing?
Smartphones with Face ID and Co: Does the Password Die?

Fast displays: screens with a repetition rate of 120 Hz become standard, at least in the upper class. For example, the Google Pixel 4 and the Oneplus 7T already master the fast and therefore wonderfully smooth image change.

My assessment: Go away - whoever has seen the difference does not want to go back. Hopefully Apple thinks the same way and at least donates such a display to the upcoming iPhone 12 Pro.

5G for the masses: The successor to LTE is hotly debated, but today it is still a “special case” for smartphones and network operators. This could change in 2020.

My assessment: Go, but … - More and more manufacturers will equip their smartphones with 5G chips in 2020, not least Apple is jumping on the trend. However, the network operators must follow suit and continue to expand 5G across the board. As with LTE, this project will become the bottleneck.

Even more cameras: If you think triple cameras are over, you will be mistaken. Some manufacturers are already planning with 5 lenses - awesome!

My assessment: Let's go - above all, additional ToF sensors (a kind of 3D camera) for AR applications should be seen more and more. Apple could once again make the breakthrough, as both iPads and iPhones should receive the technology.

The industry always likes to look at this manufacturer, especially this year:

Start photo gallery (12 photos)

All in all …

The bottom line: I personally look forward to fast and therefore extremely fluidly animated displays, a real flood of cameras in my smartphone and maybe even to the providers' ability to learn from the mistakes made by the LTE implementation. Then maybe it will be something with 5G. Foldable displays and miracle batteries made of graphene, however, will still not be a resounding trend in 2020.

Note: The opinions expressed in this article represent the views of the author only and are not necessarily the position of the entire GIGA editorial team.