IT’S said that whatever innovations there are to be made to smartphones have already been made. Well, that’s not quite true but it is getting harder and harder to come up with new things because the smartphones that we have today are already so powerful and have so many built-in features. Still, there are some new ideas for smartphones whose time has yet to come but may be just around the corner (or just a few years away). Here are some things you can reliably expect to happen in the next few years.
SPEED
Most of us probably still remember when 3G was first rolled out. It was our first taste of mobile Internet but it was really quite slow. You could access websites but you couldn’t really play video with it. Then 4G came around and that speeded things up considerably, opening up all kinds of streaming entertainment opportunities. Still, it was nothing compared to the broadband speeds we could get at home through our fixed line broadband. This will change with 5G, which is expected to debut in 2020, in time for the Tokyo Olympics. Expect to get at least 1 gigabit per second. Now, that’s lightning fast.
Obviously a new technology like this will require new equipment on the back-end. It will, for example, require many more base stations located closer together to achieve such speeds. But it will also require new types of phones capable of receiving such high speeds. The year 2020 might seem like just around the corner but it’s still two years away. Probably by then most of us would have wanted to change or upgrade our phones anyway.
FLEXIBILITY
Flexible screens, which can actually be bent, twisted and even folded, have been touted for some time now. We’ve all seen lots of concept art for such phones. These are all built around a technology called OLED (Organic Light Emitting Diodes) which are thin films of organic molecules that produce light when you run an electric current through them.
A truly flexible phone like this will not only be unbreakable but it will also be useful for creating wearables that wrap around your wrist, for example. You can easily imagine all kinds of functional fashion accessories that can be created from this approach but all with phone capabilities. It will probably kill the concept of a smart watch though.
AUGMENTED REALITY
Augmented Reality (AR) will take the mobile phone to greater heights in terms of functionality and usability. The natural assumption is that AR will be used for enhancing gaming and for sure, that’s where the initial use of it will be. But there’s potential for so much more especially in the areas of retail, education, health care and customer service.
Imagine shopping online and being able to see how certain furniture would look like in your home or how a new outfit would look on you. It would also open up a world of opportunities and possibilities in online education that goes way beyond what’s possible right now in terms of experiential learning. A doctor would be able to analyse the right course of action to take on a patient who needs surgery. And think about how customer service could be enhanced by using AR to illustrate to the customer how their problems can be resolved.
POWER
Faster speeds, flexible screens and AR capabilities are great but all will be for nought if the phone runs out of power. The harsh reality is that as phones continue to improve in every way, battery life seems to be getting worse. It’s not that battery capacity hasn’t been improving. It’s just that it’s not progressing as fast as mobile phone technology, so relatively speaking, it’s a laggard.
Luckily, several things will change in the next few years that will make us less concerned about poor battery life. For one thing, faster charging is definitely in the books. Right now, even with the fastest charger it takes about an hour to fully charge a phone. In the future a full charge could be completed within minutes which would probably eliminate the need for power banks.
But what if there’s no electrical outlet to plug in your charger? No problem. Wireless charging is already here although it’s at its infancy stage and not many phones are capable of that. In time though, it will become the norm where all phones can be charged wirelessly.
So there’ll be no need for electrical outlets anymore. You can charge your phone wirelessly in retail shops, F&B outlets and public places where wireless chargers have been installed (like how free Wi-Fi are available in many public places these days).
Phone-makers are also researching the possibility of incorporating kinetic energy to help to recharge phones. A “Mechanical Mobile” prototype was developed by Russian designer Mikhail Stawsky in 2009, which allows you to charge up the phone by spinning it around. That’s an interesting proof-of-concept but where it will really become practical is when they can generate enough charge for the phone through everyday activities like walking with the phone in your pocket or tapping on the screen.
Lastly, there’s the concept of a solar-powered phone. Obviously such a phone isn’t meant to replace the need for an electric charger but is designed for those who are outdoors a lot. The solar charging would come in handy if you’re camping or trekking where there’s no electrical outlet for charging.
It’ll also be useful for those whose job requires them to be outdoors a lot, such as those who work in construction. Japan’s Kyocera introduced a solar-powered prototype in 2016 which can be charged up for a one-minute long call by just exposing the phone to sunlight for three minutes. Solar powered capability will be a useful back-up charging option that should be incorporated in all phones in the future.
Oon Yeoh is a consultant with experiences in print, online and mobile media. Reach him at oonyeoh@gmail.com