We genuinely feel that the next few years are going to be essential for Smartphone Technology Advancements. The industry is on the cusp of several developments that we believe may usher in a new era for cellular technology, one that changes its face of it forever.
Some of these changes will be subtle at first, becoming more noticeable over time, while others will be immediately obvious and might change the way we use and experience mobile technology.
Let us look at some of the advancements in smartphone technology that are due to make their debut soon:
Still in the Dark Ages of 5G, But There is a Light
As we discussed recently in our article “Examining 5G Technology For Smartphones,” we see a connectivity trend that seems to be focused on exponential speed and data increases that will change the landscape of mobile technology.
In many ways, we are still in the early “Dark Ages” of 5G’s 10-year rollout with little consensus between the four main major U.S. cellular data carriers, Verizon, AT&T, T-Mobile, and Sprint, on which 5G wave systems to focus on. The good news is that this will ultimately help the consumer through competition.
The Advancement of 5G Proliferation and Roll Out
This is a big one, lots of people do not realize it, but when 4G replaced 3G, we saw some significant changes in the industry, but many were gradual. 4G made streaming easier on mobile devices, and video apps like YouTube and Netflix became much more playable without quite as much buffering as before.
The increased speed also allowed services like Apple Play and Spotify to flourish. Thanks to 4G, the need to download MP3 files to listen to music on our smartphone was made practically obsolete.
While it is still something we can do if we like, we can now access our entire music library and play it directly from the cloud instead. Better yet, we can use a premium service and listen to any track, anywhere, anytime.
As 5G Replaces 4G
As 5G replaces 4G with 6 to 10 Gbps download speed, 6G has the potential of Terabytes per second (TBps) download capacity. These speeds will accelerate just like the latest recently shattered Internet speed record.
A recent UCL story named “UCL engineers set new world record internet speed” says:
“Working with two companies, Xtera and KDDI Research, the research team led by Dr. Lidia Galdino (UCL Electronic & Electrical Engineering), achieved a data transmission rate of 178 terabits a second (178,000,000 megabits a second) – a speed at which it would be possible to download the entire Netflix library in less than a second.
The record, which is double the capacity of any system currently deployed in the world, was achieved by transmitting data through a much wider range of colours of light, or wavelengths, than is typically used in optical fibre. (Current infrastructure uses a limited spectrum bandwidth of 4.5THz, with 9THz commercial bandwidth systems entering the market, whereas the researchers used a bandwidth of 16.8THz.)”
UCL Engineers Set New World Record Internet Speed
These kinds of “mind-bending” breakthroughs are incredible and will only continue to occur as science and engineering discover new possibilities.
Although far behind the Internet, these are the kind of technological developments we will see in the future of 5G and 6G Multi-Spectrum Mobile Networks, as we discussed in our recent article above.
Verizon, Ericsson, and Qualcomm also are achieving amazing results with 5G.
“Verizon, Ericsson, and Qualcomm first in the world to achieve 5G peak speed of 5.06 Gbps.”
“When fully mature, 5G technology has the potential of reaching speeds up to 10 Gbps, latency under 5 milliseconds”
5G Accelerates Increased Speed of Smartphones and Their Networks
5G has pushed the speed envelope further, and its increased velocity allows us more options in streaming, portable gaming, and access to networks. The idea behind 5G is its cellular data’s answer to Wi-Fi, meaning we enjoy Wi-Fi quality speeds on the go.
Could 5G replace Wi-Fi and become the new standard for browsing the internet in general? First, it has to stand the test of time and replace 4G. In an ITU (International Telecommunication Union) article named “Network 2030: A Blueprint of Technology, Applications and Market Drivers Towards the Year 2030 and Beyond”
“we can still envisage some early synergies between Network 2030 and future mobile and wireless generation initiatives. First of all, both will be driven by future networked applications and services which may not have been foreseen or sufficiently supported by the 5G capabilities. Many such examples were elaborated in this white paper. In addition, new networking paradigms involving protocols and mechanisms developed within the context of Network 2030 can be potentially applied in future 6G network environments where appropriate, as fixed/mobile network convergence continues to progress in the next decade.”
ITU Network 2030
Smartphone Hardware
Smartphone speed continues to accelerate with the hardware side of the equation with Nanosheet devices and the size of current Smartphone microprocessors and data storage capacity rivaling laptop computers.
The constant upgrades in hardware that are increasing the capabilities and operations of the smartphones are astonishing. In some ways, the only difference between a smartphone and a computer is the keyboard, mouse, and display monitor, and you can even get that now in the Samsung DeX platform. You can turn your TV into your Smartphone monitor wirelessly.
The new Samsung Galaxy Note20 Ultra comes with 12GB of RAM and 128GB of storage and comes in a version with 512GB of built-in storage. The Samsung Note20 Ultra also has a MicroSD slot that allows you to expand storage up to 2TB.
Apple says the new iPhone 12 A14 Bionic chip “The Apple-designed A14 Bionic, the fastest chip in a smartphone” and “the Bionic has the fastest CPU and GPU by up to 50 percent compared to the fastest competing smartphone chips.”
Apple announces iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 mini: A new era for iPhone with 5G
| Device | Score | Score | ||
| iPad Air (4th generation) | ||||
| Apple A14 Bionic @ 3.0 GHz | 1585 | Intel Core i7-1165G7 | 1429 | |
| iPhone 12 | 2.8 GHz (4 cores) | |||
| Apple A14 Bionic @ 3.0 GHz | 1583 | Intel Core i9-10900K | 1412 | |
| iPhone 12 Pro | 3.7 GHz (10 cores) | |||
| Apple A14 Bionic @ 3.0 GHz | 1582 | Intel Core i9-9900KS | 1404 | |
| iPhone 11 Pro | 4.0 GHz (8 cores) | |||
| Apple A13 Bionic @ 2.7 GHz | 1328 | Intel Core i9-10900KF | 1377 | |
| iPhone 11 Pro Max | 3.7 GHz (10 cores) | |||
| Apple A13 Bionic @ 2.7 GHz | 1327 | Intel Core i9-10850K | 1355 | |
| iPhone 11 | 3.6 GHz (10 cores) |
These increases are happening every day, and it is a fascinating time to own a smartphone. Even if half of the predictions we’ve heard don’t come true, we’re still going to enjoy the ones that do immensely!
The Advancement In Artificial Intelligence
This subject of Advancement In Artificial Intelligence is something else we’ve recently covered at length in a previous article titled “Smartphone AI: How Intelligent is your Smartphone?”. Still, the rise of artificial intelligence in smartphones is revolutionary in more ways than we know. The technology is advancing at an alarming rate, and the smartphone industry seems to be feeling the benefits as time goes on.
In our earlier article, we defined what artificial intelligence is (in regards to cell phones), what it’s not, as well as how it currently works on smartphones. When we say artificial intelligence, we’re not only talking about Siri or any other robot helper that smartphones use these days. We are talking about the smartphone’s brain; it’s the ability to think and work out solutions to complicated problems, learn from its owner’s habits, machine learning, and adapt accordingly. This is the future of smartphone AI.
You also may be interested in a recent article, “Smartphone AI: What is Mobile Deep Learning?”
What Else Do We Have to Look Forward to in Smartphone AI?
But what else do we have to look forward to? We know artificial intelligence, in general, is a lot more advanced than it was and that smartphone manufacturers are looking at ways to incorporate this into their products. Apple, Samsung, Google, and all upcoming smartphone models use technology that will allow artificial intelligence to become more prominent. Not only that but the app and software developers are also tailoring their products to suit this trend.
The question is, what does this mean for us as consumers? Is it something we want, and why should we care about what our phone does in the background? The answer is that these features won’t necessarily stay in the background. While smartphone AI means the phone is learning new ways to improve our experience, as technology evolves, our phones will find more ways to be useful. And over time, this will mean much more emphasis on personalization and increased dependency on our smartphones.
When we say dependency, we don’t mean we’re going to need it more. Perhaps we spend enough time on our smartphones as it is! What we mean; is more reliance on our phone as a one-stop-shop assistant that we trust to take care of more daily tasks for us. Think back to 10 years ago when the concept of an app was in its infancy. There’s an app that became a meme, and now even that joke itself is antiquated. More reliance basically means more trust and more features available to us that previously were not.
Our cell phones can now do things for us that they couldn’t several years ago. In a few years, there will be even more they can do, and we’ll wonder what we did without them. Smartphone artificial intelligence will be what makes way for this.
Mobile Gaming (And Leisure Time)
While we appreciate that gaming isn’t for everyone, we’ve not met many people who don’t like fun, so it may be worth categorizing this entry as mobile gaming and leisure time. Here’s what we mean by this, what’s the first thing we do today when we’re bored? We reach for our phones. It could be a cab ride, or when we are sitting in a doctor’s office waiting room, or anywhere else, we’ve probably gone for our phone at some point and used it to stem the tide of boredom even for a minute or two.
We think the future will usher in a range of options for mobile entertainment that may not have previously been possible. Mobile gaming is an interesting example. Most mainstream gamers, the sort of guys and girls who play on PlayStation, Xbox, and Nintendo devices, tend to look down on mobile gaming as a lesser form of gaming. We’re generalizing, of course, but perhaps these gamers are right. If you’re used to playing a triple-A title in glorious 4K, why would you then want to play Candy Crush?
Mobile Streaming Games
The future may bring an alternative, something that allows mobile gaming (and other mobile leisure pursuits) to catch up with their competition, or at least make strides in doing so. As we speak, Microsoft, Xbox’s creators, have created ways for streaming console-quality video games to mobile devices. So, the player can carry on playing wherever they are, through their phone or tablet. Of course, 5G will be instrumental in making this concept a success, but as a mobile gamer, this is, well, “game-changing!”
Microsoft Project xCloud turned into Xbox Cloud Gaming with an Xbox Game Pass Ultimate. You can play over 100 games on your Android mobile phone or tablet from the Xbox Game Pass Ultimate cloud.
Our smartphones can double up as portable game consoles. Even for those who may not consider ourselves gamers, this offers some compelling options for keeping ourselves entertained by using our smartphones.
Of course, gaming isn’t the only way we enjoy our leisure time through our smartphones. This same technology is applied to streaming TV, movies, books, and research. We imagine in the near future, home entertainment on the go will be commonplace.
Connectivity And Keeping Our Finger On The Pulse
And finally, there’s communication and staying connected. The things that smartphones were invented to do. Services like WhatsApp and similar platforms almost seem to be replacing traditional email and text messaging services. WhatsApp uses your smartphone’s 5G, 4G, 3G, or Wi-Fi connection instead of your smartphone plan. Not only are more and more people using them to stay connected with friends and family, but they are also being used much more in the workplace, especially when connecting those who work in different locations.
Work tool Apps like Slack, a communication tool, and Asana, a project management tool App for teams on Google Play, are great at the moment. With improved data allowance, speed, and functionality, many older staples of the office environment are becoming more obsolete as time goes by.
Not only do these platforms allow more options for those working remotely, but they also allow multiple people to collaborate on a single project, sharing ideas and work with the touch of a button. At the moment, these applications seem to be futuristic and not fully fleshed out, but what apps are and how they work is evolving, and apps that aim to help our productivity are becoming more popular.
We believe that the next generation of smartphones will cater to the working man/woman in ways they haven’t before, couple that with A.I, 5G, and increased connectivity. Our phones turn into an extension of ourselves and our interests.
There are exciting times ahead in the world of smartphones, and we’re starting to think that we are entering an era where the term smartphone itself is becoming outdated? By the time the next iPhone and Samsung Galaxy roll around, will we be looking at a different device entirely?
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