Smartphones of the future – Let’s Explore the Unexplored
Smartphones have created an irreplaceable niche for themselves in our lives. No matter how much we talk about technology wearing out the true social lives we used to lead ~ where “hangout” no longer depicts the act of actually hanging out with friends or family ~ we have come to embrace the benefits of smartphones in our own ways. Whether it is the morning alarm, or the weekly scheduler, or a location finder, everything packs itself up in a neat little device that can easily slip into your pocket.
Entertainment, work, and communication are made capable through smartphones with impressive camera quality, spectacular design, intuitive interfaces, and a remarkable amount of power. To think of it, computers of the last decade didn’t offer as much as the smartphones of this age do. Looking at how technology has been rapidly progressing, let us fast forward a few more years ~ what do you think smartphones of the near future are going to feature?
An overload of smartness {!} in our phones is definitely anticipated in the next few years, and finding out what they are exactly going to be is rather difficult. So, I have come up with these predictions based on the way technology is developing today.
Here are a few interesting trends that we may notice in the smartphones of 2017.
1. Augmented Reality {AR}
For the uninitiated, augmented reality is the technology used by a device to project real-world environments using a combination of sensors built into the device. In simple terms, it enhances the experiences of a user making more information available by putting together data from the device and what we see in the real world.
Augmented reality brings devices closer to the real world by adding graphics, sounds, and haptic feedback to the natural world for a device. Gaming companies as well as smartphone manufacturers are trying to unveil the potential of augmented reality by driving its development. It can help smartphone users by showing information regarding nearby hotels, schools, hospitals, and cafes for a location when they point their smartphone’s camera to a place they want to find out more about.
At this time, AR apps use your device’s location services to lock down places. These features will only grow further to improve user experience and provide better facilities.
2. Flexible Screens
Imagine a time when you can unfold your phone to make it big enough for entertainment to be more realistic on your device. It is undoubtedly one of the most awaited features that we hope to see in smartphones. The development of Organic Light-Emitting Diode {OLED} technology holds a lot of potential and is gradually progressing to the point where smartphone screens can soon be folded. From making phone screens viewable from both sides to turn smartphones into wearable devices, researchers are trying to figure all how flexible screens can make things easier and cooler for smartphone users.
3. In-Built Projector
Since smartphones continue to fuel our hopes of better technology through these devices, another feature that we can soon expect to see on devices is an in-built projector. This would be especially great for entertainment, where smartphones can double up as a TV screen for gamers. All you would need is a flat surface on which you can project the game, and to make things even better, you would not have to worry about a physical controller either.
You would simply need to use your body movements and your voice to play the game ~ just the way Microsoft Kinect uses the body movements of its players.
4. Seamless Voice Control
Voice control is another feature that has developed substantially since the introduction of smartphones. While voice control technology has been dabbled with ever since it was introduced to us through the 1980 MIT research, “Put That There” which studied how we could communicate with computers ~ we’ve come a long way since. Virtual assistants have made smartphones capable of making tasks easier for their users. With new developments, we can expect seamless voice control, that combined with gestures, may bring interactivity to a new level for smartphones and their users.
Additionally, due to the availability of high-end smartphones, and of course, easy access to internet connectivity, people who truly enjoy different genres of music are on the rise. This naturally translates to smartphones pretty much replacing iPods, thereby increasing the importance of robust voice control in smartphones. And to have a soulful music experience, since people rely on dependable external on-ear-headphones of extremely good quality, hence the need for seamless voice control arises.
5. 3D Screen and Holograms
We may think that screens couldn’t get any better than the Retina Display technology making the rounds on Apple devices, but technology continues to surprise us. So what if we have maximised the developments on 2D screens, smartphone companies have already moved to developing 3D features for your smartphone’s screen. We can soon expect holographic projections to become a part of our smartphone features. If this technology goes mainstream, you will have the ability to grab photos that are projected and move them from one place to another.
Are You Ready For Smartphones With These Futuristic Features?
To imagine our smartphones having all of these cool features seems pretty exciting, but I wonder what it will take for us to get there. Then there is the factor of cost which can drive sales or limit these phones only to those who can afford them. More importantly, there is the cost of our own privacy at stake. For features like augmented reality to work as expected, must our privacy be compromised? Is there a chance that marketers and big data companies will be able to obtain our personal details which would have otherwise remained inaccessible?
Apart from that, what about the dependence of users on smartphones? Is it safe to rely on smartphones for just about anything in our lives? The questions overstep the answers for now because we are yet to discover how these features will actually affect us. With great power comes great responsibility, and it looks like smartphones are gaining a lot of power at this time. How responsible will you be about using that power? I’m very curious to see how things will unfold, are you?
What other features do you think smartphones of the future could bring to the table? Share your thoughts with me in the comments below.