For the smartphone industry, 2018 was marked as a year when even mid-range smartphones could afford artificial intelligence (AI) powered chipsets, dual rear cameras, HD screens, Notch display and several other high-end features. With the speed of technology upgrade, there is every reason to believe that the trend will further pick up in 2019. Ashwin Bhandari, CEO at iVOOMi gives us what he expects this industry to see ahead.
Power Banks Can Stay Back in 2018- With HD quality video calling, music and video streaming, and GPS navigation, there is ever increasing demand on battery. Upwards of 3000 mAh batteries were common in 2018. The trend will further pick up in 2019. Powered by fast chargers, these batteries can be charged in less than an hour and keep you company for more than 24 hours, even with heavy usage. So, feel free to be part of an overnight camping experience, without carrying a power bank.
In-display fingerprint sensors- The feature was introduced last year but had a lukewarm response. In all probability, more manufactures will pick it up this year. The biggest benefit of in-display sensor is to eliminate the sensor at the back of the phone, which is not aesthetically appealing. Some experts also swear by the efficiency and effectiveness of fingerprint sensors over facial or iris recognition.
Your phone knows you, by the face- Even though there are not many mid-segment devices that provide robust facial recognition feature, this is a big work-in-progress for manufacturers. As AI and machine learning capabilities pick up scale, we are certain that facial recognition will be much more functional in the coming days.
eSIMs to replace conventional SIMs- With eSIM, there is no need to have a slot for physical SIM card. Hence, the devices can be slimmer and lighter, making way for other features. At the same time, network activation also becomes easier because of digital-physical convergence.
Virtual becomes the new real- We have been discussing Augmented Reality for quite some time now. However, some baby steps were taken by smartphone manufacturers last year. As VR headsets, third party applications, and awareness is available more than ever, we may see many more smartphones launched in 2019 give you the feel of virtual world.
