We have always been fascinated about the future, given the omnipresent tech disruption, one may often wonder how things are going to unfold for us in times to come, what will these changes lead to in the grand scheme of things, and how would our day-to-day lifestyles evolve with such disruption? And as we remain curious about the unknown, another strong object of our fascination happens to be the smartphones. These little digital devices have become an integral element of our daily lives, to a point that we can’t imagine being away from them even for a few hours, let alone the very idea of doing that for days or weeks.
Therefore, let’s combine these two muses of our fascination and curiosity. Let’s take a look at how mobile phones are transforming at present and what the future holds for us:
The Veritable Future Phones: To begin with, imagine a mobile, say, a few years ago. Those phones have now largely become a modern-day relic. A few years or decades from now, the devices that we are currently using are going to change dramatically with increasing technological interventions. Some of these changes include transparent displays, holographic imaging, and so on. However, the aspects that we’re covering are limited to near-term industry applications.
A Display to Play with: As notch-less smartphones and mobile phones with water-drop-sized notch continue to sell in the market like hot cakes, the customers’ hunger for full-screen displays is widely evident. Major mobile phone players are working to include this feature within their offerings. Another transformation that’s picking up the pace is the curved screens with edge displays and in-display fingerprint sensors. These features significantly add to the overall functionality of a mobile phone and are sought-after. Edge displays will soon be seen within feature phone offerings as well in the near future.
Cutting-edge technologies, a ‘Work-in-Progress:' Cutting-edge technologies, including Artificial Intelligence, are making their foray into the mobile phone arena. However, Artificial Intelligence is currently only limited to certain facets of the phone such as cameras. While such technologies will further be used to enhance the overall performance, certain players are also engaged in R&D of specialised processors and accelerators to help trickle down these features to cost-effective mobile phones.
Living unplugged - longer battery life: The major pain point of every mobile phone user has from the time immemorial has been the device’s battery life. We often have to buy and carry additional accessories, such as chargers, power banks, and, in some cases, a supplementary battery itself (if our phone has a detachable battery). Scientific research is being conducted around increasing the battery capacity – or introducing a new alternative altogether – to a point that charging (or time-intensive charging) largely looks like a thing of distant past. Soon, nearly all phones will support fast-charging capabilities and battery life will substantially increase.
Feature phones - the ‘Future Phone’ of the ‘Real India:' Ever since the market spotlight turned towards smartphones, feature phones have lost considerable interest vis-a-vis both customers and manufacturers. This development considerably limited the potential of feature phones with virtually no R&D being spearheaded towards their evolution. The same also increased the digital divide amongst Indian urban cities and rural geographies that are home to more than two-thirds of the national population. Lately, innovative concepts are being introduced in India with an innovation-driven and rural-first approach. This development will not only benefit in digitising rural population but will also help in making feature phones more futuristic with smartphone-like features.
The mobile phone industry follows the age-old and time-tested proverb that ‘change is the only constant.' And the changes over here are far too ubiquitous and fast-paced than what we may observe in any other sector. Knowing this, we practically can’t wait for the next technological marvel to surface in the market. But we inevitably have to simply sit tight and hold onto our seats till these futuristic developments become the new norm.
— Pradipto Ganguly, CEO and Co-Founder of Britzo (iVVO Mobile Phone)
Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the original author. These views and opinions do not necessarily represent those of Deccan Chronicle and/or other staff and contributors to this site.
