The revolutionary device of the first smartphone was launched in 1992, known as the IBM Simon. It had a touch screen, apps, mail, calculator, phone book, memo pad, calendar, and even a fax capability. Nevertheless, it was costly and, in a way, it was projected at a time when it could not find market among the populace.
Smartphones were further popularized when BlackBerry introduced BlackBerry 5810 in 2002 which was not only a phone but also had the capabilities of an email, a calendar, contact list, memo and WWW browser. This made mobile email and messaging usage convenient for business people. Subsequently, the BlackBerry included other options such as BBM, apps, games, maps, music, and videos and thus consumers also benefited from it. BlackBerry subscriptions reached over 80 million users in 2012, making it the global leader in the industry.
Of course, the most drastic shift began with the introduction of iPhones by Apple in 2007. This one had a clean look, a large screen, could browse the Internet, use applications from the App Store, and had the additional features such as voice mail in a form of an animated list. Most importantly it was a very simple, straight-forward and entertaining user-experience. A short while later, android phones came into the market offering more choices to the customers. In the 1st quarter of 2013, the smartphone shipments overtook feature phones for the 1st time in the world.
The first advancements in smartphones
The first advancements in smartphones were mainly on the physical aspect of the design, the screen size of the phones, the speed of the processors used in the smartphones, and the quality of the cameras used in the smartphones. The world saw manufacturers vie for the construction of thin and lightweight handsets with large screens. Cameras emerged from a low 0. 3MP in early telephones up to 12MP, 48MP, 108MP, and even 200MP cameras with advanced photography capabilities. It advanced from just being able to store 64MB, to having a 512GB internal storage on the current generation of phones.
Once the issue of design and performance was firmly settled for the network side, new attempts were made to focus on the capabilities of the network. 3G provided a means to access the internet, 4G provided access to multimedia over the internet. Today innovative 5G provides next-generation services including augmented reality (AR), virtual reality (VR), and cloud gaming, which require very high speed and coverage. The processor speed rose from 200MHZ in 1994 to 3 GHz four cores phones today making it easier for the phones to manage heavy applications.
Innovations in smartphones that have emerged in the markets today include:
foldable displays, biometric technology improvements, privacy improvements, and artificial intelligence. Sliding and hinging mechanisms in the manner of the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold make phones foldable to a compact tablet. Biometric security on early smartphones has shifted to fingerprint unlock on newer phones used in iPhones and 3D facial recognition and under-display fingerprint scanners in new phones. To ensure that the privacy of the users was enhanced, Apple came up with on-device processing in a bid to ensure that most data was stored locally, not on the cloud. iPhone 14 pro has a new 48MP camera and “Photonic Engine” to enhance the low light photography through computational processing. They notice and comprehend speech, interpret languages in real-time, change display and sound settings intelligently and among other features using AI.
Looking ahead, here are some innovations expected in the next generation of smartphones:Looking ahead, here are some innovations expected in the next generation of smartphones:
Satellite Connectivity:
Earlier rumors indicate that iPhone 14 will have a built-in SOS feature that would allow a user to send a message through satellite if cellular connectivity is unavailable. This could grow to accommodate ‘messaging/data’ type functionality from other inconspicuous locations.
AI Cameras:
The future camera will have an Artificial Intelligence application for professional photography and videography. These are better image processing, low light photography or night vision, improved zooming, faster auto focusing and improved image stabilization.
3D Sensing:
Tof sensors on the phones will provide higher accuracy for the depth measurements and that will lead to applications in AR/VR. It could recognize objects spaces as well as features and pride and other emotions in the long run.
Under-display Selfie Cameras:
Getting rid of front-facing cameras will be a possibility to achieve the true bezel-less, notched-less solutions. Many car models with built-in displays will feature cameras located underneath them this decade.
Faster Charging:
Battery storage capacity has been improving but charging capability has not been able to track it up to now. Newer iterations should support 150W charging which can charge a 4000 mAh battery from flat to full in under 15 minutes.
Finally, the smartphone of the future could evolve from today’s main communication/entertainment tool into an AI companion optimizing the individual and occupational spheres seamlessly. It is like watching the future unfold as smartphones grow ‘smarter’ each year in terms of connectivity, interfaces, camera, processors, and AI.