5 Key Smartphone Trends for 2016

S.S. Bassi, Country Manger - SAARC, Sangfei Mobility

The smartphone market is rapidly expanding all over the world. It has been over eight years since Steve Jobs launched the first successful smartphone - the iPhone for the world to behold. Since then the trends and technologies in the smartphone market have progressed leaps and bounds, especially with the introduction of the Android operating system. India itself has a booming smartphone market, which is now the third largest in the world with over 314 million mobile users. According to IDC, there has been a 44% growth in this sector, and by 2017 India stands the possibility of overtaking US to be the second largest smartphone market.

The year of 2015 saw the emergence of 4G enabled devices along with smartphones with bigger screens, and affordable handsets. This along with rising consumer expectations and advancements of technology such 3-D technology and NFC, are having a strong influence on the smartphone market. Here is Philips Mobile’s perspective on the key technologies that might emerge in the smartphone sector in 2016:

The Rise of 3-D smartphones

3D technology is quite sought after at present. The necessity of wearing 3D glasses is one impediment that customers would like to do away with. This barrier can be eliminated with the help of autostereoscopy. The implementation of autostereoscopy in the smartphones can help the makers provide the same 3D effect sans the glasses. The advancement of 3-D technology can further pave way for holographic projections, by integrating the 3-D features of the smartphone along with the projections.

Flexible and Transparent Display

When the movie Iron Man came out in 2008, one of the gadgets that captured all eyes was Tony Stark’s savvy smartphone with the transparent display. So far, we have been acquainted with the concept of transparent and foldable display but in the coming year this can very well materialise into reality. So far, there has been introduction of curved smartphones which don’t bend but it can easily be the next stop. With the help of Organic Light Emitting Diode (OLED) technology, the foldable phones can materialise in the coming days. Furthermore, the application OLED technology can reduce the cost of production as well as provide greater power efficiency. Over the time, the flexible smartphones can be used as wearables as well.

Retinal Authentication

Apple introduced biometric authentication through finger print scanning, and redefined the sense of securing one’s smartphone. A major technical advancement that we might see in 2016 will be unlocking our smartphone through iris recognition system or retinal scanning. The scanner can authenticate the access by identifying the unique patterns of the human eye. This birth of retinal scanning will further strengthen the security system on the smartphones. This mode of authentication can be used not only for unlocking the phones but also for accessing apps as well. Moreover, it will make the hassle of remembering passwords redundant as well.

Near Field Communication

Near Field Communication or NFC isn’t a new technology to be introduced in the smartphone market but it is one that stands a good chance of making a comeback. NFC is a short-range, low power wireless link evolved from radio-frequency identification (RFID) technology that allows to transfer small amounts of data between two devices held a few centimetres away from each other. When NFC was first introduced in mobile phones, it was not that successful but with the advent of cloud technology NFC can bounce back into action. The tasks can be automated through NFC tags provided both the sender and receiver have the chip installed, and it is not reliant on the manufacturer or the network. It can help us link virtual information between smartphones through proximity, and can especially be useful in conducting mobile payments.

Ageless Accessibility

All the smartphones available in the market today have high-end specifications and run on state-of-art technology. While such advanced specs are a dream come true for gadget lovers and tech aficionados, for people who are not so familiar with the latest advancements, say senior citizens, the navigation can be quite challenging. In the coming year, the trend of bringing ease of access for the young and old alike shall emerge, with smartphones coming equipped with larger buttons, bigger fonts, high volume speakers, and digital text magnifier which will make it simpler to use.

With the rapid pace at which technology is advancing, it is possible that we may see all these trends come true and much more. Apart from these five major trends, many more technologies might emerge such as augmented reality, touch-free input, with Internet of Things playing a key role in leading the future of technology.