Smartphone Tech Innovations: 2024 Trends
A 2023 survey with 10,000 respondents revealed that 16.5 percent of global smartphone users consider performance when buying a smartphone.
Meanwhile, smartphone prices followed at 14.76 percent.
Other relevant considerations include brand, battery life, features, camera quality, and design or appearance.
As smartphones become more intelligent, many consumers look beyond these factors, which continuously shape the smartphone industry.
Technological advancements have enabled developers to optimize experiences, increase smartphones’ perceived value, and provide cutting-edge capabilities to enhance plan offerings, such as data usage and call quality.
Consumer Cellular cell phone plans are among the services designed to leverage these advancements, with a commitment to maximizing the benefits of intelligent smartphone features.
As such, here are the 2024 smartphone tech innovations to watch out for when buying or upgrading your phone:
On-Device AI Integrations
Generative AI has been the rage in 2023. This year, smartphones are expected to bolster on-device AI integrations to enhance functionality and usability.
Examples of on-device AI features include:
- Real-time multi-language call translation
- Voice memo summarization
- AI-powered photo and video editing
- Personalized content creation
For example, Samsung’s recent release—the Galaxy S24—features generative AI tools, called the “Galaxy AI,” with on-device processing and cloud-based servers. It boasts the following features:
- Note assist – Summarizes long notes, provides pre-defines note formats, and allows note template creation
- Circle to search – It lets users search for details about texts and images by drawing circles through their fingers or the S pen
- Browsing assist – Summarizes long articles and web pages
Sustainable Tech
The growing number of eco-conscious consumers push brands towards sustainable technologies and practices.
This trend will remain relevant in 2024 as global corporations, including smartphone brands, commit to meeting net-zero emissions. It involves the circular economy, which focuses on building durable, reusable, recyclable products.
Companies are also expected to implement green cloud computing to minimize energy consumption. Many consumers are even wary of greenwashing—a practice that misleads the public with faux sustainable efforts.
However, companies must address the following adversities in fostering sustainability:
- Ethical and environmental-friendly methods of extracting and sourcing smartphone materials
- Geographic and socio-economic gaps in consumers’ capacity to access green technologies
Prevalence of Foldable Phones
Foldable phones have been around since the 1990s, with the first flip phone—Motorola’s StarTAC—released in 1996.
Today, foldable phones are experiencing a renaissance, with various brands creating contemporary versions.
Foldable phones from the 1990s simply protected the keypads and mouthpieces. However, modern foldable smartphones have high-resolution, larger displays and folding mechanisms that allow a tablet-like experience.
These foldable designs will continuously penetrate the market, as brands are expected to offer various models of foldable smartphones with different features, screen sizes, and price points.
Over-The-Air Charging
Over-the-air charging enables users to charge their smartphones without cables or wireless charging stands.
The rise of this smartphone charging technology prioritizes user experience and energy efficiency, which is part of the efforts to become sustainable.
Another wireless mechanism to watch out for is near-field communication (NFC) technology, which can transmit data between NFC-enabled smartphones in just a few taps.
Periscope Lenses
Periscope lenses provide optical zoom capabilities that are often unavailable in standard smartphones. These lenses can allow five to 10x optical zoom.
Although periscope lenses have been available in some smartphones, many consumers and manufacturers focused on these features in 2023, and this trend will likely continue in 2024.
Samsung’s recent smartphone models, Galaxy S23 and S24, are prime examples of smartphones with periscope lenses.
These models provide 200-megapixel lenses, 50MP telephoto lenses, and five times optical zoom.
Stay Informed
Smartphone configurations and materials mature as technology matures.
Staying informed about these innovations will help you determine which smartphone models best fit your lifestyle. At the same time, you’ll understand how to adapt to the changes and use the features responsibly.
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