Smartphones of the Future: Forecast by 2029

Technologies are developing so rapidly that few of them can live for a long time. At the beginning of every year, we see new trends of smartphones for the next 12 months — flexible displays, more sophisticated processors, advanced functionality, long-life batteries, etc. Some types of devices disappear into oblivion because of the wrong business decisions, fierce competition, and new technological solutions, but some changes cannot be explained.

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Experts predict that many electronic devices that we consider quite modern will be replaced by new ones soon. When the first iPhone came out twelve years ago, we realized that the progress in the field of smartphones is enormous. Back then, in 2007, almost no one could imagine that this smartphone would affect the world of mobile phones so dramatically and change it forever. Apple managed to make a distinction between smartphones of the past and ones of the present days. Now, the mobile phone is a real computer in your pocket. You can do practically everything with a phone now that used to be a thing only accessible through a PC. Just go online and do it — you can buy flowers, browse cinemas near you, get case study help online, you name it! And this happened in just 12 years!

Given the rapid progress, it is difficult to predict the future of smartphones ten years from now. However, we can try to analyze the probable technological changes in the mobile world based on the contemporary development of digital technology.

Design of Smartphones

Smartphones may change in their design. The variety of sizes and design has almost come to the limit — the overwhelming majority of smartphones are all-in-one units of the similar size with a screen on the front panel. However, the situation may change in the future, and smartphones with a flip design can be revived. Leading manufacturers are actively working on the creation of flexible screens so that we can expect the appearance of hybrid “two-in-one” devices in a few years. Hybrid gadgets will present a combination of tablets with smartphones. Given the modern tendency, smartphones will be frameless with the screen of about 6” on the diagonal in the folded position and 8” if unfolded. It is not expected that all smartphones will have a flip design. New technologies are expensive in implementation, so only flagship companies are able to afford them.

Types of Displays

From the beginning, smartphones used to compete with their diagonals and display resolutions. In the foreseeable future, most mobile phones will still have screens with resolutions from Full HD to 4K. Only several brands will produce devices with 8K soon. OLED panels will become much more popular, but most mid-range and top smartphones will be equipped with LED screens. The mass production of AMOLED displays with a flexible plastic base is expected by 2025. It will open the way for bendable hybrid devices.

Battery Life

Phone batteries will be foldable and multi-cell. The release of flexible batteries will make it possible to manufacture foldable smartphones. Most probably, batteries will remain lithium. Both Li-Ion and Li-Pol cells will become more effective. Research of lithium cells will further increase the charge storage of more amp hours at the same size. Wireless charging technology will also be improved, and future smartphones will charge much faster.

Camera

Smartphones will have several cameras with about the same number of megapixels. They will allow users to improve the quality of pictures. Also, devices will be equipped with sliding shutters, as in full-fledged cameras. It will give the opportunity to adjust the amount of light entering, depending on the conditions.

Chipset and Memory

There is no point to wait for the growth in the number of memory cores. Tests have shown that 10-cores do not give a big effect. Most likely, the 8-core configuration will remain standard de facto. Energy consumption and heating will be decreased. The graphics will continue to evolve to meet the growing demand. However, the main focus of chipset developers will be not on quantitative indicators, but optimization, functionality, and security. Smartphones of the future will be equipped with separate modules, responsible for working with tools of artificial intelligence.

Communication Features

Communication set of the next generation smartphones will include, of course, 5G, Wi-Fi, multisystem navigator, and Wi-Fi with the MIMO support. The widespread use and support of the Wi-Gig standard, allowing users to exchange data over short distances with high speed, is expected too. Digital technologies will be improved to give more possibilities for smartphones.
Progress is expected in both virtual and augmented reality technologies. The means of virtual reality will become more popular, and augmented reality will become a commonplace thanks to multiple cameras and sensors. Music lovers will enjoy an audio output via USB Type C. As a result, even the most budget device with a good headset will produce Hi-Fi sound.

Security

To improve the level of data protection, manufacturers will develop new and more advanced ways for smartphone safety. Future phones will have triple authentication of the owner. The protection system will include a fingerprint scanner located directly below the display, as well as an iris scanner and face recognition tools. To unlock a smartphone, its owner will need to take it in their hand, put their finger on the scanner, and look at the screen. In this case, there is no chance for a stranger to unlock the device.

Of course, it’s impossible to say with certainty what smartphones will be like in the future, but they will not disappear from our lives. However, big technological changes regarding our devices will come true to make them better.