Are Phones Reaching a Plateau?

[Murph5150]

Wireless device technology advancement has slowed down. The Galaxy S4 vs Galaxy S5 is a boring comparison. More GHz, heart rate monitor, larger battery, Cat 4 CDMA. Big deal.

LG - LG G2 is speedy and rich with features. I don't consider it obsolete. But the G3 is expected to launch in June. Updated CPU, larger battery, and still unconfirmed 3GB RAM, Cat 4 CDMA.

HTC had a highly ranked One. Sure, the M8 has an upgraded CPU and Cat 4 LTE. Yay?

The LTE upgrade is probably the most important addition to upgrades. But are manufacturers really producing phones that pack $200 worth of upgrades in their phones, assuming you are upgrade eligible? $600 off contact? I'm not seeing it. The only real reason I'm upgrading my Galaxy S4 is because of poor signal and unreliable Wi-Fi.

But I think manufacturers are struggling to engineer unique, attractive features on new models. Sony produces a Flag Ship device every 6 months, like clockwork. Overkill.
Those are my thoughts. You're welcome to agree or disagree, but as a consumer who works in technology, I'm just not seeing the fuss.

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[rrballer11]

I think they should come out with a phone every 2 years

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[nessinhaw]

and that's precisely why i'm sticking to my Moto X until next year!

yes, it is a 2013 device but it is still really fast and smooth, will receive at least another android version and its features makes it somewhat fresh and different!
i'm looking forward to X+1 but still...won't switch!

sent from my Moto X <3

 

[Vee_G]

Part reason I am holding on to my S3. Wasn't really impressed by the S4 or S5. I'll wait another 14 months.

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[Duncan1982]

Well it's just a given that the law states that processing power will increase along with ram.

As for those unique features what is it that people crave?

Perhaps star trek beeem me up teleportation tech?

Or hit a button and any wish will come true?

I understand the crave for innovation and novel ideas.

But what I look for is not the fancy gizmos but rather things that help in my day to day activities and most modern flagships are capable of doing so.

Features I look for..

Great Camera

Great Performance

Great Design & Build

Great Multi media features

Battery Life ect

The Z2 covers all my likes very well.

Has innovation slowed down perhaps as what is it now that OEM's can throw into a compact shell?

Projector, A Polaroid printer?

I happen not to gripe as what we have today is great and the important things will be improved upon over time.

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[JeffDenver]

But I think manufacturers are struggling to engineer unique, attractive features on new models. Sony produces a Flag Ship device every 6 months, like clockwork. Overkill.

LOL, hardly. Cameras and batteries especially are not nearly where they should be. And prices are still too high IMO...flagship models need to be under $300 retail.

Batteries need to be lasting upwards of a week at least (and without shutting crap off). Cameras need optical zoom and far better lowlight...even the best lowlight cameras on phones right now are far from adequate IMO. OIS should be standard even on cheap phones. Voice quality needs to be better across the board...HD voice to me should be a minimum requirement, not an end goal. Storage is still an issue, and in 2014 it should not be.

We are not even close to a plateau right now. The current flagships are ok, but there is a great deal of of room for improvement still IMO. Until that changes, they need to keep pumping those new models out as fast as they can. Even incremental changes are better than nothing.

 

[Murph5150]

LOL, hardly. Cameras and batteries especially are not nearly where they should be. And prices are still too high IMO...flagship models need to be under $300 retail.

Batteries need to be lasting upwards of a week at least (and without shutting crap off). Cameras need optical zoom and far better lowlight...even the best lowlight cameras on phones right now are far from adequate IMO. OIS should be standard even on cheap phones. Voice quality needs to be better across the board...HD voice to me should be a minimum requirement, not an end goal. Storage is still an issue, and in 2014 it should not be.

We are not even close to a plateau right now. The current flagships are ok, but there is a great deal of of room for improvement still IMO. Until that changes, they need to keep pumping those new models out as fast as they can. Even incremental changes are better than nothing.

Ok, so you believe that camera's have room for improvement. Well, where is it? HTC produced a new phone with a LESSER quality camera; the M8. A battery that lasts a week? Some do, with minor use. Otherwise expecting a week out of a battery with anything higher than moderate use is dreaming unless you can fit a tablet battery in a 5" phone.

The point you are missing is none of your ideas are being engineered. It's the same crap; more GPu, better resolution, more RAM, and more mAh in batteries. And some cameras are improving, exceeding 20 megapixels and faster shudder. Remember, it's a phone, not a camera. If supreme picture quality is a need, buy a Nikon.

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[JeffDenver]

Ok, so you believe that camera's have room for improvement.

Not just me. Jerry basically thinks all smartphone cameras are garbage right now.

Well, where is it?

On the way.

Corephotonics' dual-camera tech will change smartphone imaging - CNET

Maybe HTC just isn't very good at producing cameras. They are not the only vendor. so far cameras have been improving every generation. The G3 will be the first of the "new" generation IMO, not the M8 and S5.

The point you are missing is none of your ideas are being engineered.

Sure they are. See my link above.

Battery tech is the same thing - Graphene battery tech: charge your smartphone in 20 seconds - PC Advisor

It's the same crap; more GPu, better resolution, more RAM, and more mAh in batteries. And some cameras are improving, exceeding 20 megapixels and faster shudder. Remember, it's a phone, not a camera. If supreme picture quality is a need, buy a Nikon.

LOL, why? Who exactly decided how good smartphone cameras should be? I am getting a little tired of DSLR snobs trying to bully me into buying another $300 device.

Why should I have to cart around a giant camera if my phone can do the same thing? I want convenience. Having to cart around yet another device when my phone can do it is pointless and inconvenient. Cameras can improve, have improved, will improve more, and most importantly SHOULD improve.

Eventually they will reach a saturation point, the same way displays did. No one is going to care about displays above a certain PPI, because they are already so good that more improvement doesn't matter. Thats why the newest phones will still be 1080p. Cameras have no reached that point yet IMO. There is still a lot of room for cameras to improve in ways people will notice and care about.

 

[z33dev33l]

LOL, hardly. Cameras and batteries especially are not nearly where they should be. And prices are still too high IMO...flagship models need to be under $300 retail.

Batteries need to be lasting upwards of a week at least (and without shutting crap off). Cameras need optical zoom and far better lowlight...even the best lowlight cameras on phones right now are far from adequate IMO. OIS should be standard even on cheap phones. Voice quality needs to be better across the board...HD voice to me should be a minimum requirement, not an end goal. Storage is still an issue, and in 2014 it should not be.

We are not even close to a plateau right now. The current flagships are ok, but there is a great deal of of room for improvement still IMO. Until that changes, they need to keep pumping those new models out as fast as they can. Even incremental changes are better than nothing.

Try a Lumia 1520, you'll be amazed. I'm on 3 days of regular use with 56 percent remaining and the camera is downright compelling.

 

[Murph5150]

Not just me. Jerry basically thinks all smartphone cameras are garbage right now.


On the way.

Corephotonics' dual-camera tech will change smartphone imaging - CNET

Maybe HTC just isn't very good at producing cameras. They are not the only vendor. so far cameras have been improving every generation. The G3 will be the first of the "new" generation IMO, not the M8 and S5.


Sure they are. See my link above.

Battery tech is the same thing - Graphene battery tech: charge your smartphone in 20 seconds - PC Advisor


LOL, why? Who exactly decided how good smartphone cameras should be? I am getting a little tired of DSLR snobs trying to bully me into buying another $300 device.

Why should I have to cart around a giant camera if my phone can do the same thing? I want convenience. Having to cart around yet another device when my phone can do it is pointless and inconvenient. Cameras can improve, have improved, will improve more, and most importantly SHOULD improve.

Eventually they will reach a saturation point, the same way displays did. No one is going to care about displays above a certain PPI, because they are already so good that more improvement doesn't matter. Thats why the newest phones will still be 1080p. Cameras have no reached that point yet IMO. There is still a lot of room for cameras to improve in ways people will notice and care about.

As the above poster said, go with a Nokia and and your camera needs are addressed.

Your battery article had nothing to do with longevity of charge, just the speed of a charge. So I'm still looking for proof that a battery with 7 days of moderate to heavy usage is being engineered.

Screen resolution is still improving to the point where I'm sure a QHD screen is in a not too distant future.

Cameras? Yeah, I'll buy into that many high end devices could have better cameras. But again, I ask where is it? There is an obvious trend, and the trend generally is about a faster processor, more mAh, screen resolution, and Cat 4 LTE support. I am not arguing that other features have room for improvement, but they are being overlooked.

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[LeoRex]

I think we've already passed the point where the hardware has shot past the form factor limitations. The displays are far better then the eyes that are looking at them, the processors are far faster than the programs that will run on them actually need. Sure, there are exceptions, but mobile apps are simple little cogs.... We don't use them to sequence genomes, etc.... no, people play 2048 and watch videos of crowd-sourced Pokemon games.

That's why everyone is complaining... Now that we are past the 'SIII' generation, it's not like we can go from seeing pixels to not seeing them.... We now go from not seeing pixels to STILL not seeing them. Apps that used to take 3-5 seconds to load now are up in 1 second (or less). Where is the room for improvement there? A tenth of second quicker? We have phones that can download all manners of crap at speeds that many still don't even get on their home internet service, just so we can stream 4K video on to a 1080P screen that's only 5' across. Where's the headroom there?

BUT....

Batteries (first and foremost) and cameras (a fairly distant second)!

Battery technology utterly blows chunks.... and it isn't just a first-world "waah, I have to charge my super-powerful and capable electronic device that would have looked like frikkin' Star Trek to anyone 20 years ago once a day!" problem.... energy storage is far more than mobile phones... an evolutionary jump would be a world-changer.

And yes, there stands to be some improvement in the quality of cameras in phones.... but.... the one above.... that's the big deal. Processor and display improvements are marketing.

 

[Duncan1982]

I think we've already passed the point where the hardware has shot past the form factor limitations. The displays are far better then the eyes that are looking at them, the processors are far faster than the programs that will run on them actually need. Sure, there are exceptions, but mobile apps are simple little cogs.... We don't use them to sequence genomes, etc.... no, people play 2048 and watch videos of crowd-sourced Pokemon games.

That's why everyone is complaining... Now that we are past the 'SIII' generation, it's not like we can go from seeing pixels to not seeing them.... We now go from not seeing pixels to STILL not seeing them. Apps that used to take 3-5 seconds to load now are up in 1 second (or less). Where is the room for improvement there? A tenth of second quicker? We have phones that can download all manners of crap at speeds that many still don't even get on their home internet service, just so we can stream 4K video on to a 1080P screen that's only 5' across. Where's the headroom there?

BUT....

Batteries (first and foremost) and cameras (a fairly distant second)!

Battery technology utterly blows chunks.... and it isn't just a first-world "waah, I have to charge my super-powerful and capable electronic device that would have looked like frikkin' Star Trek to anyone 20 years ago once a day!" problem.... energy storage is far more than mobile phones... an evolutionary jump would be a world-changer.

And yes, there stands to be some improvement in the quality of cameras in phones.... but.... the one above.... that's the big deal. Processor and display improvements are marketing.

I was going to say this lol

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[JeffDenver]

As the above poster said, go with a Nokia and and your camera needs are addressed.

They aren't addressed. The Nokia camera is every bit as mediocre as any other smartphone camera by DSLR standards. It can be better and will be better. Camera progress has not yet plateaued.

Your battery article had nothing to do with longevity of charge, just the speed of a charge.

Battery would matter a lot less if I could charge it in 20 seconds. The article is evidence that progress is being made...that a plateau has not yet been reached.

 

[nessinhaw]

you do know charging a battery in 20sec will make it extremely hot and it will reduce its life spam?
high temperatures are VERY harmful for batteries!

i'm curious about how they will address this issue!

about cameras...we hit the wall of size limitation! to put bigger/better sensors, we would need bigger/fatter smartphones!
we are still FAR from shrinking a professional DSLR sensor into a smartphone size!

it will surely improve but there's still a long road ahead! specially when OEMs care more about megapixels war than overall image quality, detail, post-processing and such...in that way, Nokia is better than others and the best you can currently have on a camera on a smartphone!

sent from my Moto X <3

 

[z33dev33l]

you do know charging a battery in 20sec will make it extremely hot and it will reduce its life spam?
high temperatures are VERY harmful for batteries!

i'm curious about how they will address this issue!

about cameras...we hit the wall of size limitation! to put bigger/better sensors, we would need bigger/fatter smartphones!
we are still FAR from shrinking a professional DSLR sensor into a smartphone size!

it will surely improve but there's still a long road ahead! specially when OEMs care more about megapixels war than overall image quality, detail, post-processing and such...in that way, Nokia is better than others and the best you can currently have on a camera on a smartphone!

sent from my Moto X <3

Actually, not with the method in the video he posted. Fast charging will not super heat it. However, we're a ways off from making that technology functional for day to day use.

Say what you will about it not being DSLR quality but this photo was taken with my laptop about 12-13 feet away and zoomed in after the fact. There's no denying that it's pretty impressive.

http://imgur.com/fgE7kjp

 

[LeoRex]

you do know charging a battery in 20sec will make it extremely hot and it will reduce its life spam?
high temperatures are VERY harmful for batteries!

It is an entirely new battery technology.... The current Lithium tech is pretty much reached its zenith (they won't get much smaller, hold more or charge faster).... Anyone who comes up with something that improves on some (or all three)... that's kind of the holy grail of energy tech.

 

[JeffDenver]

you do know charging a battery in 20sec will make it extremely hot and it will reduce its life spam?

...using current technology, yeah, it would. That article is not talking about current technology. Graphene will not have the same limitations current batteries do.

about cameras...we hit the wall of size limitation! to put bigger/better sensors, we would need bigger/fatter smartphones!
we are still FAR from shrinking a professional DSLR sensor into a smartphone size!

We don't need to. There are plenty of other areas cameras can be improved. Optical zoom and lowlight are two big areas...advancement has not been about MP for a long time.

If anything, the MP war is going in the opposite direction...that was the point of HTC's failed "ultrapixel" technology...that more is not necessarily better. My Nexus 5 has the same MP count as my ancient HTC Rezound, yet it takes far better pictures, especially low lowlight.

 

[LeoRex]

We don't need to. There are plenty of other areas cameras can be improved. Optical zoom and lowlight are two big areas...advancement has not been about MP for a long time

Yep.... There are phones out there that pack more pixels than many DSLRs... but the DSLR has the advantage of those massive sensors, apertures and lenses. Phones will never be able to compete because of that. But they don't NEED to compete.... they just need to own their limitations. Less noise, better color replication....

 

[JeffDenver]

Yep.... There are phones out there that pack more pixels than many DSLRs... but the DSLR has the advantage of those massive sensors, apertures and lenses. Phones will never be able to compete because of that. But they don't NEED to compete.... they just need to own their limitations. Less noise, better color replication....

Dual lens tech will compensate for the restrictions in lenses on smartphones though. That is how they plan on getting optical zoom onto phone finally.

The big trick here is Corephotonics' use of two lenses with two different focal lengths. One lens is wide-angle, while the other is at 3x zoom. This means you can switch lenses to magnify more distant subjects without resorting to digital zoom. In the test set-up shown in the video above, which compared the dual-lens system side-by-side with a traditional smartphone camera (with both modules pointed at a test card around a foot away), the Corephotonics system outputted a clear 13-megapixel image regardless of whether it was at 1x or 3x zoom.

By contrast, Nokia's PureView cameras rely solely on digital zoom such that outputting a 3x magnified image entails a drop in resolution down to five megapixels. Corephotonics' system can also deliver smooth zooms, for example during video recording, by employing a mix of digital zoom and lens-switching.

The second benefit to using two parallel lenses, each with its own sensor, is improved low-light performance. Corephotonics' software works in real-time to match each pixel from one lens with the corresponding pixel from the other lens, and it uses scene analysis to detect which pixel is likely to be closer to the truth. As a result, noise is reduced and we end up with a cleaner picture -- just as we would if we had one big imaging sensor instead of two little ones.

The third and final advantage is one we've touched on very briefly already: Having two lenses enables a degree of depth analysis. Although "3D" has become something of a dirty word of late, depth analysis allows for extra control over images, such automatically blurring out of backgrounds in portrait shots, quicker autofocus and augmented reality.

Dual-lens smartphone cameras are coming, and this is why we want one

 

[LeoRex]

Dual lens tech will compensate for the restrictions in lenses on smartphones though. That is how they plan on getting optical zoom onto phone finally.

Ah... take a page from astronomy.