Are we nearing the "zenith" of smartphone specs?

[BookReader2]

Are we nearing the "zenith" of smartphone specs? Meaning that even though the specs will improve, the performance would not make it that much better.

The main specs are:

Screen resolution/pixel density: 441 ppi. (would the next step up provide a big difference?)
Processor:
RAM memory: 2GB of RAM. (would the next step up be must-have?)
Camera: 13Megapixels. But if this is improved to 15 megapixels, would this be a must have specs?
Storage: 32GB, 64GB. If this is improved to 128GB, would this be a must have spec?

 

[BookReader2]

This was written by a blogger back in December 2012.

The Next Smartphone Revolution: Price | SiliconANGLE

What will be the next ?wow? factor in smartphones? Where will the next battles be fought? Let?s go through the list:

1. Bigger display? Not really. At around 5 inches, hands aren?t getting any bigger and the bezel is approaching zero. No more room for expansion here. We have reached the limit.

2. Better display resolution? Not really. The first 1080p display is here (HTC Droid DNA on Verizon), but 720p was already good enough for high-end phones. Going beyond 1080p? No way, not useful for the human eye. We have reached the limit.

3. Thinner phone? No way. People want more battery life, not thinner phones. At some point, too thin becomes uncomfortable to hold. We have reached the limit.

4. Better battery life? Absolutely. There is plenty of headroom on this one. A source of perennial potential improvement. Infinite improvement ahead.

5. Faster networks? Sort of, but they are already here. The LTE standard will improve, but Qualcomm has the requisite chips and they will upgrade every year. We have reached a plateau for the next five years.

6. Integration/simplification? Yes, always. A major goal for SKU-reduction and cost reduction is to enable more radios on one chip. This is where Qualcomm leads the way today. Continuous improvement ahead, but largely invisible to the end user.

7. CPU/GPU processing power? Yes, sort of. There will always be improvement here, but for most people right now, the hardware is far ahead of the software being used.

8. Camera? Yes, for sure. But how many people care? How many people think the current high-end smartphone cameras are good enough?

So what?s the bottom line from this list? Smartphone hardware evolution will focus on improving battery life, and to wait for Qualcomm to put more radios onto one chip, so that they can achieve the goal of eventually selling one phone around the globe.

Therefore, imagine this headline/advertisement: ?New smartphone from Big Carrier XYZ! It?s got 14% better battery life and the manufacturer is able to have you buy the same SKU that he sells in Nigeria and Japan.?

Doesn?t that make you thrilled to spend $349 or $649 to upgrade your smartphone!?

No?

Me neither. If that?s all there is, the upgrade cycles will stretch out for an extra year or so, unlike the recent experience of the upgrade cycles compressing as smartphone makers were racing to get to the current high-end plateau of superior specifications.

So is that all there is? Is there no more lever to pull for the industry in terms of advancement?

Of course not.

There is always price. And when the hardware race has almost ?frozen? at a certain display size, at a certain display resolution, and everything has LTE with a CPU that far exceeds the ability of the software to utilize all of it, then they will all have to turn to cost reduction far more aggressively.

 

[XChrisX]

Just like Apple originally changed the mobile game completely with the original iPhone. I think it will be a completely different form factor all together that will reinvent mobile computing as we know it. Will it be Google glass, or Apples rumored "iWatch"? Only time will tell. Nothing so far in 2013's crop of high end superphones has been much of an upgrade over what was released in 2012.

 

[ShaunKL]

Batteries are the limiting factor now. The kinds of easy access software that can be invented will run well on our fancy processors, but will be useless without a battery that can run all day with everything turned on.

 

[JRDroid]

I think we have for current form factors. We have reached a point where we can only improve so much. I predict that in no sooner than 5 but no further than 10 years we will have another iphone-esque technology revolution. I think we are seeing the first fledgling steps with Google glass and smart watches. I think the next revolution will be a human-machine interface. Think glass but less intrusive. We have already seen basic mind controlled computing, now combine that with a Google glass like interface in a contact lens or even implanted form, with the computing, photo/video capture, and connectivity off loaded to a cellular device in our pocket that simply uses the lens as a display.

 

[Ry]

Everyone keeps looking for innovation.

What we're getting now is iteration from everyone.

Hardware wise - I think battery tech is the only area where we still need innovation.

 

[tr-1]

Like the poll says, the specs will keep on climbing (like PC specs) but the SW simply cannot take advantage of those specs unless some new idea comes out.

What I'd love to see is this....
I come home, place my smart phone on some charging plate and the 24" monitor on my desk turns on and I see my phone OS. I can use the physical keyboard and a physical mouse (obviously multitasking like Windows 7, etc).

There were multiple attempts to do this (by Motorola I believe) but nothing so simple for the user.

Other than that, I honestly can't think of anything else I want in today's smartphone.

 

[TeritorialDemon]

Why do we need a 13MP camera on our phone? I have a 5MP on my LG Lucid which is perfect.
2 GB Ram is great, I wouldn't go higher.
Screen Resolution varies by device so to each there own.
Processor varies by device as well.
BLAH!

In the end, if you want a superman phone then just stick to Laptops. Phones are great just the way they are.

 

[MAXXTX]

I think the next step is going to be the refresh rates similar to HDTVs

 

[NoYankees44]

It makes me deeply sad to see ppl say we don't "need" innovation. I guess I don't need my stuff to be better, faster, more useful, but why settle for today when tomorrow will be better? 20 years ago ppl would not believe what these phones can do. If they had had the attitude of some ppl in this thread, we would not have them at all.

As consumers we should always demand better and reward those that five it to us.

Sent from my SCH-I535

 

[xxLiquidX]

Why is apple getting the watch form factor spotlight when these watches are already available?

Sent from my SCH-I535 using Tapatalk 2

 

[djw39]

I think the next step is going to be the refresh rates similar to HDTVs

The Lumia 920 did that, right?

Sent from my Nexus S 4G using Tapatalk 2

 

[bakerbert]

I don't think we are even close.

Flexible screens, improved/flexible battery technological, faster/efficient internal chips (CPU, GPU, Radio, other..)
I think within the next 5 - 10 years; We will see a 10 inch + tablet, that has full top of the line laptop computing power, full radios capable of working on any network, all in a device that will fit in to your pocket and have the power to last all day.

It is truly amazing what has happened to mobile tech in the last 10 years and i don't see people/companies becoming complacent with what we have currently.

 

[unopepito06]

Screens will keep getting better, but while we may not necessarily need bigger screens, or higher resolutions, the panel technology will continually be refined. An LCD or Amoled display made today is much better than any made 5 years ago, regardless of resolution. As far as raw performance, there's always the option of moving to x86 processors. Intel is trying to get that rolling. I'd say within 5, 6 years we could using CPUs with performance equal to or better than the the latest desktop processors in our phones with power consumption equal to or less than ARM uses now.