Trends in Smartphone Industry

[omega44-xt]

Do you think the current smartphone manufacturers are just flaunting higher & better specs with each new flagship rather than concentrating on few points which really matter like design, battery life, usability, durability etc?

Why does a normal person need a S810/808 or better processor when all that he/she does in his/her smartphone is check fb, emails, browsing the internet, watch videos & play casual games (like candy crush, angry birds, CoC) ?

Now the smartphones have reached a point where even a sub 15k smartphone is sufficient for most people.

Companies are still going for even better performance SoCs (Snapdragon suffered a dent in its reputation due to 810), higher pixel densities (Z5 Premium, n other 2K displays) & more RAM, rather than trying to improve design, battery life, increase screen to body ratio, durability...

I agree the public's favorite company Samsung changed its design philosophy but at the cost of removable battery & SD card slot. Also by using a 2K display (which isn't required in a smartphone, even 1080p is overkill for a 5" device) they sacrificed battery life. S5 does have better battery life than S6, S6's battery life is similar to what S4 had. Also finally Samsung took care of the issue of lags in its Touchwiz & introduced lighter version of Touchwiz for low & mid end devices

Then there is LG G4, which has an average battery life but has removable battery, SD card slot (and dual SIM too in India). It uses a 2K display but still its brightness is lower than its competition. LG V10 with its durable body is good, but is heavy

Sony is running on operational losses. Z3 was a good device but still its UI doesn't have as many features as Samsung & LG. Then there is the camera app which produces noisy images. Panorama ain't good. Sony sensors are used by Samsung & LG and their phones always have better image quality(I know that lens n software processing also matters, not just sensors, but Sony can definitely do better). S6 has better camera than Z5. A good thing is Sony devices are waterproof, which is practically a nice addition. Stereo speakers are always appreciated.

[In GSMArena's user poll Z5 was voted the favourite over S6 & 6s]

Moto has good phones overall. Stock android is loved by many although custom UI have many more features (its good to have options as everyone has their own tastes). Still its flagship phones doesn't have a good battery life. X Style has better battery life than its ancestors but that isn't enough. Finally, good came. Splash proof is a good addition

HTC.... I don't know what its doing..... Too many Ones for a year... No One could make it big. One A9 is a good offering, they tried something good. But a S801(not 810) would have been a welcome addition for a price of $500

Apple: iPhone 6s is a good phone overall but pricing is insane (iOS is another issue, then those going to buy an iPhone knows what they are getting into)

Microsoft: This company & its OS has a lot of potential but still they are not delivering their best. Only time will tell how 950s fare. L730 was a good overall balanced phone for its price (Not any more)

Xiaomi, Huawei, Lenovo, YU & some Chinese n Indian companies: For sub 15k, they provide nice offerings nowadays. Big companies can't compete with them in budget & mid range segment.

Considering the current market scenario, for me it doesn't make sense to spend more than 20k on a smartphone.

Note: I'm just giving my opinion. You can share yours too. I know our discussion might not have an effect on any company but what do we have to lose

 

[BakBob]

All of the trends in current smartphone market is literally cancer at the moment.

Bigger and bigger screens (overcompensating for something ?).

**** support or non-existence of SD Cards. (KitKat ****ed the SD Card support from Android for good, Marshmallow is barely closing the wound)

Aversion to removable batteries. (Applel's I N N O V A T I O N S)

Phones getting thinner and thinner at the cost of battery life. (With the already **** battery life and increasing screen size and resolutions, coupled with the fact that there hasn't been much improvement in the battery sector for the past 20years, we'll soon reach a point where we'll have to charge phones twice before you're able to finish a single 20min episode)

Quad HD and 2K resolutions. (Seriously, very little content out today is intended for any res above 1080p, not only does this increase computatinal complexity for even basic tasks, it also makes most videos unwatchable at lower resolutions)

Glass backs. (Now you have worry about two panels cracking, this is why companies shouldn't hire people with 2 digit IQs to design their phones)

Stereo Speakers. (If you want to use speakers, you can easily hook up to one of the bluetooth speakers or wear a headphone, stereo speakers are just placebo)

Protruding Cameras. (Any person who got paid for coming up with this design decision must be instantly fired)

Fingerprint Scanners. (Google already has your browsing history and reads your mails, give them your fingerprints too! While you're at it, give them a sample of your blood and piss. Even discounting the obvious data-mining aspect, how much time are you saving scanning your fingerprint to inputting a pattern or id?)

FUGLY Trampstamps on the front side of the phone. (We get it, you companies are proud of the device you just made, but please keep your trampstamp brandings to the back of the device please.)

Thick Bezels (This along with the increasing screen size means you'll soon be lugging a TV on your backs)

 

[theterminator]

I think it's getting complicated day by day to choose a phone that you can say is perfect. These companies are offering so much and the competition is neck deep that sometimes people forget or take their priorities lightly on what they should want in a phone. Because of this competition, these manufacturers are coming up with all sorts of features that you can think of to get you to use their product and it confuses people on what they shall want in a phone and what not. The biggest worry for me is you'll find serious flaws in every smartphone that is out today. Whether you can attribute that to the vast amount of features that a smartphone coupled with the software beneath can offer is a big question.
Price is what drives me crazy that how can i shell out more than a month of my salary to get hands on the latest model along with the fact that even at this insane price my product's durability is in question. This trend has made the smartphone's longevity smaller. After shelling out that much money one would expect that your product will last atleast 5 years like your TV, Desktop/Laptop, Refrigerator, Washing machine, Geyser, etc. but they don't even last a year in some cases. Though there are always new models of the products mentioned above every year but it's the smartphones that grabs our attention the most.
I am very confused on what suits me best. I thought it was iOS but it's limitations/restrictions proved me wrong and I've already given so much info to Google that android freaks me out when thinking about a fingerprint sensor.

 

[sankar789]

It's really OK if they come up with bigger display screens (as many people like me would like to hold a bigger screen smartphones rather than small). The most important factor is the speed, performance, quality ! New smartphones hit the market every month with latest technology, beautiful display at low price but the performance seriously seems to be the worst !! We can't switch the apps quickly, cannot browse the web nor chat through messenger apps.

Smartphone companies should really focus on processor, RAM and OS. These features must be considered as first priority.

 

[sujoyp]

I think companies should focus more on break proof/scratch proof screen and better battery life.
A phone with 2k screen cost 50k fall down twice and it becomes unusable...now spend 15k for that screen replacement
similarly 3G 4G cant be used for a full day on that 50k phone then whats the sense of getting that smart phone at the first place.

 

[Ronnie11]

I think companies should focus more on break proof/scratch proof screen and better battery life.
A phone with 2k screen cost 50k fall down twice and it becomes unusable...now spend 15k for that screen replacement
similarly 3G 4G cant be used for a full day on that 50k phone then whats the sense of getting that smart phone at the first place.

Agreed.Phone batteries has been a major let down this year.Whats the use of all this hardware if it won't even last a day.

 

[theterminator]

Heard that 6S Plus lasts longer than a day. Is it true?

 

[omega44-xt]

Heard that 6S Plus lasts longer than a day. Is it true?

Yeah, on moderate usage

Still Note 4 & 5 have better battery life + Quick charging

 

[rachitrt23]

Battery life.. Everyone should focus more on it. As someone said full day battery on 3g/4g should be the target for 2016. Lenovo Xiaomi Motorola(except X style) and now even Samsung(with the A9) are providing large capacity battery. This trend should continue.
Also manufacturers should not neglect a microsd card slot imo.
Lastly faster updates (for Android camp). Samsung is the slowest in this regard. They should have atleast updated 2015 flagships by now.