The mighty smartphone is at a crossroads, as consumers are being hesitant to upgrade given the prevailing economic and inflationary pressures. Research firm IDC said this led to a 18% drop of smartphone shipments from the holiday season of 2022, with the lowest reported annual shipment total since 2013. Although not the only cause, this could be the result of phones becoming better and more repairable, as well as the growing precedent for used and refurbished devices.
Now, many are looking ahead to what the future holds for the ubiquitous device. To unpack this, WIRED asked a number of technologists, builders, designers, analysts, and futurists to explore the next decade of smartphones. Many spoke of improved displays, sophisticated silicon and AI, and the prominence of “real” media over fake media. It’s clear that mobile phones are an essential element of our day-to-day lives and will remain so for years to come.
One of the prominent names among these experts is Tony Fadell, principal at Build Collective. He believes that displays in the future will become brighter and with higher pixel density, with potential for hiding components underneath them. Despite the growing popularity of foldables, he expects them to be pricey and bulkier than regular phones. He also predicted full encryption between CPUs, input/output and pixels, in order to verify that media being captured had not been doctored or fake.
Given the importance of the subject matter, the article is well researched and provides valuable insights from the experts on the future of the smartphone. Referencing companies and the experts in the field add credence to the article and give it an authoritative voice. It is an important piece which looks critically at the information given, balancing it with the various factors which could impact the future of the phone.
