Will we finally see the death of the notch?
2018 was an eventful year in tech, and we’ve seen quite a bit of innovation from lots and lots of smartphone brands this year. 2018 marked the year of triple cameras, notch, color gradients, and other cool stuff, and from what we know now, 2019 will be even crazier. Here are5 Smartphone features we finally want to see on smartphones in the Philippines next year:
1. Hole-punch cameras take over notches
I’ve pretty much accepted notches on phones nowadays since there’s really no point trying to resist the biggest design bandwagon in 2018. However, I’m pretty hopeful that there’s still a way to get a full-screen display without an annoying notch on the top without having to resort to using a sliding mechanism to do it (sorry Honor and Xiaomi).
One emerging design trend that aims to do just that is the hole-punch cameras, so named, well, because look at it. Samsung is the first company to launch said camera with their Galaxy A8s. Huawei has the Nova 4, and Honor’s V20/View 20 also has one. While there’s still a part of front of the phone devoted to non-screen things, the relatively small size of the camera and its position away from the center of the display is less disruptive than what we’re traditionally used to.
2. 40-megapixel (and higher) cameras
One big tech trend that we hope catches on is the use of higher megapixel camera sensors. Huawei led the way in that particular front with their 40-megapixel-toting P20 Pro (and their Mate 20 Pro) and it wasn’t just for marketing points. While megapixel count is only part of the picture when it comes to overall image quality (higher megapixels don’t necessarily mean better photos), image processing algorithms have a much better chance of producing higher quality photos if they have a bigger image size to work with.
The P20 Pro’s camera, for example, doesn’t produce 40-megapixel photos. Instead, it compiles the image that the 40-megapixel sensor takes and produces a much more detailed 10-megapixel image by default using their Pixel Fusion tech. Honor is upping the ante with their View 20 smartphone, which is armed with a 48-megapixel camera, one-upping both the P20 Pro and the Mate 20 Pro. Obviously, the main brand isn’t going to take that lying down—expect the P30 Pro to have a similar, if not better camera when it is announced in Q1 next year. Xiaomi is also rumored to produce their own monster camera-equipped smartphone, which company co-founder and President Lin Bin shared in Weibo. The phone is tipped to arrive in January next year.
3. Four (and more) cameras
If three cameras weren’t enough this year, 2019 will see a deluge of smartphones sporting four cameras on the rear. Samsung led the pack with their Galaxy A9 2018, though we’re still on the fence about its implementation. The idea behind four cameras is simple enough—giving a smartphone multiple cameras gives it more versatility, as it’ll be able to take photos in a variety of ways. Since we can’t put a traditional zoom lens on a smartphone like the ones we use in traditional cameras, manufacturers stick in multiple cameras with varying focal lengths and apertures instead.
Does it work? To a degree, yes but is it necessary on all phones? Probably not—sticking four cameras on a smartphone will probably increase a device’s price considerably, and is no guarantee that the images will turn out better than what a traditional single or dual-camera smartphone can produce.
4. Folding smartphones (finally)
Samsung has been teasing their folding smartphone for years now, but it seems that 2019 is when it’ll finally see the light of day, much to our wallet’s chagrin. The Korean company has reportedly been showing their prototype behind closed doors to industry partners this year, and it looks like it’s ready for prime time by the time Mobile World Congress rolls around in Feb. But they’ll be facing competition from Huawei, as the Chinese company has also been working hard on their own take on the folding concept. Microsoft is also working on their own take on it, though all three have already been beaten by start-up Royole, though from what we’ve seen online the phone isn’t very good.
5. 5G smartphones (and no, you don’t need them yet)
2019 will also be the year of 5G smartphones, but in all honesty, we’re not hyped for them just yet. Why? Well, 5G rollout takes quite a bit of time, and we’re probably not going to see considerable rollouts of 5G to the metro just yet. And even then, 5G isn’t just about speed anyway, despite how telcos try to sell you on that fact.
Probably the only reason I’d be excited for 5G is that it’ll move me away from congested 4G networks to relatively sparse 5G networks (at first anyway) which should help in overall reliability and coverage. In any case, expect 5G to be a major buzzword next year – we’ve gone over why we’re not too hyped about the tech in this article. What tech are you excited about next year?
