3 mobile features we'll see in 2017

Phone manufacturers have been pretty lucky these past two years. They’ve been able to make minor iterations to their hardware because they’ve been building up the value added services that surround their products – both content based services and accessories have made huge leaps forward. The hardware, however has lagged somewhat and this was most apparent with the iPhone 7 not really improving on its tired design once again.

Also worthy of note is the fact that Nokia is back! I had the pleasure of speaking with Risto Siilasmaa at the SLUSH event in Helsinki last year who, equally as excited, told me that the new devices are going to be ‘really, really good’. Nokia were once the kings of the world when it came to mobile devices, so how can you not be excited by this potentially disruptive force muscling its way back into the game?

Either way, it should be a pretty big year in terms of fundamental improvements to these devices. What will the manufacturers be doing to surprise and delight consumers? Well, I think we’ll see the following:

1.    Better battery: I think we’ll see not only higher capacity batteries that genuinely last 24 hours or more, but I think the fast-charge revolution will continue to rapidly evolve. It’s such an important factor to people and dare I say that for business users it’s the most important. Manufacturers all know that battery will be increasingly key as ports get removed and Bluetooth comes in to become the ‘virtual USB’. I think there is even the potential of seeing the first portless phone, relying on wireless charging to get power and Bluetooth to replace the 3.5mm jack.

2.    AI: We’ll see personal assistants on mobile become more and more intelligent. I think this is something that’s been trying to get off the ground for ages and I for one can’t wait to see how creepy things get. Integrations with key services (e.g. Amazon, Spotify) have already happened on things like the Echo, but haven’t yet become super prominent on mobile – again perhaps because of consumer behaviour but also because it’s not particularly good in loud spaces or outdoors – so I think the device manufacturers and OS providers will be trying to improve this drastically for their releases in 2017.

3.    Screen improvements: This last one was particularly hard, and aside from the generic software improvements of the likes of Bluetooth 5 and better NFC, I think the one that will make the biggest difference to the user experience is the screen. Screens have gradually improved but the high end has stayed pretty flat for the last 24 months. If you look and the Galaxy S6 and S7 – they have the exact same screen. I think we’ll see bezels start falling off phones like Xiaomi Mi Mix (https://xiaomi-mi.com/mi-mix/) and the embrace of e-ink as a way to conserve that all important battery-life. Our faces are getting closer to the screens with VR creeping out of the gimmick phase, so pixel density, frame rates and general clarity of image becomes more and more important. Given they’ve been more stagnant than memory upgrades, storage limitations or camera enhancements I think this is the one the manufacturers will be looking to capitalise on this year. 

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