Top 3 Smartphone Trends 2020

The smartphone. No other device can do what it does for the everyday consumer. There is currently no reason why there should not be more smartphones in the future!

Introduction

Like any technology, smartphones are always developing and making great progress.

The next steps in smartphone development were fully demonstrated last year at the Mobile World Congress (MWC) in Barcelona. The MWC is important because it showcases the latest innovations from leading technology companies and provides a picture of what is to come in the coming years in the field of apps and platforms.

In 2019, the focus was on phones with 5G, the network standard that will replace 4G LTE, as well as foldable and crypto phones. The mobile market probably hopes that the combined power of these trends will excite consumers and in turn revitalize the global smartphone market in the coming years. In 2017, the global smartphone market recorded its first year-on-year decline in shipments of less than 1% in 2016, and the global demand for smartphones stagnated until 2018, with shipments down more than 4% year-on-year. Unfortunately, we do not expect the mobile market to be an immediate success with all three of these phones (5G, foldable and crypto).

Business Insider has published Top 3 Smartphone Trends for 2020. I have looked at them, analyzed them and would like to share my input with you. First I show you the trends of Business Insider and directly below you will find my views on them:

1. 5G-SMARTPHONE

The world’s first 5G-enabled phones were introduced by Samsung, LG, Xiaomi, ZTE and Huawei. These devices harness the power of 5G and enable higher download speeds, 4K-quality video calls and reduced loading times when playing games or using AR (Augmented Reality).

My Opinion

I see this trend just like Business Insider does. However, this is still connected with a lot of work. There are many rumors that the 5G network is allegedly extremely harmful to humans — scientific studies do not exist to my knowledge. So when 5G wins the trust, there is nothing stopping it!

2. FOLDABLE TELEPHONES GO FROM NICHE TO MASS

Samsung and Huawei presented their approach to foldable smartphones, while other brands such as Xiaomi, Oppo and TLC have already entered the market with prototypes and the corresponding screen technology. Samsung’s foldable phone starts at $1,980 and Huawei’s at $2,600. Both feature a tablet-sized screen that is foldable to the size and shape of a typical smartphone.

My Opinion

This trend makes no sense in my eyes at the moment. I do not understand the advantage of these smartphones in everyday use. Furthermore there is the price. I can buy a smartphone and a tablet for this price. So I have a Smartphone on the road which fulfills all my wishes, and a tablet at home which is optimal.

My second point is the camera

I think this point is much more important. Only thing about social media. Billions of people are on these platforms and want to upload great pictures, videos etc. Parents would like to take nice pictures of their children. But you don’t always have a reflex camera at hand. Solution? — Smartphone!

I see the trend that smartphones will replace the impractical SLR cameras step by step. The Youtuber and photographer Matti Haapoja has made a test, iPhone 11Pro against DSLR, which with a total price of around 7,500 US dollars is one of the higher quality models. He as well as the audience was completely surprised by the result. At first glance, nobody could tell the difference between the photos (https://t3n.de/news/professionelle-dslr-gegen-iphone-1213752/).

3. CRYPTO-SMARTPHONE IS A BIG BUZZ WORD

The crypto-currency area has attracted the interest of the mobile phone industry, and smartphone manufacturers such as HTC and Samsung are among the first to enter the market. HTC has introduced over 20 new apps, including a personal tracker that can sell your data for cryptos, on its new Exodus 1 blockchain phone. The company also announced a partnership with Opera, which allows users to make micro-payments to websites. And the newly announced Galaxy S10 from Samsung will include a storage system for private keys.

My Opinion

I don’t see this trend in 2020 either, and the problem is, in my opinion, that crypto itself is not yet fully accepted. Purely in terms of capital, only 0.1- 0.2% of the total market is in crypto yet. Therefore, I see the task at the moment more important to win the general trust as well as improving the user-friendliness on the current smartphones and then I see a trend for crypto phones — not before.

My third point is the smartphone as a working tool

I see a big trend that we are moving away from the computer, desktop etc. and will need more and more tablets or smartphones. A good example is the new tablet from Apple — with the keyboard it is not much different from a real MacBook. So many people work on the road, in a café or somewhere on the beach these days — you don’t always feel like taking a laptop with you.

I know this point is a bit of a contradiction to the trend with foldable smartphones, which I don’t see at the moment. For me, it’s just that development hasn’t matured and doesn’t have the performance you need to work! So I think the combination of tablet and smartphone makes more sense at the moment than a 2:1 foldable.

I would be very happy to hear from you what you think about these trends and what your opinion is about them!

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