MANY of us consider smartphones to be an extension of ourselves.
We use these devices in nearly every moment of our lives that it seems impossible to envision days going by without these handy devices within reach. Our digital footprint can be traced through the pictures we take, the messages we send, and the songs we listen to.
Almost everywhere you go, be these in trains, buses, airplanes, restaurants, or even in parks and sidewalks, everybody is just hunched over doing something on their smartphones.It truly is now an indispensable tool for almost everybody.
However, in the last few years, there has also been a plateau of sales of smartphones, as most people already have one. For 2017, the International Data Corp. reported that smartphone shipments actually declined by 0.3 percent. For 2018, their prediction is flat or a decline of 0.2 percent, or reportedly a total of 1.462 billion units.
However, they do expect smartphones to start growing at three percent in 2019, and will hit 1.7 billion by 2022.
To keep the smartphone sales up, manufacturers are constantly trying to up the ante. Obviously, smartphones nowadays are already fast enough, have large memory, and the video resolution already reaching near clarity. What more can you add?
Well, some phones are reportedly going to sport four cameras. There used to be one, and then two – one in the front for video calls and selfies, and one in the rear for taking pictures. Then manufacturers started having two rear cameras. This was reportedly to allow users to take more depth of field pictures. Now some smartphones are rumored to be soon offering three rear cameras, with a fourth one in the front, including those from Huawei, Zenphone, Lenovo and Apple.
Reportedly, there is need for a third one – to do depth mapping for augmented reality, which creates immersive environment and adds sensory feedback. Wow. I cannot imagine. Mine has two rear ones, and I haven’t even figured out how to use them.
But while they keep adding features, most don’t use them. My top complaint is still battery life. It would be great if they could create a smartphone with a battery that will last one week, not half a day. Having to lug a battery pack is just so much work and inconvenience.
I have friends who bought retro feature phones or have continued to use their keypad phones. Why? Because the batteries last for days!