Monday, March 11, 2019

SMARTPHONE SPECIAL..... Smartphones face an uncertain future after world domination


Smartphones face an uncertain future after world domination

The next catalyst for smartphones could be the possibilities offered by upcoming tech like 5G, VR, AI and new form factors

What is next for the smartphone, which has become the hottest-selling consumer device around the world in just over a decade?
Even as top makers like Apple and Samsung unveil new handsets with new features, smartphone sales have flattened with most major markets largely saturated. The next catalyst for smartphones could be the possibilities offered by the forthcoming 5G, or fifth generation wireless networks, new form factors or advances in virtual and augmented reality.
But some analysts contend that something entirely different may supplant the smartphone.
Future Today Institute founder Amy Webb said in her annual report on technology trends that 2018 ‘marks the beginning of the end of traditional smartphones’ and sees a transition to a new era of computing and connected devices based on voice, gesture and touch.
“The transition from smartphones to smart wearables and invisible interfaces — earbuds that have biometric sensors and speakers; rings and bracelets that sense motion; smart glasses that record and display information — will forever change how we experience the physical world,” Webb writes.

Design changes to break the mould
Other analysts say the smartphone is not disappearing anytime soon, even if the market is pausing.
“The smartphone is not going away, but it might change its shape and form factor,” says David McQueen, an analyst on connected devices for ABI Research. McQueen says in a recent report that the mobile industry is evolving to devices with more immersive touch-less experiences, fuelled by artificial intelligence, mixed reality and gesture control. New devices may also see improved biometrics such as face recognition, and changes such as foldable screens.
ABI Research says that “Google and Amazon will lead and drive innovation around smartphones and related ecosystems over the next five to six years” because of their strength in these emerging technologies. Global smartphone sales are expected to decline 0.7 per cent in 2018 to 1.455 billion units, according to research firm IDC. But IDC sees the overall smartphone market to slowly pick up again and reach 1.646 billion units by 2022.

Evolving landscape of tech platforms
Bob O’Donnell, the founder of Technalysis Research, says smartphone sales have slowed in the US and some other developed markets as a result of the end of carrier subsidies. “Because people are paying full price for their phones, they are holding on to them longer,” O’Donnell says. The market may get a boost in 2019 from 5G, AI and a likely appearance of the first devices with foldable or bendable displays, according to O’Donnell.
The analyst says the competition among tech firms is now centring around the smart digital assistants like Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant, Apple’s Siri and others. This is becoming a ‘battle of power over platforms that could influence the smartphone market’, according to O’Donnell, who noted that some things may change if the dominant player becomes Amazon, which makes a range of devices but not smartphones.
However, it remains unclear what kind of device consumers will want, but that “at the end of the day is going to look a lot like a smartphone”.
— AFP


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