Today, the smartphone is a commodity that we now rely on for pretty much everything. This can be for something as trivial as posting an anecdote on social media to arranging an important business meeting on the go. There’s no denying that mobile technology is now cemented into our daily lives and, in order to make sure we can continue to rely heavily on our phones, technological advances continue. Here are some big developments we’re expecting in 2017.
New battery technology
Let’s face it, your phone is never far from your grasp, and because we all use our phones so much, the battery drains much quicker than the Nokia 3310 ever did! Battery life is a constant complaint we all have, and the mobile phone industry has started to take notice. The typical Li-ion batteries used in mobile phones can’t keep up with the usage, but the promising sodium-ion batteries could potentially give us better battery life, as it can store much more energy than it’s predecessor. This means that we’ll have a longer charge on our phones. However, this could mean that it will take ages for them to charge if there isn’t the charging technology to match it. Luckily for us, in 2017, this shouldn’t be the case.
Faster charging
Obviously, a longer battery life would be the first step to keeping up with our fast-paced lives, but the other step would be the way we charge our phones. We need it to be done much quicker, and companies like Qualcomm Quick Charge have technologies that can speed up the charging process by a massive 75%. There would be no need to charge your phone overnight anymore. The other charging technology that’s evolving is wireless. You won’t have to frantically search for your charger cable if you can just put your phone down on a charging pad anywhere around your house, making it easier and faster for our phones to get back to the necessary level.
Flexible design
We have come a long way since the very first telephones – they are now wireless, sleek and compact. New technologies are constantly coming in to make our mobiles not only more attractive, but more user-friendly. Most recently, this has been the introduction of curved screens, which have been immensely popular especially in the shape of the Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge. Samsung seems to have developed upon this further and taken it to a whole new level with a foldable phone that opens up into a 7-inch tablet. There is no set release date just yet, but it’s rumoured to be later this year.
Virtual communications
Companies such as Capital Telecom are already offering services like virtual business phone numbers and call tracking, but the virtual communications market is set to continue in 2017. As voice-over-IP and communication apps such as WhatsApp and Skype continue to take centre-stage, we’re entering a time where SMS messaging could become an outdated concept.
Photograph by Pixabay