Ryan Haines / Android Authority
2023 was a fairly good yr for smartphones. There was no scarcity of high quality Android telephones on supply, from Google and Samsung to OnePlus and Xiaomi. And it additionally appeared like a giant yr for non-Samsung foldable telephones too.
Now that 2023 is just about within the books, I’ve obtained numerous objects on my 2024 smartphone wishlist. So be a part of me as I element what I’d wish to see from telephones subsequent yr.
Sustained efficiency over peak numbers
Dhruv Bhutani / Android Authority
Qualcomm and MediaTek’s newly-announced flagship Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 and Dimensity 9300 processors are anticipated to energy loads of high-end telephones in 2024. And each of those chipsets are touting huge efficiency and effectivity features on paper. That’s all nicely and good, however I really need smartphone makers to make use of these new chips to enhance sustained efficiency.
I really need 2024’s flagship telephones to chase long-term efficiency over unsustainable peaks.
In our GPU stress assessments, we discovered that a number of Android telephones with 2023’s greatest chipsets noticed main efficiency drops. These assessments advised that duties like lengthy gaming classes can be a serious problem for constant efficiency and warmth dissipation. There have been exceptions, just like the Xiaomi 13 Professional, which had conservative peak numbers however emphasised sustained efficiency.
So we hope extra producers observe this path of chasing long-term efficiency somewhat than peak figures. In any case, who cares if an Android telephone has Apple-beating efficiency if this horsepower is simply accessible for 2 minutes earlier than significantly dropping?
Extra natural-looking pictures
Robert Triggs / Android Authority
Many smartphone producers have delivered oversaturated, over-sharpened pictures for years now, as they leaned on software program to deal with tiny digital camera sensors. However the greatest digital camera telephones available on the market now pack massive sensors and a great deal of processing energy.
Some manufacturers now supply a pure shade possibility for extra real looking hues, with Google, Sony, and Xiaomi arguably main the way in which on this regard. I’d actually wish to see extra firms providing pictures with much less sharpening and extra pure colours too. Higher but, supply two shade profiles that the consumer can select on the fly. That method everybody may be proud of the way in which their pictures prove.
Telephones that cost in lower than an hour
Edgar Cervantes / Android Authority
I switched from the HUAWEI Mate 20 Professional to the Pixel 7 Professional as my private telephone final yr, and essentially the most excruciating change has been the Pixel’s ridiculously lengthy charging instances. Google has improved in 2023, however our Pixel 8 charging check confirmed you’ve nonetheless obtained an extended wait in your palms if you need a full cost.
It is a travesty that there are nonetheless costly flagship telephones available on the market that take nicely over an hour to totally cost.
I’d like it if extra manufacturers embraced quicker charging instances in 2024. Now, I’m not wishing for 15-minute or 20-minute charging instances. However even an hour can be a serious enchancment for the likes of Google and Apple. For instance, the Pixel 8 collection nonetheless takes virtually 80 minutes to totally cost. How is a high-end telephone in 2023 nonetheless taking an extended time to cost than some 2018 flagships?
Some readers will see this wishlist merchandise and vehemently defend sluggish charging speeds, as quick charging can speed up battery degradation. The counterpoint is that a number of manufacturers already tout dramatically improved battery well being regardless of quick charging. Plus, there’s nothing stopping OEMs from making sluggish charging the default whereas nonetheless providing an on-demand quick charging toggle.
256GB as the place to begin for flagship telephones
Robert Triggs / Android Authority
We’ve seen a couple of high-end telephones with 256GB of base storage within the final couple of years, however this has been the exception somewhat than the rule. As an alternative, many flagships just like the Pixel 8 line, iPhone 15 collection, and Samsung Galaxy S23 supply 128GB of beginning storage.
That’s an actual disgrace as 128GB isn’t actually a lot in 2023. Between high-resolution pictures/movies, offline downloads for streaming companies, and at the moment’s multi-gigabyte video games, 128GB merely doesn’t go so far as it used to. 256GB actually needs to be the brand new base storage tier for flagship telephones in 2024. Higher but, extra manufacturers may give us microSD storage. Now that will be actual braveness.
Extra versatile telephoto cameras
Robert Triggs / Android Authority
I really like long-range telephoto and periscope cameras, however these zoom-focused lenses aren’t with out their flaws. The most important subject together with your typical 5x or 10x periscope cameras is that they carry out poorly in low mild. The Pixel 8 Professional appears to considerably buck the pattern, although.
Telephoto and periscope cameras sometimes see an enormous drop in picture high quality at night time, however that would change in 2024.
In saying so, we’re seeing a pattern for manufacturers to undertake 3x or 3.5x periscope cameras with bigger sensors and/or huge apertures. This does make for much less efficient long-range zoom on paper if the whole lot else is equal, nevertheless it’s additionally resulted in considerably improved low-light high quality on telephones just like the OPPO Discover X6 Professional and HUAWEI P60 Professional. The latter even features a cool macro possibility on its 3.5x digital camera.
The excellent news is that a few of 2024’s flagships are following an identical sample. The upcoming OnePlus 12 and Realme GT 5 Professional are confirmed to supply ~3x periscope cameras with huge apertures or massive sensors, hinting at higher low-light photographs. However I hope these aren’t one-off examples and we see extra telephones embracing this pattern.
Foldable screens that look/really feel extra like glass
Ryan Haines / Android Authority
It looks like the foldable show crease is on the cusp of being eradicated because of gadgets just like the OnePlus Open. However there are nonetheless loads of ways in which foldable telephone screens can enhance.
It’s nonetheless patently apparent to most individuals that these screens are plastic. You solely want to have a look at them and contact them to appreciate that they’re not glass. I extremely doubt we’ll truly see foldable glass screens in 2024, however I really need producers to ship a extra glass-like expertise. That’s, a folding display screen that feels extra like glass whereas additionally dramatically lowering glare.
Do extra with all these megapixels
Robert Triggs / Android Authority
Smartphone manufacturers ought to use their 50MP, 108MP, and 200MP cameras for extra than simply full-resolution snapshots. There’s encouraging information on this entrance, as smaller manufacturers led the cost a couple of years in the past in utilizing high-resolution cameras for cropped zoom. This strategy — which generally delivers higher picture high quality than a crop from a decrease decision sensor — has since been adopted by Google and Apple for 2x zoom (and 10x zoom in Google’s case).
I hope the cellular trade does extra with ultra-high-resolution cameras than merely providing a loud 200MP snapshot.
Samsung and Qualcomm additionally demonstrated spectacular Zoom Anyplace know-how in October, utilizing a 200MP digital camera to concurrently movie a 1x video and a tracked 4x clip. That’s some modern stuff and I’m betting that the Galaxy S24 telephones will supply this performance. Samsung’s Galaxy S23 Extremely additionally provides a 50MP pixel-binned picture by way of its 200MP digital camera (along with the default 12MP mode), whereas the iPhone 15 Professional’s 48MP digital camera shoots at 24MP by default.
I’d due to this fact like to see extra flagships seize and implement these tips, and I’d additionally wish to see extra firms supply higher-quality full-resolution photographs. In any case, at the moment’s flagship chips help multi-frame picture processing at as much as 108MP, opening the door to decreased blur, higher noise discount, and HDR.
What’s your primary want for telephones in 2024?
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