What's Next For Smartphone Innovation

SternisheFan sends in an article about the new features and developments we can expect out of smartphones in the near future. The shortlist: more sensors for tracking the world outside the phone, more gesture-based (i.e. non-touch) input, and integration with wearable computers like smartwatches and Google Glass. From the article: "These under-appreciated components -- the gyroscope, accelerometer, magnetometer, and so forth -- are starting to get more friends in the neighborhood. Samsung, for instance, slipped pressure, temperature, and humidity sniffers into the Galaxy S4. They may not be the sexiest feature in your phone, but in the future, sensors like accelerometers will be able to collect and report much more detailed information. ... In addition to air quality, temperature and speed of movement are also biggies. [Also, a smartphone that can] track your pulse, or even double as an EKG, turning the everyday smartphone into a medical device. ... [For wearable computing,] your smartphone is still there, still essential for communicating with your environment, but it becomes only one device in a collection of other, even more personal or convenient gadgets, that solve some of the same sorts of problems in different or complementary ways." What do you think will be the next generation of killer features for smartphones?

Comments

Innovation

[Nerdfest]

Simply adding existing sensors to phones is not 'innovation'. It's the logical outcome of miniaturization and reduced power requirements, despite what the marketing says. Between Apple and most of the car manufacturers the word 'innovation' seems to have lost all meaning.

Re:Innovation

[Nerdfest]

I should add that the 'killer feature' for smartphones at this point should be a much better battery life, or better durability. Everyone I see raves about how thin a phone is and then slaps it in a rubberized case that at least doubles the thickness.

Re:Innovation

[Shortguy881]

innovation - the introduction of something new If your going to argue over the semantics of the word look it up. Adding on little sensors is the exact definition of innovation. Furthermore, this is a perfect example of convergence theory. It will reach a point were nearly anything and everything will be accessible right there on your phone. With the advancements in biotechnology and human computer interfaces, it wont be long before the phone will become an integral part of us, literally. The real question is by that point will it still be called a phone?

Re:Innovation

[greenfruitsalad]

durability AND battery life. not OR. these 2 features are the only 2 i would happily pay extra for. i don't need the phone to glow blue when orcs are near, pluck my nose hair or keep my crotch cool in summer. I want it to be soft&bendy (TM) so I can sit on it (with keys/coins in the same pocket) and i don't want to have to carry a 5 year old nokia in my bag in case i actually need a phone for emergency, because there's 80% chance my main phone will be out of juice when i need it most.

Re: Innovation

[artemis67]

By that measurement, smartphones, themselves, would not be regarded as innovative because they all used existing technology.

Re:Innovation

[Anonymous Coward]

Why wouldn't you just carry a spare battery rather than a whole different phone? Wait a minute... IPHONE (L)USER ALERT!!!! GUARDS! TAKE HIM!

Re:Innovation

[Anonymous Coward]

Every see a gadget magazine run a feature on a phone because it has incrementally better battery life? No? New features it is!

Re: Innovation

[icebike]

Depends what they do with the sensors.

Why they track you of course. What else? Look, nobody needs to have their phone tell them the humidity or air pressure.

What is that all about?

Its for crowd sourcing local weather, (or at least the weather in your pocket or purse). But all of that is for someone
else's benefit, not the phone owner. If you were able to legislatively forbid the transmission of temperature, pressure,
humidity across the network, would there still be any rational reason to include these sensors? I would say probably not.

Re:Innovation

[epiphani]

Durability is not generally designed into current smartphones. Intentionally. Think about the volume of sales, and how they would decrease, if devices didn't break within about 2-3 years. In fact, durability nearly sank RIM - as most people were comparing new iPhones with the original bold - released at the same time as the original iPhone.

2-3 years is an eon in mobile right now. If devices don't die, people don't upgrade.

Re:Innovation

[Nerdfest]

Well, they did say 'feature', singular. I'd be happy with either, and ecstatic with both. I may need to add the 'crotch cooling' feature to my wish-list though.

Re:Innovation

[ExploHD]

i don't need the phone to ... keep my crotch cool in summer.

Speak for yourself

Re: Innovation

[craigminah]

They improve the accuracy of drone strikes.

Re:Innovation

[davester666]

Remind me to never touch your phone, ever.

Re:Innovation

[thegarbz]

Durability is not generally designed into current smartphones. Intentionally.

No not intentionally. The lack of durability is a side-effect of producing a device that will sell in the market. People don't want to lug around a brick. People seem to fall over themselves to have screens that extend to the edge of the bezel, a phone that is 0.2mm thinner than the previous one on the market, and a giant glass touch surface. You can't make a phone like that rugged as one of those features will give.

There are plenty of semi-rugged and rugged phones on the market. They don't sell well. Catapilla has a rugged IP67 smartphone with rubber bezels and is about 3 times the size of the iPhone while having a smaller screen. The Sony xperia Go is also IP67 rated though not rugged. None of these phones are in the same league or even playing the same game as the top selling brands.

One key feature of covers is they can come off. I don't have a cover on my phone at home. I do when I'm at work. I'd have broken my phone many times over if it weren't for the cover, but that doesn't mean that I need or want a rugged brick in my pocket.

As for sales and obsolescence, I see very few phones get sold because a previous one breaks. I often see smarphone screens get replaced for $100 at the local Chinese phone repair stand, but rarely do I see an upgrade occur due to a break. On the other hand a contract expires and people toss their perfectly good phones into a drawer because they get the latest shiny product for "free" when they renew their contract.

Re: Innovation

[StarWreck]

If you have an iPhone you could get a mophie case. It adds durability and batter

Re: Innovation

[MrLogic17]

Time to brush up on your physics. Gravity is acceleration, even if nothing is moving.

Accelerometers tell a phone which way is down, if you've rotated the phone, movement gestures, etc.

Some phones have apps to alter ringtones if it's left face up vs face down. That's the accelerometer sensing that.

Re: Innovation

[the_other_chewey]

If you have an iPhone you could get a mophie case. It adds durability and batter

Mmmmmh, deep-fried iPhone...

The killer feature would be

[fisted]

reasonable battery life. I stick with my dumbphone until that happens.

Re:The killer feature would be

[auric_dude]

A privacy app where the user has complete control of everything be it leaking information & data to social networks, their affiliates, partners and assorted purchasers of such stuff. Something along the lines of http://tosdr.org/ or the slumbering https://www.eff.org/press/archives/2009/06/03-0 .

Re:The killer feature would be

[digitig]

I really miss the ability to make phone calls on the things.

Re:The killer feature would be

[MrL0G1C]

I think my Galaxy Note II would easily match your dumb-phones battery life for the same usage scenario, it's the games, using maps and browsing the web that kill the battery.

I charged my phone yesterday, after 22 hours it's at 95% battery.

The return of the physical keyboard.

[sethstorm]

Given that the touchscreen is at best imperfect for keyboard use, bringing back an integrated physical keyboard (e.g. a slider) back to higher-end models would be an innovation.

There is only so far a touchscreen can go before a full array of physical buttons outclass the screen - especially when it comes to input that doesn't have direct sight.

Re:The return of the physical keyboard.

[rueger]

bringing back an integrated physical keyboard

God yes! I'm sure that touchscreen is just divine in southern California, but if you're in the rain, or snow, or it's cold, or your fingers are numb, it's useless. More than once I haven't even been able to answer a phone call because it was raining and the touchscreen was non-responsive.

The thing that smart phone makers seemed to have missed is that an awful lot of what you use a smartphone for actually requires typing, navigation, and desktop-like functions. As much as I've generally like my Samsung/Nexus phone, I'll probably go Blackberry next time just to have a real keyboard - especially if I can remap some of those keys.

Mooshiness

[Jah-Wren Ryel]

The next killer feature for smartphones will be phones that you can sit on - well sit on and not break.

Also, I expect to see them become a little more distributed. A "brain" you leave in your pocket 99% of the time plus seperate UI devices like pebble watch + headset or even google glass.

Killer feature

[Anonymous Coward]

Lethal injection needle, of course.

It's a mobile sensor and communications platform

[St.Creed]

... so I expect more sensors in the next wave. And improvement in quality of the existing ones.

After that, I expect some work on the API's for these sensors. And I expect to see basically ANY type sensor that can be miniaturized in a cheap and effective package to appear on the phone. I've already seen Geiger counters you can attach to a phone - if you could make them small enough, the Japanese market is yours.

Also nice:
- A good (near-medical quality) heartrate monitor is doable right now, but would benefit from better color detection in the camera and for Android, a better API. It only works on iPads right now.
- Stereo microphones would help a lot for sensing distance and possibly volume of rooms.
- An inbuilt laser for medium distance measurement would combine VERY nicely with a lot of other sensors.
- that extreme wideband radar that can see through walls and clothing
- infrared sensors

As for other features: apart from the sensors, the communication and the processing power? I think user interface options like laser keyboards. And output options such as the pico-beamers you can already buy. It all needs to become much smaller, but then it would certainly add value.

The main feature: energy storage. We really need better batteries.

Mech engineering has failed.

[140Mandak262Jamuna]

You read any issue of popular science or popular mechanics 50 years ago. All the science fictiony futuristic thingies have come true on the electrical side. TV that hangs like a picture on the wall? Done. Video phones? Done. The entire knowledge of human race at your fingertips? Done. (Though a little disappointed 50% of the knowledge of human race consists of cat videos).

Now on the mech engineering side. Where is my commuter car-plane that is parked on my drive way? huh? What about the high speed trains running in vacuum tunnels going from NY to LA in 90 minutes? Still the same internal combustion engine burning the same damned oil. What happened to crystallic fusion? Dont tell me "aah, we got double As".

Civil, you are not off the hook either. Where the hell is my damned home that is mounted on a pivot that tracks the sun? All engineering fields except electronics have been slacking on the job and have a very disappointing track record.

Re:Mech engineering has failed.

[a_mari_usque_ad_mare]

Actually, there is quite a bit new in mechanical engineering. You may not be aware of these advances because these things to do not necessarily translate into consumer products or marketing, despite the fact that they solve useful problems and improve our lives.

In materials we have composites, which are extremely strong for their weight. Tough to design, though. Like computing, this started around the 60s and has become more and more sophisticated. The Boeing 787 and other planes use modern composites to greatly reduce weight and save fuel. We have much better steels and other metals than a generation ago, for example google dual phase steels.

Biomedical engineering is mostly mechanical engineering; it involves the design of medical implants. Modern materials can make stronger and lighter replacement bones such as hips. Artificial organs are on the horizon, a real artificial heart has been built and used successfully.

In fluids, we have much better and more optimized airplanes. With computers and the Finite Element Method (FEA), aerodynamics has become much more quantifiable and less model testing is needed. I'm actually glad that aircraft have not been sold at the amateur, consumer level. The way people drive in North America, flying cars would end our so-called civilization. Fluids has also helped design more efficient engines and generators.

All the things I mention solve real problems, and may be classified under the umbrella of mechanical engineering. Its a broad field, so abit hard to define, but in my view anything that requires non-trivial application of mechanics, materials, or thermodynamics can be called mechanical engineering.

Re:Mech engineering has failed.

[afgam28]

The commuter car-plane was a bad idea in the first place. If anything it would be the sci fi writers - not the mechanical engineers - who failed.

Also, I don't think it'd be hard to build a home that tracks the sun. There are plenty of revolving restaurants all around the world. But like the flying car, it's just more trouble than it's worth for most buildings.

Tricording

[Anonymous Coward]

Duh.

Ask no more...

[Dachannien]

...the future is here:

http://www.google.com/patents/US20120040655

KB

[Swoopy]

I want my slide-out keyboard to return. In Europe. On an Android 4.2.2+ phone with sufficient horsepower and working memory, please?

Decent sounding phone calls

[ebob]

I don't mind the rush to add more features to phones, but I wish more effort could be spent on the obvious missing feature: better voice quality. Now that internet bandwidths are high enough to stream HD video, why can't we have intelligible voice communication? I can make a VOIP call from my smartphone that sounds like a land line. But a regular phone call is often so garbled that you spend more time saying "WHAT?" than communicating.

Re:Decent sounding phone calls

[jtownatpunk.net]

Amen, brother!

The audio quality of cellular voice calls has been falling for years. My first analog cell phone sounded pretty darn good when I wasn't at the edge of a service area. Cost me $25-30/month for the service. It's been a downhill slide since then. Now I've got a device that retailed for $700 new (it's already been discontinued so you can't buy then new any more) with a $115/month service contract and it sounds worse than a $9.99 wired land line phone.

I've been hearing for years how US carriers are working on higher quality voice calls but none of them have actually done it.

Probably....

[Dcnjoe60]

What do you think will be the next generation of killer features for smartphones?

Probably biofeedback sensors that can transmit as well as receive. That way, not only can your smart phone monitor your heart rate, it can send a pulse to stop it, too. That would definitely be a killer feature.

A little more GNU plese.

[tuppe666]

Personally I want to move control over the phone from the company...to me. Android is the best option out their right now, but its a long way from being an optimum solution. Increasingly they are becoming devices others control.

Just get an iPhone and use 3G

[SuperKendall]

reasonable battery life. I stick with my dumbphone until that happens.

The iPhone 5 today, gets around two days of battery.

However a significant portion of the battery use is LTE. If you are willing to have a somewhat slower network, the iPhone may make it three or four days (can't confirm, have not tried).

The point is that if battery life is an issue for you, then look at a platform that has all along been ensuring that battery life is preserved when possible.

True innovation?

[rickb928]

Flexible screen.

Multiple screens that couple into one larger screen.

Laser keyboard.

Projector.

Dockable to make a useful notebook replacement.

Or a totally flexible phone that survives your back pocket. And doesn't trigger the humidity sensor.

Voice commands? How about I get a text from my wife, and I say "tell her I'm on my way" and the phone replies accurately. Of a call comes in and I say 'I'll call back later" and the call is answered with an appropriate voice response.

I'm never going to make these happen, so use these ideas and make a million. You're welcome.

Make it Generic, Please

[the eric conspiracy]

I want a generic revolution in smart phones. Android goes part way there, but not far enough.

I don't want anything to come from the carrier except packets and monthly bill. Like my ISP. Phone branding by the carrier should just go away. Spectrum should not belong to anyone. Carrier should just be licensed to use the National Allocated Spectrum by the FCC.

Phones should be modular. Want to upgrade the phone battery? Or radio? Add a keyboard? Not a problem. Root access should be expected, not something that has to be obtained by hacking.

ePaper screen

[symbolset]

On the back.

I disagree

[SuperKendall]

Simply adding existing sensors to phones is not 'innovation'.

I disagree. There are a million different kinds of sensors that could be added. Innovation is almost NEVER about parts that are wholly new. It's about combinations of things that at first are not apparently that much related and using them in, dare I say it, innovative ways.

A light sensor for example, I personally would not have thought to add to a phone to use to turn off the display when held to the face. I'm not saying it's Apple that did that first, but that to me is a true innovation despite light sensors being around forever.

Even figuring out a clever use for sensors already put in phones can be innovative.

I would also note that just because sensors get smaller and need less power it's not exactly obvious that they should go a in a personal computing device. X-Ray sensors are probably smaller and use less power than they used to but I don't find it an obvious fact they will be in future phones.

On a side note, those who proclaim nothing Apple has ever done is innovation are truly the ones who have robbed the word of real meaning. In an effort to spite Apple they have made true innovation an impossible goal.

My wishlist

[WaffleMonster]

RF receiver with coverage of at least 200khz thru 5ghz with at least 50 mhz sampling bandwidth and an external mini bnc connector. Transmitting would be nice too within at least the 6 and 13mhz ISM.

Transducer/sonar for looking thru walls, distance, speed and crap.

Always on combo LCD/eink display.

A real ring lazer gyro to replace mems crap.

A small physical keyboard of some kind or better yet a touch screen with software defined depressible regions. It needs to feel like a real keyboard... no haptic crap.

Lazer with class selection so we can use it for presentations or goofing off (lazer tag..etc) freespace communications..etc. Oh and a mems mirror lense for lazer light shows.

Cheap IR transeceiver to control TVs and crap..the old PDAs had these and it was cool.

IR blackbody temperature sensor.

Flashlight a real one not some crap camera flash thing.

Highly sensitive 3D magnetometer able to track fields from any orientation.

Multimeter/oscope mode with port to attach probes.

Reliable hardware..chipkill memory, transactional buses, multi-core quorum modes..etc.

Persistant storage that does not suck power/time or has a limited cycle life (memristers..etc)

Hyperspectral camera and geiger tube

Spectrometer

Unfoldable/sliding display for increased viewing area.

Waterproof and floats in water.

Freedom to install anything and full baseband access.

Glucose sensor

[manu0601]

Given that everyone in first world is going fat and getting the diabetes, a smart phone able to measure blood glucose level could have some success.

TV Tuner

[gr8_phk]

I've been waiting for TV tuners, but I suppose this would cut down on bandwidth which would reduce profits...

Re:The next killer feature:

[bobamu]

One word: Teledildonics.

The thought of that being a killer feature is quite terrifying.