You only need to look back 12 months to see how quickly mobile phone technology is developing: our handsets are getting faster, lighter and smarter with each passing year. There’s plenty more to come too, as phone manufacturers continue to push the limits of what’s possible with a mobile.
The good news for consumers is that there will be more choice than ever before as the major players look to out-manoeuvre each other. When your current contract expires and it’s time to view mobile phone deals again, you’ll find there are plenty of handsets to pick from, covering the whole spectrum of price and capabilities.
More sensors
Your phone can already tell where you are in the world and how you’re holding your mobile, and there are more sensors on the way. This year, expect to see more accurate fitness tracking sensors (to measure jogging, sleep patterns and so on), that remove the need to wear any kind of wristband or strap.
Further down the line, advanced sensors in our phones could measure data like humidity and air quality, feeding this information back to the web to provide a real-time weather map for anyone to access. The phones of the future will one day be able to monitor your heart-rate and general health too.
Screen sizes
No matter what size screen you’re comfortable with, chances are that there’s a phone out there to match. While the general trend throughout 2013 has been for phones to get bigger (with some ‘phablets’ looking more like tablets than phones), 2014 will see new handsets launching that offer a wide range of display sizes. Whether you prefer something bigger or smaller, you should be able to find a mobile to your taste.
Curved screens made an appearance right at the end of 2013, and more are on the way in the next 12 months. With manufacturing processes improving, you might see many different screen shapes emerge, particularly if they prove popular with consumers. 2013 might be the last year that the traditional flat slab mobile phone had its last hurrah.
Speed and data
It goes without saying that the hardware inside our phones will get faster and more capable, opening up opportunities for app developers to make tools that are increasingly powerful. Quad-core processors are now the norm for top-end phones and you can expect to see these mini CPUs getting increasingly powerful as the year goes on.
Data speeds are an important part of the mobile experience, with so much of what we do on our phones relying on a good web connection. 4G has at last started to roll out across the UK, and as the infrastructure improvements continue, you should find you have a much faster and more stable connection from your handset by the time Christmas 2014 arrives.
Making predictions in the world of technology is always a tricky business but this much is certain: 2014 is set to be the most exciting year yet for mobile phones, as they grow smarter, more powerful and more versatile.
