The smartphone field moves at a lightning pace, and keeping up isn’t always easy. Technology that was eye-popping a year ago, such as WVGA screens and eight-megapixel cameras, becomes outdated quickly. Here we will take a look at what the latest technology trends have been for smartphones in terms of both hardware and software.
Processors and screens have easily been the most rapidly advancing aspects of smartphone technology. Dual-core processors began to get included in devices at the beginning of 2011, and they are now standard in any top-tier smartphone. What’s even more interesting is that quad-core processors are here, and are being included in the new Transformer Prime tablet. While the Prime is a tablet, it’s only a matter of time before smartphones begin shipping with these quad-core chips. Meanwhile, in the screen department, HD screens have started to hit the latest premiere smartphones. The HTC Rezound is one such device that makes use of an HD screen to make using the device an absolute pleasure.
Another aspect of smartphone technology is literally just days old, and that’s the latest version of Android. Nicknamed Ice Cream Sandwich, Android 4.0 was just released with the Galaxy Nexus smartphone on Verizon. The operating system brings several new features to advance the smartphone industry. One feature in particular is the incorporation of software buttons into the interface. While current Android smartphones include physical or touch-sensitive buttons to navigate through the interface, Ice Cream Sandwich does away with this. Expect smartphones in the next few months to be released that feature no buttons outside of the power button and volume rocker.
One final noteworthy advancement in smartphone technology in the last few months is speech recognition technology. With the launch of the iPhone 4S, Apple introduced the world to Siri. While Google already had incorporated its own voice command software into Android phones for over a year and a half, Apple made the idea mainstream and revolutionary. Now, Google is rumored to be working on a competitor to Siri that will also allow the user to interact with the phone through natural speech. Speech recognition definitely seems to be the next big thing in smartphone technology.
Between all of these recent leaps in smartphone technology, 2012 is already shaping up to be a very fascinating year. With such strong sales in the industry, manufacturers are all striving to gain and maintain market share. This is leading to some incredible devices and loads of innovations. Thanks to this perfect storm of competitive forces, consumers are benefiting greatly from what seems to be a limitless number of incredible devices.