Sitting back and remembering the good old days might be enjoyable at times. The times when cellphones had detachable batteries, microSD card slots, and headphone jacks, you know. The Moto Maker, LG G3, HTC One, and countless more smartphones were popular back then. Although there were a lot of possibilities, it felt like the Wild West. Nevertheless, it was a lot of fun. Even the Google Play Edition lineup, which included phones from Motorola, Samsung, HTC, and even Sony, was available! Suiting a diverse array of inclinations and tastes, every gadget provided a distinct spin on the Android encounter.
When businesses weren’t scared to take risks, we used to see some very bizarre and wacky designs. Though it was somewhat different from other Android phones up until the Galaxy S24 Ultra, the Galaxy Note Edge was, for the most part, Samsung’s attempt at creating a phone with a curved screen. It seemed like Motorola was about to release the iPhone 6S because of how slim the Moto Z was. Though, ironically, the Moto Z didn’t quite take off in the same way, it did appear to lay the framework for MagSafe. When manufacturers were eager to try new things and push the limits of what a smartphone could be, it was evident in these avant-garde designs.
Given the presence of the microSD card slot, we didn’t have to worry about running out of storage. The option to use wired headphones without a dongle was also available, so why spend money on expensive Bluetooth headphones? Wired headphones are very user-friendly due to their dependability and simplicity as well as their extensible storage capacity. Yes, we no longer need to carry a point-and-shoot camera about because our phones can now fold and flip. We just utilize the cameras that are in our purses or pockets. All well and good, but it hasn’t been sufficient to erase the memories of the past entirely.
And don’t get me wrong. I wouldn’t trade a foldable phone for the HTC One M8, even if the underlying hardware was modernized. I’m extremely grateful for how far smartphones have come, more than 15 years after I got my very first smartphone. The advancements in camera technology, battery life, and processing power are nothing short of remarkable. However, my biggest disappointment is that phones just aren’t as fun anymore. Some of this has to do with the inability to get phones from Europe, Korea, or China in North America. Here, the flagship realm is just the Samsung and Apple show, with a sprinkling of Google and OnePlus.
Looking at what comes to other regions makes me feel like a kid staring out of the window, longing to go outside and play. Meanwhile, Huawei, Honor, Xiaomi, Vivo, and others are churning out new phones that put what we have here in the States to shame. Xiaomi is even gearing up to release its first Galaxy Z Flip rival. But the only way I’ll be able to get my hands on it is to spend an exorbitant (to me) amount of money to have it imported. The same goes for the Vivo X Fold 3 Pro, with its 100W charging and true flagship camera system. The variety and innovation present in these international markets make the North American options feel limited and repetitive.
At the same time, I can’t help but wonder about what the future holds for smartphones. Slabs are pretty much all the same and I couldn’t really care less, with the exception being for phone companies to fix the displays so my colleague Nick can enjoy them again. I would venture to argue that we’ve reached the pinnacle of what smartphones can do in terms of raw horsepower. Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 seems to just about check all of the boxes, as it’s powerful and efficient with little sacrifice. It represents the peak of mobile processing power, offering unparalleled performance and efficiency.
Phone companies are probably investing more in AI capabilities because of this as well. This represents the upcoming “great frontier,” since the on-device NPU can only handle a small portion of those innovative and exciting functions. The point is that the remainder is completed in the cloud, which is amazing in and of itself. Although AI has the ability to completely change the way we interact with our electronics, it also has a number of drawbacks.
We continue to pay the price as these gadgets get more expensive, though, as the trade-off for having more powerful and efficient phones is that we lose all the functions we once valued. Production of processors is expensive, and chips such as the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 are not inexpensive due to the inclusion of more advanced NPUs by the manufacturers, which may result in higher prices for original equipment manufacturers.
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