My first mobile phone was the Ericsson A1018s. I bought it at a gas station in 1999 when I was 11 years old. Some of its biggest features were changing the ringtone (there were 12 options) and caller ID — impressive, I know. You could also customize the device by getting a keyboard plate with a different color.
Technology has come a long way since. Today’s smartphones sport large touchscreen displays, impressive cameras, and high-tech features like 3D facial recognition. While phones were primarily used for making calls back in the day, we now use them for things like listening to music, browsing the web, playing games, and watching cat videos on YouTube.
If you told me back in 1999 what these devices would be capable of in around 20+ years, I’d call you crazy — and I wouldn’t be alone. Back then, no one could have predicted the impact phones would have on our lives. It would have sounded like science fiction.
This got me thinking: what will smartphones of the future look like? What features will these devices have in 20, 30, or even 50 years that seem like science fiction today? Here’s what I’ve come up with.
Mind control
Once upon a time, the primary approach to utilizing a telephone was an actual keypad. This was in the long run supplanted by the touchscreens we use today. With administrations like Google Right hand, we can now additionally connect with our gadgets by simply utilizing our voices.
I think the following stage in this advancement is mind control. The innovation would permit you to play out each undertaking you can would through touch or voice with your care. You could open an application of decision, play a particular video on some cutting edge form of YouTube, and even alter pictures with your viewpoints. You could likewise send a message, control the screen brilliance, or make a film from the recordings you've caught — you understand everything.
Using smartphones would be a lot faster with mind control. You’d no longer have to search for an app to open it or stretch your finger all the way to the top of the screen to tap it. You could perform any task in a heartbeat.
Scientists are already making progress in this field.
We’re still far, far away from something like this becoming a reality, but scientists are making progress in this field. As we reported back in 2017, Facebook’s Building 8 division was developing a technology that allows people to type with their minds. The typing speed targeted was 100 words per minute, which is about five times faster when compared to typing on our smartphones. However, Building 8 was stripped apart at the end of 2018, with key people moving on to other companies. Regardless, it’s still nice to see someone trying to develop the tech that could play a big part in our lives somewhere down the line.
Scientists at MIT are also working on something similar with a device called AlterEgo, which lets users converse with machines with only their thoughts. The project has been in development for a while now and it will take time before it hits the market, if that ever happens.
Even though the idea of using a smartphone with your thoughts seems crazy now, it just may become a thing decades down the line. Fingers crossed!
Over-the-air charging
Let’s face it: the battery life of the average smartphone sucks. Even if you have a high-end phone like the Galaxy S22 Ultra with its massive 5,000mAh battery, you’re still only looking at around two days of average use at best. Once the device runs out of juice, you either have to plug it in or place it on a wireless charging pad, if your phone supports it.
Things could be quite different in the future. Motorola revealed its air-to-air charging solution last year, which can power up phones placed up to one meter away from the charging transmitter. Xiaomi showed off a similar solution called Mi Air Charge, which has a radius of a few meters — learn more here. I love this idea, but let’s take it a step further.
With over-the-air charging, you'd never have to worry about running out of juice again.
Envision a future where these transmitters are much more impressive and can charge gadgets over-the-air at huge spans. They could be put across nations, very much like mobile phone towers today, and would continually charge your cell phone from a far distance, ensuring it never hits a wall. These charging transmitters would be so strong, they'd keep your cell phone's battery at 100% constantly. You'd at no point ever need to stress over battery duration in the future and would dispose of every one of those annoying charging links for good.
The innovation wouldn't be selective to cell phones by the same token. It would continually charge every one of your contraptions, from Chromebooks to smartwatches. It actually might charge your electric vehicle, which we'll likely all be driving from now on.
Stretchable phones
The following enormous thing in show innovation soon is by all accounts adaptable presentations. We've previously seen a few foldable telephones including the Samsung Cosmic system Z Overlay 3, Z Flip 3, Moto Razr, and others.
At the point when I ponder the following mechanical forward leap around here — many years away — I imagine stretchable telephones. Rather than unfurling a telephone for more screen land like with the Z Crease 3, for instance, you'd extend it to expand its size, similar to an elastic band. You'd should simply pull the telephone from two of its corners askew.
Understand more: The best foldable telephones to get
This kind of plan would allow you rapidly to build the size of the gadget while watching recordings and make it more modest to fit in your pocket. For it to work, by far most of parts would need to be stretchable, in addition to the presentation.
Clearly, there would be a cutoff to how far you can extend a gadget. On the off chance that that breaking point was 50% of the size of a telephone, for instance, it would mean you could change a 6-inch show into a 9-inch one.
Work is already being done in the field of stretchable displays, but we’re a long way off from fully stretchable phones becoming a reality. Samsung announced a prototype of a stretchable display back in 2017 which can be dented up to 12mm without causing damage — shown in the image above. That display just bounces back to its original flat shape — similar to a trampoline — so it’s not really what I have in mind for the future.
The company also showed off a new version of this display last year, which can stretch and morph to provide more immersive content on display — see video below.
Designing specialists at Michigan State College have likewise fostered the principal stretchable incorporated circuit and see a future for stretchable gadgets.
"Our work could before long prompt printed shows that can undoubtedly be extended to bigger sizes, as well as wearable gadgets and delicate mechanical technology applications," said Chuan Wang, colleague teacher at Michigan State College in a deliveries from the school.
As well as making telephones bigger or more modest, stretchable showcases would likewise add another aspect to things like gaming and watching recordings. Envision playing a first-individual shooter game and the showcase flexing out while somebody is taking shots at you — the experience could be significantly more vivid.
Changing Colors
Phones come in a variety of colors, and choosing the best one can often be a struggle. Black, silver, and white give off a more classic vibe, but they’re also boring. Red, green, or purple colorways stand out more, but can give devices a toyish, less professional look. With smartphones of the future, you may not have to choose anymore.
Imagine a phone with a completely transparent back made from a glass-like material that fully absorbs light. The device would have one or more LED lights inside, the color of which you could change in the settings of the phone (or maybe with your mind!). When you choose orange, the entire back cover would completely absorb the color of the light and look exactly the same, almost as if it were painted on.
You would be able to change the color of your smartphone as often as you’d like.
This technology would allow you to switch between different colors as frequently as you’d like. The feature could also have a mode to change the color automatically on a daily basis. With a few LED lights inside properly positioned, you could also create gradient colors.
This new glass-like material (as well as the presentation) would likewise be essentially rugged, so you wouldn't need to stress over it breaking on the off chance that you drop your telephone. Dissimilar to glass telephones today, it would likewise be impervious to fingerprints.
Work is as of now being finished around here, in spite of the fact that we're still far away from it turning into a reality. In 2020, OnePlus declared the 8T Idea telephone that includes a variety changing back board. It utilizes what OnePlus calls "Electronic Variety, Material, and Finish," or ECMF for short, which permits the rear of the telephone to change contingent upon specific conditions. You can see it in real life beneath.
Vivo also showed off its color-changing phone last year, while a company called Infinix revealed a color-changing faux leather back for handsets. Even BMW gave us a glimpse of its iX M60 car at CES 2022, which has an electrophoretic “paint job” that changes colors in the blink of an eye.
OLED and E-ink in one
OLED displays are great for watching videos and playing games, but they aren’t the best for reading. E-ink displays, like those in Amazon’s Kindle e-readers, are a much better option. I’ve been using a Kindle Paperwhite for years now and love the fact my eyes don’t get strained after reading for a few hours. It also lets me read outside, under direct sunlight.
This is more or less impossible with OLED displays. Sure, features like night mode filter out blue light and can even turn the screen to monochrome, but even when enabled OLED displays still don’t come close to matching e-ink technology in terms of reading comfort.
This technology would make dedicated e-readerds obsulete.
The smartphones of the future I envision would combine OLED and e-ink technology into one, likely killing dedicated e-readers. With a simple tap in the settings, you could transform an OLED display into an e-ink screen for reading books, articles, and various documents without all that light shining into your face. An e-ink display is also a lot less power-hungry, which could mean longer battery life.
Unfortunately, something like this is impossible at this point. Apple had a similar idea back in 2011 when it applied for a patent regarding a hybrid e-ink/OLED display, but we haven’t seen this technology hit the market yet. There are phones available today featuring both display technologies, but they don’t combine them into one.
The YotaPhone 3, for example, features an AMOLED display on the front and an e-ink display on the back. However, that’s an old phone, and the company behind it has declared bankruptcy.
While combining an OLED and an e-ink display in one seems impossible now, it could become a reality in the distant future — crazier things have happened before.
Will there even be smartphones in the future?
Smartphones of the future may not be smartphones at all. These devices may take on a whole new form factor, which will enable us to perform the same tasks as smartphones do today — and more.
I see a future where smartphones in their current form get replaced by what look like regular glasses. Yes, I know we’ve already seen devices like Google Glass, which failed miserably. But the product I have in mind goes beyond Google’s pet project. It’s sort of like Google Glass on steroids.
My version of futuristic glasses would let you make calls, watch videos, listen to music...
My form of modern glasses would allow you to settle on and get decisions. At the point when somebody rings you, you'd see their name/picture before your eyes. At the point when you answer the call, you'd promptly hear the guest without utilizing a headphone. The glasses would utilize bone conduction innovation or something considerably more super advanced. They'd likewise have the option to play music, offer turn-by-turn route, and read the messages and messages you've gotten. Everything could likewise be shown before your eyes utilizing AR innovation.
Obviously, the glasses would highlight a camera ready. At the point when you'd need to snap a photo, a casing would appear before your eyes, showing precisely exact thing the camera will catch. Give the signal "Snap" in your mind and the picture will be taken.
Because of AR innovation, the glasses would project a screen/picture before you, permitting you to watch your number one shows, mess around, see the pictures you've caught with the camera, and peruse the web. That implies you wouldn't need to purchase a devoted television, which would set aside you cash as well as space in your home.
With these glasses, you'd likewise have the option to see 3D multi dimensional images of individuals. Simply envision sitting in your parlor and watching Marilyn Monroe singing you Cheerful Birthday Mr. President. Or then again Fik-Disregard moving. Or then again pornography. The experience would be incredibly vivid.
A great deal of organizations are now working in the field of brilliant and associated glasses. Notwithstanding Google, Intel flaunted a couple of savvy glasses a couple of years back, which project a surge of data before you (headings, notices… ). However, tragically, the organization has previously abandoned the innovation. An Amazon-upheld organization called North was dealing with a comparative thought with their glasses called Focals. Be that as it may, Google later purchased the organization and shut down the whole undertaking. Then there are blended reality headsets like the Microsoft HoloLens, which gets 3D images front of your eyes — in spite of the fact that it's at present designated at business clients.
These glasses would combine smartphone capabilities with holograms.
So the glasses I have in mind would combine smartphone capabilities with holograms and other features offered by today’s smart glasses. It’s an interesting idea, but let’s go crazy and take it a step further. Imagine these futuristic glasses being replaced by a small computer placed in your brain. You’d be able to receive calls by hearing the voice of the caller in your head, just like your thoughts. You’d listen to music the same way, hear GPS direction, and more.
Additionally, you’d be able to take pictures, watch videos, play games, and see holograms. But instead of the images being projected in front of you by the glasses, the computer in your head would project them through your eyes. Essentially, this computer would be capable of doing the exact same things as the smart glasses of the future, but it would be less intrusive. Well, kind of. It would have to be placed in your brain, but at least you wouldn’t have to put it on and off every five minutes. It would also be impossible to lose it or for someone to steal it.
Everything seems like sci-fi. Something you'd hope to find in an animation like The Jetsons. Yet, hello, maybe it will end up being a genuine article from now on. All things considered, work is now being finished around here.
Elon Musk established an organization called Neuralink in 2017, which is working in the field of "brain trim" innovation. The thought is to embed minuscule cathodes into the human mind to permit them to discuss straightforwardly with machines. The innovation would likewise empower you to transfer and download your considerations — truly. Considering that, I feel like the sky is the limit from here on out. Be that as it may, the ongoing improvement of the innovation is still a long ways behind my wild creative mind, despite the fact that Neuralink is supposed to be on target for the main human preliminaries toward the finish of 2022.
I see a future where everything is connected and our smartphones — or whatever replaces them — can communicate seamlessly with virtually every device. As long as you have it with you, your front door will open once you get near it, you’ll be able to unlock your car and start the engine, and even go through the mechanical gate at the subway and airport if the ticket is saved on your phone. It’d be fantastic — at least until your phone gets stolen.
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