Smartphone Design Plateaued in 2024

I’m sorry to be that person. Mobile phone innovation has stalled in favor of artificial intelligence. Samsung, Google, and Apple made AI the main marketing goal of every flagship phone in 2024. It wasn’t about svelte hardware or smartphone technology to make it a solid everyday device. It was to prepare users for an AI attack that would force them to change their phones to prevent them from being jailbroken.

This year was marred by new features and the idea that you’ll need a new smartphone to keep up with what’s coming if you want to stay on the same page as everyone else. Wisely, that created a category of phones that don’t move the needle. The Galaxy S24 Ultra it seems Galaxy S23 Ultra but in many ways. Apple’s iPhone 16 Pro it doesn’t look at all different from iPhone 15 Pro-you can’t tell them apart from the background. But about Google Pixel 9 Proit has a modified camera bar on the back. However, it now looks like an iPhone at the forefront, and everything else about the Pixel series puts Gemini ahead of everything else.

I’m under the impression that the AI ​​is perfectly balanced, whether I’m trying to open an app to work or end up in scrolling-doom. But what will be the cost of prioritizing AI performance above all else? Can cell phones be thin if power consumption is important? Will they no longer need to carry large batteries and accessories as AI becomes a big draw? These are all questions floating around as we head out into 2025.

The Meteoric Rise of AI

Samsung started 2024 out of the gate with Galaxy A.I. It already did some of what Google’s Gemini claims it would do, except this time, it had a new feature to boot: Return to Searchwhich was the best thing to happen to Android this year, even before Android 15 was introduced a slide show. Samsung and Google joined forces to launch the Galaxy S24 to honor the message, saying that Android will be the carrier of all that is happening with AI behind the scenes.

Google followed suit, adding a year More Pixel Drops which enabled features like Circle to Search, Call Screen, and most recently, the Gemini extension. When its developer conference was held in the spring, it was seen that the Android platform strategy is focused on AI. Android was no longer a big event; rather, it is aimed at explaining how Gemini can help users. The most important sign of this for me was when I started the Gemini beta and installed it as my phone assistant. It broke my Google Assistant-enabled devices, like the Roav Bolt, which I use to command my hands-free phone while driving. Fortunately, everything Google has done in the background since then has fixed it, although I waited half a year for Gemini to be fully released. It was a sobering reminder of what happens when the company behind your smartphone platform suddenly turns left to something new.

Some of us were hopeful that Apple would be the one to do the AI ​​work. Usually, Apple will take what Google does and ignore it, then explain how it can’t be done because it would damage the integrity of its products. But Cupertino surprised us Apple Intelligence at WWDC, announcing that it’s adding AI to its platforms is doing it the Apple way: completely reinventing what everyone else is doing and presenting it as a new, different kind of technology, even if it’s still needed. some help from ChatGPT to deal with the most advanced rules. At least the company maintains its culture. Because of the name “Apple Intelligence,” the style guide requires me to write it frequently when referring to it, which helps me avoid overusing “AI.” No creative intelligence; it’s Apple’s philosophy.

Photo Production Cost

Now, it will be a few months before all the new phones are launched in the latest generation. We have valuable tools from Samsung, Google, and Apple, all focused on selling us this new way of predicting the future. Each platform also has a photo editing app: Photo Studio on iOS and Pixel Studio on Pixel devices. Thank you, I thinkbut this is not what people thought when they asked for help with pictures. In fact, I was hoping to have better lenses added to the back of these devices since they already ruin a mid-range digital camera. I was willing to avoid losing weight, knowing that the hardware would have to increase if I wanted a bigger screen. In fact, I have an AI plugin that makes my photos look like A Hallmark cartoon.

I’m not saying that cameras haven’t changed on Samsung, Google, and Apple devices. This happens every year with every smartphone; everything gets a a little a little better. But this time, all three seem to be completely relying on AI to do their magic to create the image. All of the Pixel’s camera systems are based on the premise that AI can do what you’d try in the settings. Apple uses algorithms to ensure that every time you press the new iPhone 16 Camera Control button, the image will not freeze.

Here’s the Catch-22 of mobile photography in this AI-forward era. While AIs and algorithms can help with battery management, such as reducing background processes and automatically adjusting based on what’s happening on the screen, creating images within apps takes the same approach, even pulling from the cloud. A smartphone also needs memory to run these functions. This is why we now see phones with 16GB of RAM as standard, plus Pixel 9 Pro. All other AI-powered tools will eventually increase production costs. We’re already seeing premium tags on iPhones and Android devices. It’s not just the economy.

This does not mean that next year’s phones will be complicated and complicated. They will still arrive in the same heated glass chassis that they came with this year. All will have large, bright displays with high refresh rates and rich colors. They will still fit into men’s pockets. He may also be thinner than he was next year, according to rumors iPhone 17 and the Galaxy S25 Ultra. There is even talk of that Samsung wallpapers may be large enough to support another group. What will be interesting to see is how each manufacturer manages to reconcile the demands that companies say are important for competition and what consumers want to use. It doesn’t make AI worth it if it means hot cell phones running in the middle of the day.