Rapidly evolving are perhaps the two most apt words to describe cell phone technology. This tool didn’t exist until the 1970s, and since then, it has transformed the entire concept of communication. The first cellular call celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2023, and the cell phone has since become so much more than a mobile calling tool. Martin Cooper, the inventor of the first phone of this kind, admitted that the cell phone initially entered the world as a workplace streamlining tool for real estate agents. In an interview with the Chicago Tribune ahead of that historic date in April of last year, “Real estate agents do two things – show homes, or answer the phone when somebody wants to buy a home.” With a cell phone, agents could effectively double their productivity, leading to more business and significant pay increases.
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Today, this cellular tool is something that nearly all Americans own (98%, with 91% of owners using smartphones). Moreover, roughly 12% of consumers upgrade their phone every year, while about 55% replace their device every two to three years, according to a 2022 survey we conducted. Phone technology is becoming increasingly sophisticated, integrating more seamlessly with a growing number of other gadgets in our lives. The future of phone usage not only aims to reengineer the way consumers interact with one another but also promises to revolutionize how we perform everyday tasks. These emerging technologies stand ready to propel us once again into uncharted territory, improving (or even unlocking) untold aspects of modern living.
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5G technology is already revolutionizing phone capabilities
5G is the newest iteration of the mobile coverage landscape that powers mobile phones. It’s a global wireless communication standard that improves upon previous generations of mobile connectivity (3G, for instance). Qualcomm, a key player in the development of 5G technology, calls it “a new kind of network that is designed to connect virtually everyone and everything together, including machines, objects, and devices.” While the shift to 5G is about speed — like downloading an HD video file in seconds — it also enables much more. Phones are more capable than ever, largely due to the communicative capabilities unlocked by these new coverage standards. Tools like video calling were once utterly incompatible with even state-of-the-art phones. Today, 5G speeds and capabilities make things like remote surgical procedures a real possibility. The same is true for ramped-up communication with cloud-based storage tools. With 5G speeds, users can work from resources saved on the cloud with upload and download speeds that make it seem like they’re tapping into locally saved resources.
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With that said, industry players are already talking about another great leap forward with the advent of 6G capabilities. 5G is zippy and features lower latency than its predecessors, enabling increased functionality within the world of augmented reality tools. But 6G looks poised to improve on radio spectrum utilization, speed again (naturally), and the connective endpoint load that has already made 5G an upgrade supercharging the Internet of Things (a framework that is already shaping smart cities across the globe).
AI photography tools will continue to transform image capture and editing
The utility of AI tools is only just beginning to come into focus. Text-based applications and image-generation features are making headlines, but AI can do so much more. One area where AI is already making inroads in the mobile phone landscape is within the camera settings. AI integrations help avid photographers organize their collection of images and perform seamless edits that magnify the subject or remove unwanted background fluff.
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AI integrations are also prominently displayed in the phones themselves. No need to download any apps to take advantage of AI’s sophisticated capabilities — it’s likely already on your smartphone if you’ve recently bought a new one! Samsung, for one, is already performing operations like generative edits and AI drawing. The newest Samsung phones also feature Enhance-X to massively improve the image quality of standard pictures snapped on your device and Life Effect to introduce animations and enhancements to photos. These tools will only continue to improve, bringing significant changes to the photography tasks that any cell phone performs on a regular basis.
Graphene may be the material of phoning’s future
Graphene has been touted as a super-material of the future. It’s light, flexible, and impossibly thin (condensed to a single atom in thickness). Graphene is also a versatile, conductive product — potentially the best heat and electricity conductor humanity has ever discovered — and can operate as both an outer build material and a basis for crafting microprocessors and other internal components. It’s already being used in earphones, impact-resistant helmets, and even airplane parts.
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As a feature in future smartphones, graphene could play numerous roles. Its strength could lead to a significant improvement in drop protection. Rather than relying on plastic and aluminum components, devices made with graphene would rival or surpass the lightness of these materials while taking strength to a new level. Moreover, the material’s thinness could enable the development of even smaller phones. Both internal components and outer shells might one day benefit from further form factor minimization. This carbon structure may also play a role in battery development, as early graphene-infused batteries showcase the potential for an energy density that dwarfs conventional lithium-ion technology. It has even been proposed as a tool to layer transparent solar collection sheets on top of a phone’s screen, allowing the device to effectively recharge itself while in use out and about!
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Speaking of phone design, the form factor of a ‘phone’ is beginning to look altogether different
The concept of a “phone” has always revolved around its original form factor. Initially resembling a huge walkie-talkie, subsequent designs from nearly every major manufacturer have followed this layout. The tools have a screen of some kind in the center (or covering the entire face, as is common today), along with buttons near the bottom, a speaker at the top, and a microphone near the bottom. This creates a rectangular shape that mimics the basic layout of a wired phone handset, with added components for making calls integrated into the midsection of the device.
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Flip phones and fad-crazed designs like the Sidekick brought new angles to the form factor, but no phone has really challenged the essential DNA of what it means to be a “phone.” It’s something you instantly recognize, no matter the unique specific design choices a manufacturer incorporates. But this won’t likely remain the case heading into the future. With the ability to introduce increasingly smaller chips and hardware into these tools, tertiary devices like a smartwatch can take on a considerable amount of the communicative work a phone does for its user. Other form factors like lapel pins, clips, and broaches, and additional wearables like smart glasses are making inroads, too. Glasses are a particularly interesting development. While not entirely new (think: Google Glass, yikes!), the most recent entrants significantly expand on what was once thought possible with the help of improved AR functionality and AI integrations.
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AI will also be instrumental in communicative tools like translation services
The improvements AI stands to bring to the smartphone landscape don’t stop at fun additions to the device. AI has already made its way into the world of assistance by bringing users information they might be looking for, among other capabilities. This assistive capacity will become stronger with the help of AI language tools. Considering its prowess for compiling huge reserves of information and then spitting it back out on demand, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that AI will eventually be a major factor in translation services. Its ability to process enormous volumes of data allows it to digest grammatical and vocabulary corpora, alongside all manner of dialect-specific media and slang usage.
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The end result will be a powerful AI system capable of bridging the language barrier between speakers of virtually any pair of languages, no matter how distant. AI is already making its mark in language-learning apps. When integrated into your phone, it will allow you to travel anywhere in the world with greater confidence in communicating with the people you meet. On a functional level, this means a wider network of business connections, more fulfilling global tourism, and a richer understanding of the people and cultures that exist just beyond the horizon.
Improvements in biometric sensor equipment will make phones safer
One glaring reality of today’s smartphones is a lack of trust among users. A study by Tech Radar in 2015 revealed that 54% of consumers worried about the security of their mobile phones, and in 2017, Bitdefender reported that as many as 90% of European consumers were wary of security gaps in IoT technology. This trend has remained a long-running theme among mobile devices, with a common theme emerging: Users understand and generally take steps to secure their laptops or desktop computers but often fail to translate these lessons to their mobile devices.
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Although Samsung included upgraded ultrasonic fingerprint sensors in its flagship phones starting in 2019, the technology has remained niche within the mobile world. They also launched with some hiccups. However, improvements in the years since have radically improved the tool, and many more Android devices are expected to include ultrasonic fingerprint sensors in standard models starting in 2025. Replacing the standard optical sensor, which has handled much of a device’s physical security, will make devices significantly more secure. Improving security and changing people’s minds about how secure their devices actually are will go a long way toward broadening the utility of this technology.
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Biometric enhancements are poised to revolutionize the volume and velocity of tertiary functions, too
New security features will change the calculation on how a user interacts with their phone in virtually every way. Today, people are often worried about their data, banking apps, and precious pictures that can’t be replaced if the phone were stolen. This leads many to operate with cloud backups and potentially forego using their phone as a universally adaptable communication tool. Many even install secure folders on their devices to add extra protection for their most sensitive information and files.
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But improved biometric security and a constant march toward greater digital protection mean the whole device can be thought of as a sort of black box. With your phone as a meticulously protected digital accessory that you carry everywhere, it could easily become a multi-functional Swiss Army Knife that houses your digital wallet, keys to your home, office, and car, and a controller for all kinds of tools that play a role in your lifestyle. Phones already allow for seamless connection to services like home alarm systems and smart heating and cooling settings. In the future, combined with 5G, 6G, or some connectivity network iteration yet to come, your phone may function as a data relay and control hub for sensitive tools like prosthetic limbs.
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Smartphones may ultimately draw processing power straight from the cloud
Cloud technology is nothing new. It began taking shape in the 1960s with the advent of the early internet and reached a kind of adolescence a few decades later (with the term “cloud” coming into computing’s lexicon in 1993). In the new millennium, cloud technology has grown to even more potent heights, underpinning some of the most important tasks we ask our computers and smartphones to perform.
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However, cloud-based technologies may still have a long way to go before they’re fully leveraged. At the Mobile World Congress held in Barcelona in 2022, a new proof of concept was unveiled that indicated another novel twist in the development of cloud computing and smartphone capability. Rather than leveraging local resources within a smartphone’s physical infrastructure, this project proposed a smartphone design that drew processing power directly from the cloud. In theory, this could mean a phone capable of performing any task without needing to house most of the hardware required to achieve it. A phone could ultimately become a screen, battery, and a few networking tools, accessing the remainder of its hardware seamlessly through a cloud server. Combined with technologies like a graphene-infused battery, phones could become almost impossibly small while featuring nearly infinite computing power drawn from a physical location that’s totally disconnected from the device itself.
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The eSIM wave will make fleet management and personal communication more streamlined
eSIM technology is also fairly well-established. The tools to achieve an embedded SIM profile have been around since 2010 and gained a mainstream place in the market by 2016. This makes them both well-tested and improved upon, while still remaining somewhat new. Not all phones in the consumer marketplace are compatible with the technology, but eSIM offers a great option for business and enterprise mobile customers as well as routine consumer users. Unlike a physical SIM card, an eSIM is integrated directly into the phone.
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On a practical level, this means that phone developers can eliminate another hardware feature, freeing up valuable space inside their devices. And for consumers, an eSIM means there’s no need to head into a mobile network store to activate a new phone or get a replacement SIM card if a phone is lost or damaged. It’s also highly convenient for travelers. Activating an eSIM when you land in a new country is far easier than carrying and swapping out cards to maintain connectivity. The push for increased eSIM adoption is also a crucial step forward for IoT applications and fleet management. With more devices supporting eSIM, a greater range of equipment and productivity tools can be managed through mobile and remote means.
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Spatial computing can make a remote meeting feel more personal
The promises of fully realized Augmented Reality (AR) technology have been seen in the visualizations of futuristic society on the silver screen for generations. The commonality of holographic communications in science fiction is so prevalent that it’s perhaps somewhat surprising the technology hasn’t made its way into the real world in any meaningful way yet. However, this may be set to change in the coming future.
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AR, alongside Virtual Reality and Mixed Reality tools, is coming on leaps and bounds. These technologies are already making an impact in entertainment and other spaces, from VR gaming headsets and productivity innovations like the Apple Vision Pro or Meta Quest 2. But new innovations in the field may eventually eliminate the need for a bulky and expensive headset, ringing AR tools right into the room with you through the power of your smartphone. This could make meetings with people from all over the world feel more personal and direct, breaking free from the confines of screen windows to showcase participants. It may also produce immaculate renderings of presentation tools in 3D right in front of meeting attendees, replacing the traditional PowerPoint slides that have dominated for years.
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Driving mode settings will see better interfacing and even AR dashboard functionalities
Your phone is already a consummate navigator. With a basic car mount, you can position your smartphone conveniently on or near the dashboard to access a variety of helpful tools. From controlling music playback to serving as a GPS assistant giving you directions, smartphones play a surprisingly significant role in standard driving tasks today. This role is likely to only become more pronounced in the future, with continuing advancements in AR tools available and computational power bringing even greater functionality.
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Driving mode may eventually include dashboard projections that allow the phone to display all kinds of information in a sort of HUD layout that gamers will be familiar with. Rather than glancing down at the screen to view the next turn, you might just have the directions projected up in front of you for easy access while keeping your eyes firmly on the road. Numerous car models already feature mirrored display tools that beam a few key pieces of information up on the windshield, so it shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone that enhancements in this region will eventually make their way into the driving experience. Moreover, with the importance that smartphones already command from the driver’s seat, it’s only fitting that they will play a key role in these improvements.
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