The notch made its mark
It started with last year’s iPhone X, and it’s a display trend that really made its mark in 2018. It’s the notch - that little cut-out at the top of a huge amount of new handsets.There’s a good reason for the notch – it’s usually packed with exciting camera tech. But it still has its fair share of critics who prefer a notch-free display. Will this trend continue in 2019? The smart money’s on less obtrusive and different shaped notches coming into play. Watch this space.
Artificial intelligence got snappier
If you’ve got a virtual assistant like Alexa, Siri and Google Assistant, you’ll have been enjoying the benefits of AI for a while. But this year, we’ve seen AI take centre stage in lots of smartphone cameras, and do all sorts of clever things to make photos look spectacular.Lots of AI cameras can recognise what we’re taking a picture of and where we’re taking it – otherwise known as the scenario. For example, the Huawei Mate 20 Pro recognises over 1,000 different scenarios, then adjusts the camera settings to get the best looking shot.
AI in camera phones has been a hugely popular trend in 2018. And if it means we get to take the best pictures we possibly can, long may it continue!
Augmented reality got real
Augmented reality is when something real – like a picture of your face - is turned into something that’s not so real, with the help of things like dog ears, cartoon eyes, angel wings or something just as unusual. It’s really taken off this year, and we’re having great fun trying it out.With the Mate 20 Pro, you can even bring objects to life. Take your faithful teddy bear, for instance (it’s ok, we won’t tell) – once you’ve scanned in ted from all angles, you can see it dance around right in front of you.
And with the Samsung Galaxy S9, you can change your whole look and style and create your own emoji. Pick your new hairstyle and wardrobe, and then give yourself a range of movements and faces. When you’re satisfied with the results, you can share your emoji with friends.
Your home got smarter
Smart technology has been around for a few years now, but it’s really come on in leaps and bounds recently.There are now loads of smart products that you can control with a mobile app, or by asking your virtual assistant to do the honours. You can easily set things up to have a friendly greeting like: “Alexa, Happy Christmas!” instantly turn on the Christmas tree and other festive lights around the house. Or you can do it remotely. So, on a cold wintry day, you can arrive home to a warm, bright and toasty welcome.
We’ve seen some real advances in smart tech that helps keep your home safe, too. You can now log into cameras placed in and around your house, so you know everything’s as it should be.
Or what about a smart doorbell? It can alert you when someone’s at the door, and let you see who’s there with its inbuilt video camera. Some smart doorbells have built in microphones that let you communicate with whoever’s at your door. So if it’s a genuine caller like a delivery person, you can advise them of a safe place to put that parcel you’ve been waiting for.
Smartphones upped their security
Okay, so we’ve talked about smart products that make your home safe, but what about the phone itself? 2018 has seen some serious advances in smartphone security.Some of this year’s best flagship phones (Galaxy Note9, iPhone XR, iPhone Xs etc.) support facial recognition technology, making sure that you and only you can access your device. That’s on top of fingerprint unlocking, which is now widely available, to make going through the hassle of trying to remember passwords, passkeys and swipe patterns a thing of the past.
Charging went off in all directions
The last thing we want to look at is charging, where we’ve seen a major breakthrough this year. The Huawei Mate 20 Pro supports reverse charging – a world first. What that means is that you can use the phone itself to charge up another device, by placing them back to back. So if your mate’s about to run out of juice when you’re both out and about, you can swoop in and save the day. Pretty impressive stuff, right?
2018 has been a massive year in mobile, and 2019 is sure to be the same. What were your most memorable mobile trends of the year? Post a reply below and share your thoughts with the rest of the Community!
