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5 smartphone trends to watch in 2019

  • 3 January 2019
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5 smartphone trends to watch in 2019
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2019 has arrived but what does the year have in store for smartphones? Here are five of our biggest top mobile trend predictions for this year – from folding phones to pop-up cameras.

1. In-display fingerprint scanners


Fingerprint sensors are the new norm. After all, who has time to enter their password every time they want to access their phone? And now, lots of new handsets are expected to feature in-display fingerprint scanners come 2019.

Having the fingerprint in the screen will reduce the bezels on the latest models even further. So you can expect bigger screens with superior ultrasonic fingerprint readers nestled nicely under the display. There are already a few phones on the market offering this feature – two of which being the OnePlus 6T and the Huawei Mate 20 Pro.


2. 5G

We’ve been hearing rumours on 5G for a while now – but 2019 is the year it finally rolls out with some of the biggest manufacturers confirming 5G-ready handsets. However, 5G isn’t just about internet speeds. It could boost the way we use virtual and augmented reality. Word on the street is that it’ll see the merge in computer graphics with the real world. We could also see a surge in holographic displays, on hand to give you directions through your street map apps.

Always running out of space on your phone? 5G could be the answer, as it claims to take cloud computing to a more advanced level. So, you can get ready for a future with tons of free space on your devices.

3. Foldable phones

Last year, Samsung revealed its first ever foldable phone that opens up into a 7-inch phablet, and we couldn’t be more excited about this innovative new stride in tech. Basically, foldable phones will be two devices in one – your compact smartphone and your bigger device ideal for watching content on.

Samsung isn’t the only one working on this new breakthrough, though. Rumour has it both Huawei and Xiaomi have models in the pipeline, which could hit the market sooner than you think. Who knows, at this rate, you could folding your way into 2020 quite nicely.

4. An increase in waterdrop notches


If you’re not sure what a waterdrop notch is, we’ll explain. It’s a small discreet curve at the top of a phone’s display where the front camera lens sits. This minimalistic design lets phone makers create an almost bezel-less screen – meaning you’ll get even more screen as well as your selfie camera.

With a few phones already using this design feature, we can expect bigger brand releases with waterdrop notches in 2019 – like the up and coming Huawei P Smart.


5. Pop-up cameras


If a little waterdrop notch still takes up more display room than you’re willing to give up, a pop-up camera could spark your interest. One of the latest trends in hardware innovation, this sliding mechanism pops up when you open your camera, revealing both front- and rear-facing camera.
The result being a completely bezel-less phone. That’s right, 100% screen. However, this new technology has been met with mixed reviews so far. We think 2019 will be the year to make or break this new trend.

Heard any other rumoured 2019 trends that we’ve not mentioned? Which of these would you like to see become mainstream this year? Share your thoughts in the comments below.

4 replies

Userlevel 8
Badge +9
I am thinking that Facial recognition will widespread and will get improved in 2019 as well. I have read somewhere that Sony is working on laser based version of this security feature. Apparently it is going to be more accurate than ever before. I am enjoying it more than fingerprint and my Honor Play unlocks pretty quickly just by looking at it 🙂

I have also seen on Recombu a phone called Oppo R17 which has two separate battery cells which in theory should improve battery life and charging times, hopefully this will be implemented on wider scale as well (if this really works).
Userlevel 4
I use an iPhone with facial recognition and on the whole its pretty good. Maybe its a little slow when I pick the phone up in the middle of the night to check what that message bleep was, but I can only imagine what horrors its trying to decipher from my expression at that time of the night 😉 5G sounds like its going to be great but the reviews I have seen from elsewhere tell me that 2019 is still a bit early for it, and its likely to only pick up in 2020, so yes looking forward to that. The little notches I can see will be an improvement over the current notches, so that will be nice to see. Nice article, and great to see teasers of the future coming up.
Rebecca
Userlevel 1
Probably there won't be over 100 billion handsets with in display fingerprint scanners this year. That would mean everyone on the planet buying an average of over a dozen of them! Perhaps you meant 100 million? That might be more feasible!
Userlevel 1
Thanks for highlighting Sknab, that did seem to be a rather optimistic forecast 😃. It's now been amended.

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