Smartphones of our time

The smartphone market is actively developing. Today, more and more users choose a device without relying on the technical characteristics of the device. The brand and a few other criteria are key to many. For a while, people have tried to buy smartphones with Qualcomm processors, as they have a high frequency. Also, these gadgets have good optics. But then everything changed.

Briefly about the history of the smartphone market

Initially, there were several top-end manufacturers supplying quality smartphones to the market. They accounted for more than 70% of the market. But over time, outsiders began to offer excellent models, the cost of which is much lower.

After a while, manufacturers realized that improving quality characteristics did not allow dramatically changing user preferences. There is no need to buy a flagship with four cores and multiple cameras if the current smartphone covers the needs.

Now it is important that the phone is comfortable. Users are paying less attention to performance. The experience of using a model by other people are important for them. Therefore, the focus is on the following:

• immutability of the interface;
• standard set of services;
• convenient and familiar applications;
• long service life.

This is what modern users appreciate.

Trapped in your comfort zone

Now many companies have come to what Apple originally used:

• using your own processors;
• development of unique applications;
• the presence of a branded application store;
• optimized shell;
• availability of stylish accessories.

It is important that everything works stably in the "computer - tablet - smartphone - watch - headphones" link.

Huawei successfully replicated Apple's experience, but the impetus was the US sanctions. The interface is a bit like classic Android, but its functionality is somewhat broader, which makes Huawei phones unique.

Xiaomi is another giant from China that has been able to offer users its own high quality hardware and software. The company has various equipment that synchronizes with each other without any problems.

Samsung is releasing new items within its ecosystem. Users who have been using devices from this manufacturer for a long time appreciate the constant interface and high functionality, which is fully revealed only when using other Samsung equipment.

Thus, manufacturers are trying to create an ecosystem to train users to buy their products. Only by using the technique of one brand, you can get high quality and no problems with compatibility.

The future of the smartphone market

Experts believe that smartphones will gradually rise in price, but the need to change them will become less frequent. As a result of a few objective reasons, the beginning of 2020 turned out to be a failure for the leading manufacturers, but this should not change the trend towards an increase in the price of the phone. Flagship models cost over $ 1,000 today.

The life cycle of the equipment is growing, you no longer need to change it every 2 years. This means that manufacturers will have to compensate for the decline in sales profits by creating related products (headphones, chargers, etc.), as well as by building full-fledged ecosystems within a single brand.

Rising ecosystem revenues are forcing companies to use higher quality components to increase brand confidence.

Features 2020

Even though the new smartphones practically do not differ in performance from the previous generation models, they have several important advantages.

To increase sales of flagship models, manufacturers use various chips, including:

• 5G, which is especially popular now in the Asia-Pacific region.
• Increased screen refresh rate (now it is 60 Hz, but on top models it will reach 120 Hz).
• Autonomy (it will not be possible to increase the battery capacity, but it turned out to significantly reduce the time required to charge the device).

Soon, new smartphones will not be able to dramatically improve, but the trend is towards an increase in service life. Companies will try to create their own ecosystem to train users to use only their own technology.

As a result of the development of the ecosystem, it will be possible to expand the functionality, which the leading smartphone manufacturers will be doing in the next few years. It is possible that they will say about the new models that “they can do everything, only they don’t make coffee”. But their price will rise by about 20% to compensate for the device's longer lifespan.