Smartphones of the future: what could they be?

Based on materials Android Authority

Modern smartphones are equipped with large touch screens, impressive

cameras and high-tech features such aslike 3D face recognition. Previously, phones were mainly used for calls, but now they are used for everything: listening to music, browsing the web, playing games, and watching cat videos on YouTube.

If you had said, for example, back in 1999, onwhat these devices will be capable of in 20+ years, you would be called crazy. Back then, no one could have predicted the impact that phones would have on our lives. It would sound like science fiction.

And it makes me think:What could the smartphones of the future look like? What features that seem like science fiction today will these devices have in 20, 30 or even 50 years? Here are just a few ideas of varying degrees of realism and complexity of implementation.

Controlling the power of thought

Previously, the main way of interacting withthe phone had a physical keyboard. Over time, it was replaced by the touch screens we use today. Thanks to voice assistants, we can now interact with our devices simply by using our voice.

As the next step in this evolution, sobegs the use of the power of thought. This technology will allow you to mentally complete any task that you are currently solving with a tap or voice. You can open the app of your choice, play a particular video on some futuristic version of YouTube, and even edit images with your mind. You can also send text, control screen brightness, or create a movie from the videos you've taken.

Such smartphones could be usedmuch faster. You no longer have to search for an app to open it or drag your finger to the top of the screen to touch it. You could complete any task in the blink of an eye.

We are still a long way from having something like this.has become a reality, but scientists are making progress in this area. Back in 2017, Building 8, a division of Facebook (recognized as extremist in the Russian Federation), was developing a technology that allows people to type with the effort of thought. The predicted typing speed was 100 words per minute, which is about five times faster than typing on our current smartphones. However, at the end of 2018, Building 8 was disbanded and key employees moved to other companies. However, it's encouraging that someone is already trying to develop a technology that could play a big role in our lives sometime in the future.

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MIT scientistsare also working on a similar project. The device, called AlterEgo, allows users to communicate with machines using only their thoughts. The project has been in development for some time now and it will take time before it hits the market, if it ever does.

Although the idea of ​​using a smartphone through mere thought seems crazy now, decades from now it could become a reality. Let's cross our fingers!

Air charging

Let's face it:The battery life of an average smartphone is no good. Even if you have a flagship smartphone like the Galaxy S22 Ultra with its massive 5,000mAh battery, you can still expect two days of use on average at best. Once the device is dead, you need to either plug it in or place it on a charging pad if your phone supports wireless technology.

In the future, things may be very different.Last year, Motorola introduced its over-the-air charging solution, which can charge smartphones up to one meter away from the charger. Xiaomi showed a similar solution called Mi Air Charge, which has a range of several meters. The idea is good, but why not take it one step further?

Imagine a future where chargersdevices will become much more powerful and will be able to charge devices over the air over long distances. Transmitters could be placed in different countries, like modern cell towers, so that they constantly charge your smartphone from a distance, ensuring that it never runs out of power. These chargers will be so powerful that they will keep your smartphone battery at 100 percent all the time. You'll never have to worry about battery life again, and you'll be rid of all those pesky charging cables forever.

This technology will not be limitedsmartphones, it will be possible to constantly charge all your gadgets, from laptops to smartwatches. This way it will even be possible to charge even electric cars, which we will probably all drive in the future.

Expandable phones

The next big breakthrough in screen technology is inthe near future may be associated with flexible screens. Several foldable smartphones have already appeared, such as the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 3, Z Flip 3 and others. But as the next technological breakthrough in this area - in decades to come - stretchable phones can be imagined. Instead of flipping the phone around to expand the screen like you did with the Z Fold 3, you stretch it to make it bigger like a rubber band. All you have to do is pull the phone on the two corners diagonally.

This type of screen will allow you to quickly zoom inthe size of the device when watching videos and make it smaller so that it fits in your pocket. True, for this to work, the vast majority of components must be expandable, not just the screen.

Obviously there will be some limit to how much youyou can stretch the device. For example, if this limit were 50 percent of the size, that would mean you could turn a 6-inch display into a 9-inch one.

Working on expandable screen technologyalready underway, but fully expandable phones are still a long way off. Samsung announced a prototype stretchable screen back in 2017 that can be bent up to 12mm without causing harm, as shown in the image above. This screen simply returns to its original flat form, like a trampoline - so it's not exactly what was described above as an idea for the future.

Last year, the company showed off a new version of this screen that can stretch and reshape to display content in a more immersive way.

And engineers at Michigan State University have also developed the first expandable chip and see the future of expandable electronics.

“Our work may soon result in the creationscreens that can be easily stretched to large sizes, and can also be used in wearable electronics and soft robotics,” says Chuan Wang, associate professor at Michigan State University.

In addition to increasing or decreasing the sizephones, expandable displays will also add a new quality to games and videos. Imagine playing a first-person shooter and having the display curve when someone shoots at you, the experience can become much more immersive.

Smartphones that change color

Choosing a color when buying a smartphone can be difficult.Black, silver and white are more classic but also boring. Red, green, or purple hues stand out, but can give devices a toy, less solid look. With the smartphones of the future, you may no longer have to choose.

Imagine a phone with a transparent backa panel of glass-like material that completely absorbs light. The device will have one or more LEDs inside, the color of which can be changed in the phone settings (or maybe with the power of thought!). When you select orange, the entire back cover completely absorbs the light of that color and looks exactly the same as if it had been painted.

This technology will allow you to switch betweenin different colors as often as you like. This feature can also be set to automatically change colors on a daily basis. With several LEDs inside, arranged in a certain way, you can also create gradient colors.

This new glass-like material, like the screen,will be virtually unbreakable, so you won't have to worry about it cracking if you drop your phone. Unlike current glass smartphones, it will also be fingerprint resistant.

Work in this direction is already underway, althoughhow it will become a reality, is still far away. In 2020, OnePlus announced the 8T concept phone with a color-changing back. OnePlus calls the technology Electronic Color, Material, and Finish (Electronic Color, Material, and Finish), or ECMF for short, it allows the back of the phone to change depending on the circumstances. Below you can see how it works.

Source: androidauthority.com

Vivo also showed off its phone last year.color-changing, and Infinix introduced a color-changing artificial leather back panel for mobile phones. Even BMW showed off its iX M60 at CES 2022, which has an electrophoretic “paint” that changes colors in the blink of an eye.

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OLED and E-ink in one device

OLED screens are great for watching videosand gaming, but not for reading, for which e-ink screens, like e-readers, are a much better option. The eyes do not strain after several hours of reading, and you can also read outdoors in direct sunlight. Sure, features like night mode filter out blue light and can even turn the screen to monochrome, but OLED displays still can't come close to e-ink technology in terms of readability.

Imagine that the smartphones of the future will be able tocombine OLED and e-ink technologies, which will probably kill e-readers as a class of devices. With a simple tap in the settings, you can turn your OLED display into an e-ink screen for reading books, articles, and various documents without all that light hitting your eyes. The e-ink screen is also much less power hungry, which can translate into longer battery life.

Unfortunately, the implementation of this idea is currentlymoment is not possible. Apple had a similar idea back in 2011 when it applied for a patent for an e-ink/OLED hybrid display, but the technology never made it to market. Phones with both display technologies are available today, but not combined into one. And although it seems impossible now, such a symbiosis may become a reality in the distant future - after all, crazier things have happened.

Will smartphones remain smartphones?

Smartphones of the future may not exist at allsmartphones. These devices can get a completely new form factor that will allow us to perform the same tasks as today's smartphones, and even more.

Imagine a future where smartphones are in theirthe current form will be replaced by a device that looks like regular glasses. Yes, we've already seen glasses like Google Glass fail miserably. But the product in question here goes beyond the ambitions of Google's pet project, Google Glass on steroids. This version of the futuristic glasses allows you to make and receive calls. When someone calls you, you see their name/picture in front of your eyes. When you answer a call, you can hear the caller immediately without having to use headphones. The glasses will use bone conduction technology or something even more high-tech. They will also be able to play music, offer turn-by-turn navigation, and read emails and texts you've received. All these things can also be displayed in front of your eyes with the help of AR technology.

Of course, the glasses should have a built-in camera.When you want to take a picture, a frame will appear in front of your eyes showing what exactly the camera will capture. Say something like "click" in your head and the shot is taken.

Thanks to AR technology, glasses will projectscreen/image in front of you, allowing you to watch your favorite shows, play games, view camera images, and view web pages. It turns out that you do not have to buy a separate TV, which will save money, as well as space in your home.

With these glasses you will also be able to see3D holograms of people. Just imagine, you are sitting in your living room and watching Marilyn Monroe sing "Happy Birthday, Mr. President" to you. Or porn. The experience can be extremely exciting.

Many companies are already working in the field of smart andconnected glasses. In addition to Google, a few years ago, Intel demonstrated smart glasses that project a stream of information (direction hints, notifications…) in front of you. But, unfortunately, she has already abandoned this technology. North, which is backed by Amazon, was working on a similar idea in their Focals glasses. However, Google later bought the company and closed the project. In addition, there are mixed reality headsets such as the Microsoft HoloLens that display holograms in front of your eyes, although they are currently aimed at business users.

Thus, glasses can combinesmartphone capabilities with holograms and other features offered by today's smart glasses. It's an interesting idea, but let's keep imagining and take it one step further. Imagine replacing those futuristic glasses with a small computer placed inside your brain. You will be able to receive calls by hearing the voice of the caller in your head just like your own thoughts. In the same way, you will listen to music, hear GPS prompts, and more.

In addition, you can take pictures, watchvideos, play games and see holograms. But instead of the glasses projecting images in front of you, the computer in your head will project them through your eyes. Essentially, this computer will be able to do the same things as the smart glasses of the future, but it will be less intrusive. Maybe. It will have to be placed in your brain, but at least it won't have to be turned on and off every five minutes. And also it will be impossible to lose or steal it.

Elon Musk founded Neuralink in 2017which works in the field of "neural lace" technology. The idea is to implant tiny electrodes into the human brain so that it can communicate directly with machines. This technology will also allow you to upload and download your thoughts. If you imagine that this is possible in the future, you can imagine anything at all. However, the current development of the technology is still far from our wildest imagination, although Neuralink is said to be preparing for its first human trials by the end of 2022.

Imagine a future where everything will beconnected, and our smartphones — or whatever comes after them — will be able to interact seamlessly with almost any device. As long as you have such a smartphone, your front door will open when you approach, you can unlock the car and start the engine, and even go to the gate through automatic control in the subway or at the airport if the ticket is stored in your smartphone. Looks great - at least until your smartphone is stolen.

These are just a few thoughts on possible features in the smartphones of the future. Share yours in the comments!