What I Want in a Phone
With Mobile World Congress (MWC), the mobile industry's biggest event, starting this week, I thought it would be a good to discuss what I feel is important in a phone.
Unsurprisingly, not much has changed since I wrote about my phone necessities in 2014.
Camera
There is no doubt cameras have improved since 2014. The camera quality remains to be one of the top priorities for me. It will be interesting to see when cameras that will sense depth (e.g. Intel's RealSense) will be incorporated in phones and unleash the unlimited possibilities. I still think that the camera sensor should be rotated 90 degrees for best use.
The double click on the home button to launch the camera at anytime remains to be one of the best features of the Galaxy S6. Hopefully more device makers will adopt a method as simple to open their camera application.
In terms of the front facing camera, iris (and to be confused with retina scanning) and facial recognition will definitely improve how we unlock our phones (similarly to fingerprints).
Fingerprint Reader
This has become a required feature in my opinion. Life is easier with the fingerprint reader in regular usage and allows mobile payments to grow with security.
NFC
I can't believe I even have to write this one. Mobile payments is here to stay. (Looking at you, OnePlus). Samsung's LoopPay technology used in Samsung Pay is certainly an advantage until NFC payments catch up.
Battery Life
It doesn't seem that battery life has really increased throughout the years and it is a constant issue. The days of replaceable batteries are now part of the past. Quick-charging is definitely useful to have.
Touchscreen Display
This isn't something I had in my previous list but because of the combination of 3D/Force Touch on iPhones/Macbooks and my experience with the Surface 4, I feel that the user's experience can greatly be improved with a more accurate touchscreen with pressure sensitivity. I would love to have the sensitivity when I use my sketch app all the time.
Nice to Haves
This hasn't changed since my 2014 post except that the need for unlocking gestures (because of the fingerprint reader): Ruggedness/Waterproof, Voice Accessibility, Wireless Charging, Active Notifications, Front-Facing Speakers (at least manufacturers are stopping those rear-speakers), Device Customization
Phone design has become more and more standardized between the large manufacturers. The major manufacturers haven't differentiated themselves in customer support. For Android devices, the competition is becoming more about the hardware capability and less about their software due to the customization available. If you don't like the manufacturer skin, you can get the Google Now Launcher and feel a more pure Android experience (that's what I do). But Android still has much to improve particularly with latest Android updates and presenting an improved standard experience.
Here's to hoping for less useless manufacturer apps, less bloatware, and faster updates!