vox populi : 2023 has been a great year in the smartphone space with a ado of initiation that drive the market forward and deliver new and interesting feature article for consumers – and 2024 is gearing up to be much the same .
But before we cut into read/write head - first into a new year of technical school in 2024 , let ’s first take stock and compensate homage to the advancements in the smartphone space in 2023 , from impressive camera tech to unfeignedly rapid loyal charging and much more .
1-inch camera sensors
Smartphone television camera tech has been steadily improving over the past few year , and we ’re finally draw near a point wheremostsmartphones can take nice pic .
However , that entail manufacturers have to go even further to allure consumer towards their top - end flagships – and that comes in the form of 1 - column inch camera sensors . True , one or two earphone had the tech in late 2022 , but it was only in 2023 that we see it catch on in a big way .
Even though a1 - in camera detector is n’t actually an column inch wide(it ’s a throwback to other tv camera hardware ) , it is importantly larger than those that derive before it . That mean that 1 - inch camera phone like theVivo X90 ProandXiaomi 13 Prohave an edge in the photographic camera section , in particular when it comes to downcast - light photography .
The Vivo X90 Pro exemplifies this perfectly for me ; using its 1 - inch sensing element , it can take photos at nighttime that enamor more light than I can see with my own eyes , even in near pitch - dark status . It ’s also able to capture amazingly detailed photos of headliner . The fact that the phone can do all this without the pauperization for a tripod or a steady surface makes the technical school all the more impressive .
It is n’t a feature universally used by manufacturers – Samsung went down the high - megapixel route for the 200MP television camera of its top - endS23 Ultra – but it ’s for sure more readily available now than it was a year ago .
240W fast charging
profligate charging is another lineament of smartphones that has improved exponentially over the preceding few years , with smartphones like the 120WXiaomi 13 Proregaining a full charge in just 24 minutes – but it pal in comparison to the 240W fast charging of theRealme GT Neo 5 , revealed at MWC earlier this twelvemonth .
Though the smartphone never officially made it to Europe despite its MWC reveal , the technical school powering it was withal telling . The compounding of 240W charging technical school and a 4,600mAh battery meant the sound could charge up from matted to full in just nine and a half minutes , with a 50 % bang take just four second .
That delivers a new layer of freedom when it comes to charge , no longer having to plug it in overnight . rather , you could theoretically plug away it in while you make a cupper and have enough charge to last all mean solar day . It remains alone in its gamy - electrical power charging for now , but hopefully we ’ll see others utilise the tech in 2024 .
Better foldable technology
This one is an umbrella of tech rather than one specific component part , but folding technical school has occupy great strides in 2023 . compare to early foldables that first strike the market place in 2019 , 2023 foldables have solved a groovy many emergence .
The all important flexible joint mechanism within foldables , mostly speaking , is now strong , more robust and allows for a completely gapless fold . That ’s a fleck of a double whammy , as it not only piddle for a cleaner look overall but it stops dust and other junk from building up on the intimate video display while it sit in a pocket or pocketbook .
It also allow for a completely uncreased foldable experience – in some cases , anyway . While the likes of thePixel Foldand , to a sure extent , theSamsung Galaxy Z Fold 5 , still have a notable crease , it ’s hard to espy on vie foldables like theOnePlus OpenandHuawei Mate X3 , and it ’s not really an issue on clamshell foldables like theMotorola Razr 40 Ultraeither .
There have also been meaningful upgrades to folding camera technical school in 2023 , with the OnePlus Open and its three cameras designed specifically for foldaway tech delivering results you ’d expect from a even flagship . That just would n’t have been possible before 2023 .
for sure , there are still issues with durability and the all - important terms , but it ’s great to see the foldable market begin to properly mature in 2023 .
Impressive AI photo editing
picture redaction has been a staple fiber of the smartphone experience for years , with an ever - originate number of built - in tools to aid enhance your snaps .
However , Google has stood apart from the competition with its rooms of AI - power editing tools exclusive to its Pixel aggregation . This year’sPixel 8collection pick out that AI editing art to an whole new storey , with features like Best Take that automatically analyse faces in a serial of snaps and allow you to take a ‘ best take ’ where everyone is put .
It allowed me to remove a significant amount of scaffold from a photo I took during the critique period without the obvious blurring and artefacting we ’ve seen from image remotion tools until now .
In another , I remove all park cars from a road and changed the prison term of mean solar day from evening to morning , and it took seconds .
It ’s tech that we might see spread out to other smartphones in 2024 with theSnapdragon 8 Gen 3chipset and its support for GenAI , allowing for ChatGPT - style project all on - machine . It ’s pretty nerveless stuff .
