Smartphone tech in 2020: Cheaper foldable phones, more cameras and faster charging mobiles?

The year 2019 was an exciting year for smartphone tech. We saw smartphones launching with different kind of notches and no-notch, the tradition from single, dual-camera setups to quad-camera modules, 12MP sensors to 48MP to 64MP to even 108MP smartphone cameras, and some 5G smartphones. Last year also witnessed up to 65W super-fast charging in commercial smartphones.

Smartphone companies have already teased or given an idea about the kind of products they would launch this year. So what does 2020 have in store for us, the users? 

Foldables for all?

Last year, tech giants like Samsung and Huawei launched the Galaxy Fold and Mate X. These two smartphones when folded out offered a much larger screen estate and feature the best of internals and cameras from their respective premium/ flagship devices. Out of the two popular ones, only the Galaxy Fold made it to India with a whopping price tag of Rs 1,64,990. 

Motorola is confirmed to bring its foldable Moto Razr to India. The iconic clamshell design has been launched in the US for $1,500, which is roughly Rs 1,08,000, aka expensive.

In 2020, we can expect smartphone manufacturers to offer their foldable smartphone to a much wider set of audience. Samsung is rumoured to be launching a clamshell design foldable smartphone with mid-range internals under $800.

With the foldable trend slowly picking up, we can expect the likes of Xiaomi and Oppo, who have already teased their version of foldable screens, to launch much-affordable foldable smartphones this year.

More cameras, more resolution, more zoom.

In 2019, we saw companies luring the customer by loading budget to mid-range smartphones with quad-cameras that came with either a 48MP sensor or a 64MP sensor. In India, users can buy a 64MP quad-camera smartphone for as low as Rs 16,999. 

Xiaomi has already entered the 108MP mark with its Mi Note 10 series. Although unknown which smartphone, but the company has confirmed that it will bring its 108MP smartphone camera to India. Realme too is rumoured to be working on a 108MP smartphone camera to compete against its arch-rival, Xiaomi. 

Not just mid-range smartphones, but even the flagship category is rumoured to get 108MP sensors. The upcoming Galaxy S11+, aka Galaxy S20 Ultra, is said to get a custom 108MP Bright HM1 sensor.

Coupled with a high-resolution sensor would be multiple cameras and a lot more zoom. Quad-camera setup has become a norm in the upper-budget to mid-range smartphones. Even flagships from the likes of Apple and others are expected to launch with three shooters and a set of different sensors for better depth mapping. For 2020, don’t get surprised if you see five cameras, or even six rear cameras on smartphones.

We’ve already seen OEMs launch smartphones with up to 5x optical zoom and 60x digital zoom (Reno 10x Zoom, Huawei P30 Pro, Reno 2, etc.). This time around, in 2020, credible sources claim that users will see high-end phones get support for up to 10x optical zoom, whereas higher-mid-range smartphones will get 5x optical zoom. We can expect the likes of Huawei, Oppo, Xiaomi, and other Chinese OEMs like Vivo to get onboard first and fight for the lead.

Blazing-fast 'Fast Charging'

Oppo took the world by surprise with its 65W Super VOOC 2.0 fast charging. The charging technology claims to refuel a 4,000 mAh battery within 28 minutes. Oppo’s technology is also used by its once-a-sub-brand, Realme, in the X2 Pro that charges the smartphone’s 4,000 mAh battery completely within 35 minutes using the 50W SuperVOOC charger.

2020 is said to introduce users to 100W and probably even faster-charging speeds. Oppo has reportedly been working on to better its charging technology, and Xiaomi has already confirmed its 100W tech that recharges a 3,700 mAh smartphone within 17 minutes,

Not just the Chinese, but even the likes of Samsung and Apple are expected to get to the fast charging bandwagon. Samsung already offers support for up to 45W fast charging on some of its smartphones, whereas Apple caught up and launched the iPhone 11 Pro and 11 Pro Max with an 18W fast charger.

5G everywhere but probably not in India

5G network has been the talk of the tech town since H2 2019. We’ve seen several smartphones being launched with 4G LTE and 5G-connectivity support, and some smartphones in the near future will reportedly launch with only 5G support.

While the next-generation technology is evolving and growing in the US, China, and some European countries, 5G connectivity, most likely, won’t be accessible in India. Telecom operators, due to taxes and already-expensive operational charges, aren’t ready to invest in 5G in India. 

The Government of India recently allowed Huawei to conduct its 5G trials. Realme will also bring its 5G smartphone, possibly the X50, to India during H1 2020.

120 Hz and smoother

OnePlus began the trend of high refresh rate screens. Other companies, then, started launching their upper mid-range devices with 90Hz refresh rate displays. Asus went a notch higher and launched the ROG Phone 2 with a 120Hz refresh rate screen.

For 2020, we can expect 90Hz screens to get featured in mid-range smartphones, whereas the higher-end smartphones may come with 120Hz and even 144Hz screens.

Thanks