When it comes to a flagship smartphone, the stakes are high. While consumers are willing to pay top dollar for best, the benchmark for ‘best’ is constantly rising, too.
Personally, here are five things I look for in a next generation smartphone.
Cutting-edge design, material build
In terms of design, I’m looking for something that’s sleek, with a big screen (minimum 5.7-inch) and impeccable build. I like the current trend of big displays squeezed into compact bodies. Something a flagship device like the Galaxy S7 edge delivered last year. A device like the Xiaomi Mi Mix with its bezel-less display teases what’s to come in 2017. I expect my next flagship device to be bezel-less, or have at least have an edge-to-edge design. A curved-edge display is optional, but certainly a bonus. I tend to prefer metal unibody designs in general, but hey, I’m open to surprises.
Lag-free performance
Under the hood, I expect nothing less than the top-of-the-line Snapdragon, Exynos or Kirin. Nothing bigger than 14nm please, because for me, power efficiency and performance is super important. Other things I look for is – at least 4GB of LPDDR4 RAM and 64GB of storage, ideally 128GB. microSD expansion is also a must, to store all those 4K videos and high-res photos I’ll be shooting.
Ultimate durability
Dust- and water-resistance is something we’re seeing more these days, and this is good. Thanks to phones like the Xperia Z-series, HTC Butterfly 2, Samsung’s Galaxy S7 and Galaxy A-series, and iPhone 7 we’re seeing more durable phones in the market. And I expect no less than IP68 on the next flagship that comes to market.
All-day battery life
Another important feature on a flagship smartphone is battery life and fast charging. With smartphones now an umbilical cord for most people, they should last a full day’s use, or ideally, more. Also, rapid or quick charging is not even a request. It’s a MUST.
The best camera
I’ve saved the best for last. What I rate as the most important feature of all, is the camera. Being a photography enthusiast, and the smartphone being the ‘weapon’ I carry pretty much every single minute, the camera needs to be great. What it needs to be is ultra-snappy, performs great in low-light as well as shoots 4K video. Auto-focus needs to be fast and accurate. Slap in the fastest lens possible (minimum f/1.7 aperture) and that will put a smile on my face.
All things considered, I can’t wait for the big unveil of Samsung’s upcoming flagship S device at Unpacked 2017. Will it surprise? Will it break new ground? We’ll see.
What are your expectations for a dream mobile device? What are the most important features for you? Post your comments below!
