These days as a consumer, we’re absolutely spoilt for choice when it comes to smartphones. Smartphones are, well… smarter, faster, better, and offer greater value. Ultimately, they’ve evolved in design, technology and material build. Just as mobile devices have evolved, so have our expectations of them.
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!
