Upcoming Mobile Trends: AR, VR, Dual Cameras - What Smartphone Makers are Working on for 2017

Upcoming Mobile Trends: AR, VR, Dual Cameras - What Smartphone Makers are Working on for 2017

Google Pixel XL with Daydream VR headset

Highlights
  • Much like 2016, cameras to remain focus for smartphone vendors
  • 2017 is likely to see a lot of smartphones with dual cameras
  • AR and VR are posed to go mainstream in 2017
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Looking back at 2016, we saw the slow (but not very impactful) rise of VR headsets being bundled along with smartphones, and camera quality went up even on lower-end devices. We also saw several specifications-related improvements - inbuilt storage is now at usable levels, even for many entry-level devices, and the amount of RAM has also increased. As a result, entry-level devices are looking better than ever before, although there are still compromises, even with the best ones.

With the New Year underway, we wanted to know what to expect, and talked to several smartphone makers to find out what they have in mind. There's a lot of interest in augmented and virtual reality, and Apple might help make yet another feature go mainstream. Here's what the different companies told Gadgets 360, about trends to expect from smartphones in 2017.

Smartphones in 2017: Where We Are Now and What the Future Holds

We've known for a while that Asus is going to launch an augmented reality focused phone, and now, we've gotten confirmation through a Qualcomm blog post. We're expecting to hear more details about this phone soon, and Asus is bullish about the concept.

 

"We anticipate advance functionality of AR and VR, which can recognise and map physical spaces, track objects as well as project virtual effects in a real-world setting and much more," Peter Chang, Region Head South Asia, and Country Manager Asus India told Gadgets 360 well before the rumours of the Asus ZenFone AR went mainstream.

samsung gear vr mwc official samsung

Asus is not the only company that's betting on AR and VR though. HTC - which also makes the Vive VR headset with Valve, although that's a separate business - also expects the technology will find its footing in 2017.

"Smartphones will lead the way for augmented and virtual reality technologies as consumers increasingly consume more social media, apps and browse online," says Faisal Siddiqui, President South Asia, HTC. Aside from AR and VR, HTC also anticipates that there will be demand for location based services, managed security applications, and Android Instant Apps.

Best Smartphones of 2016

Another area which brands believe will be important in 2017 is the phone camera. A number of brands predict that iPhone 7 Plus-like dual-rear cameras are going to become the norm. It's something that HTC, Huawei, and LG have already done in the past, but Apple still has the clout to help popularise features, and make them the norm, and quite a few manufacturers told Gadgets 360 that they're looking at dual-rear cameras.

There's a lot of interest in augmented and virtual reality

In our review of the iPhone 7 Plus, we noted that unlike other manufacturers, who have used the second camera to either capture depth information or black and white information to improve contrast and definition, Apple has gone with a slightly different approach, packing in a telephoto lens for 2x optical zoom. The dual-camera mode on the iPhone 7 Plus enables another cool party trick - Portrait Mode. Available since the iOS 10.1 update, this feature lets you blur the background of a photo to get a cool bokeh effect, traditionally associated with DSLR cameras.

google pixel xl rear google

It's not clear how exactly other companies will implement dual-camera setups, but they're certainly not going to ignore the possibility. "We at LeEco feel that 2017 will be the year of dual-camera setup," says Atul Jain, COO, Smart Electronics Business, LeEco India. "This is something that avid amateur photographers will look forward to."

"The war on megapixel count is slowly fading and we are constantly pushing the limits of technology to get more out of the smartphone-sized cameras," he adds.

Best Smartphones of 2016 Under Rs. 10,000

Vivo - one of the companies which banked heavily on selfie-culture in 2016 - also expects 2017 to be all about the camera. It believes dual cameras will become mainstream, with a lot of brands integrating the feature this year.

"2016 was the year of selfie where we saw smartphone brands coming up with variety of front camera features," said Vivek Zhang, CMO, Vivo Mobile India in an emailed statement. "In 2017, dual cameras will capture the imagination of smartphone users. Taking a cue from this trend we would be introducing dual front camera too in our soon to be launched smartphone, the Vivo V5 Plus."

For Sony, more than dual-cameras, 2017 is going to be about the evolution of the smartphone as a "dual-role" device, that takes on the work on a real, high tech camera, and not just the point and click category.

"The current trend indicates that smartphones are increasingly seen as dual-role devices, where consumers are looking for offerings that are a confluence of a phone and high tech camera, which is exactly what we offer," says Vijay Singh Jaiswal, General Manager, Mobile and Personal Audio, Sony India.

Dual cameras will become mainstream, with a lot of brands integrating the feature this year.

"The coming year promises to dominate the smartphone industry with camera technologies like Triple Image Sensing, 5-Axis Stabilization, and Predictive Hybrid Autofocus," he adds, saying, "4K technology can also play an influential role in the smartphone industry."

However, post-demonetisation, in a cashless (or at least less-cash) economy, Intex believes that payments are going to emerge as the biggest selling point for phones in 2017, and in a mailed statement, a spokesperson for the company highlights integrations with wallets and other payment options as a key feature.

smartphone screen generic unsplash smartphone

"Post the government's demonetisation move, the use and popularity of the cashless payment platform increased drastically and this trend would go on to further penetrate amongst the consumers," says Intex, adding, "2017 will focus on offering such unique end-to-end solutions with mobile wallet infrastructure integrated into new devices." Interestingly, Yu tried this earlier this year, integrating it's Yu Wallet with the Yu Yunicorn; however, at that point, digital payments were still a small part of the Indian ecosystem.

With smartphone penetration growing in rural areas, and support for regional languages, Intex also believes that regional language ecosystem is bound to hold immense potential in the Indian smartphone market. "2017 will see more and more mid segment smartphones integrated with multiple regional languages that would be targeted at tier-III cities and rural markets," it adds.

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Ketan Pratap
Ketan Pratap is the editor at Gadgets 360 - with over 12 years of experience covering the technology domain. With a breadth and depth of knowledge in the field, he's done extensive work across news, features, reviews, and opinion pieces. But what's truly inspiring about Ketan is how he spends his free time. He's often found gazing at snow-capped mountains from over 20,000 feet while sitting on the hood of his car, taking in the breathtaking beauty of nature. His passion for the great ...More
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