That is my Android smartphone wishlist for 2024

2023 was a reasonably good yr for smartphones. There was no scarcity of high quality Android telephones on provide, from Google and Samsung to OnePlus and Xiaomi. And it additionally appeared like a giant yr for non-Samsung foldable telephones too.

Now that 2023 is just about within the books, I’ve obtained a variety of objects on my 2024 smartphone wishlist. So be a part of me as I element what I’d prefer to see from telephones subsequent yr.

Qualcomm and MediaTek’s newly-announced flagship Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 and Dimensity 9300 processors are anticipated to energy loads of high-end telephones in 2024. And each of those chipsets are touting large efficiency and effectivity good points on paper. That’s all effectively and good, however I really need smartphone makers to make use of these new chips to enhance sustained efficiency.

In our GPU stress exams, we discovered that a number of Android telephones with 2023’s greatest chipsets noticed main efficiency drops. These exams recommended that duties like lengthy gaming classes could be a significant problem for constant efficiency and warmth dissipation. There have been exceptions, just like the Xiaomi 13 Professional, which had conservative peak numbers however emphasised sustained efficiency.

So we hope extra producers comply with this path of chasing long-term efficiency relatively than peak figures. In any case, who cares if an Android cellphone has Apple-beating efficiency if this horsepower is barely obtainable for 2 minutes earlier than significantly dropping?

Many smartphone producers have delivered oversaturated, over-sharpened photographs for years now, as they leaned on software program to deal with tiny digicam sensors. However the perfect digicam telephones available on the market now pack massive sensors and a great deal of processing energy.

Some manufacturers now provide a pure coloration choice for extra lifelike hues, with Google, Sony, and Xiaomi arguably main the way in which on this regard. I’d actually prefer to see extra corporations providing photographs with much less sharpening and extra pure colours too. Higher but, provide two coloration profiles that the consumer can select on the fly. That approach everybody could be pleased with the way in which their photographs prove.

I switched from the HUAWEI Mate 20 Professional to the Pixel 7 Professional as my private cellphone final yr, and essentially the most excruciating change has been the Pixel’s ridiculously lengthy charging occasions. Google has improved in 2023, however our Pixel 8 charging check confirmed you’ve nonetheless obtained an extended wait in your fingers if you need a full cost.

I’d find it irresistible if extra manufacturers embraced sooner charging occasions in 2024. Now, I’m not wishing for 15-minute or 20-minute charging occasions. However even an hour could be a significant enchancment for the likes of Google and Apple. For instance, the Pixel 8 collection nonetheless takes nearly 80 minutes to totally cost. How is a high-end cellphone in 2023 nonetheless taking an extended time to cost than some 2018 flagships?

Some readers will see this wishlist merchandise and vehemently defend sluggish charging speeds, as quick charging can speed up battery degradation. The counterpoint is that a number of manufacturers already tout dramatically improved battery well being regardless of quick charging. Plus, there’s nothing stopping OEMs from making sluggish charging the default whereas nonetheless providing an on-demand quick charging toggle.

We’ve seen a couple of high-end telephones with 256GB of base storage within the final couple of years, however this has been the exception relatively than the rule. As an alternative, many flagships just like the Pixel 8 line, iPhone 15 collection, and Samsung Galaxy S23 provide 128GB of beginning storage.

That’s an actual disgrace as 128GB isn’t actually a lot in 2023. Between high-resolution photographs/movies, offline downloads for streaming companies, and at present’s multi-gigabyte video games, 128GB merely doesn’t go so far as it used to. 256GB actually ought to be the brand new base storage tier for flagship telephones in 2024. Higher but, extra manufacturers might give us microSD storage. Now that may be actual braveness.

I really like long-range telephoto and periscope cameras, however these zoom-focused lenses aren’t with out their flaws. The most important concern together with your typical 5x or 10x periscope cameras is that they carry out poorly in low mild. The Pixel 8 Professional appears to considerably buck the development, although.

In saying so, we’re seeing a development for manufacturers to undertake 3x or 3.5x periscope cameras with bigger sensors and/or broad apertures. This does make for much less efficient long-range zoom on paper if all the things else is equal, but it surely’s additionally resulted in considerably improved low-light high quality on telephones just like the OPPO Discover X6 Professional and HUAWEI P60 Professional. The latter even features a cool macro choice on its 3.5x digicam.

The excellent news is that a few of 2024’s flagships are following an analogous sample. The upcoming OnePlus 12 and Realme GT 5 Professional are confirmed to supply ~3x periscope cameras with broad apertures or massive sensors, hinting at higher low-light photos. However I hope these aren’t one-off examples and we see extra telephones embracing this development.

It looks as if the foldable show crease is on the cusp of being eradicated due to units just like the OnePlus Open. However there are nonetheless loads of ways in which foldable cellphone screens can enhance.

It’s nonetheless patently apparent to most individuals that these screens are plastic. You solely want to take a look at them and contact them to understand that they’re not glass. I extremely doubt we’ll really see foldable glass screens in 2024, however I really need producers to ship a extra glass-like expertise. That’s, a folding display that feels extra like glass whereas additionally dramatically decreasing glare.

Smartphone manufacturers ought to use their 50MP, 108MP, and 200MP cameras for extra than simply full-resolution snapshots. There may be encouraging information on this entrance, as smaller manufacturers led the cost a couple of years in the past in utilizing high-resolution cameras for cropped zoom. This method — which generally delivers higher picture high quality than a crop from a decrease decision sensor — has since been adopted by Google and Apple for 2x zoom (and 10x zoom in Google’s case).

Samsung and Qualcomm additionally demonstrated spectacular Zoom Anyplace know-how in October, utilizing a 200MP digicam to concurrently movie a 1x video and a tracked 4x clip. That’s some progressive stuff and I’m betting that the Galaxy S24 telephones will provide this performance. Samsung’s Galaxy S23 Extremely additionally presents a 50MP pixel-binned picture by way of its 200MP digicam (along with the default 12MP mode), whereas the iPhone 15 Professional’s 48MP digicam shoots at 24MP by default.

I’d subsequently like to see extra flagships seize and implement these tips, and I’d additionally prefer to see extra corporations provide higher-quality full-resolution photos. In any case, at present’s flagship chips assist multi-frame picture processing at as much as 108MP, opening the door to lowered blur, higher noise discount, and HDR.