Smartphones will become faster and smarter thanks to AI.

Now, phone manufacturers are using AI and designing foldable screens, making smartphones new and exciting again.

Now, in addition to the usual processor and camera upgrades, the tech world is expecting big changes to come to phones in 2024.

New AI-powered features could help phones become much smarter, potentially turning them into personal assistants instead of pocket portals. Additionally, foldable phones are getting closer to a breakthrough moment thanks to smart design innovations, strengthening their position in the smartphone market. Taken together, these changes could make smartphones much smarter and more flexible.

Recently, Samsung introduced Galaxy AI on the high-end Galaxy S24 line. Along with that, the Consumer Electronics Show - CES 2024 offered glimpses of both this year's phone technology and futuristic designs, including a flexible screen phone. Samsung's activities.

Currently, AI and folding screens are very important to the future of smartphones, and the technology world is also witnessing notable "leaps" in these fields, directly affecting the way users use them. use smartphones.

In addition, faster charging speeds will help smartphone owners save more time. Tech companies are also making their products more sustainable, reducing their impact on the environment and helping customers save more.

These delights are much needed in a declining industry. In 2022, low demand combined with economic challenges caused the smartphone market to have its lowest sales since 2013, according to International Data Corporation.

Data from insurance provider Assurant also shows that phone owners are using their phones longer even though phones have improved a lot over the past decade. Analysis from Consumer Intelligence Research Partners also shows that many iPhone users upgraded after at least 3 years by 2023. Meanwhile, in 2019, the majority of users upgraded their smartphones after about 2 years old.

Now that smartphones have become more ubiquitous and more of a convenience than a novelty, it takes more to impress audiences. In 2023, smartphones have begun to regain their wow factor. More recent data from IDC shows that smartphone sales started to increase again in late 2023, signaling that new phones are attracting public interest once again.

AI will appear on more phones by 2024.

Artificial intelligence has played an important role in smartphones for many years, especially when it comes to features like facial recognition, photography and language translation. However, innovative AI - the technology that powers ChatGPT and generates responses based on training data according to prompts - offers new capabilities that go far beyond unlocking a phone or blurring a photo background. Instead of acting passively in situations like these, AI-powered synthetic features will be used in more proactive ways.

Google demonstrated this with the launch of the Pixel 8 line in October, which uses AI to assist with new photo editing tricks, such as moving and resizing individual objects and changing facial expressions. Google's new phone can also create new wallpapers based on themes, and the company is equipping the Google Assistant with synthetic AI.

Qualcomm, which makes chips for phones from companies including Samsung and OnePlus, has also designed its new mobile processors based on synthetic AI. According to IDC, Xiaomi 14 and Xiaomi 14 Pro are among the first devices equipped with this new Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chip.

The new chip will also help users zoom out images taken on the phone and create details to expand the frame, just like users taking photos with an ultra-wide lens. These features are more than just photo editing tools; they also help create new photos that were not possible at the time of shooting.

According to Bloomberg, Apple is expected to bring AI to the iPhone 16 line - expected to launch in September. They can be integrated in Apple Music, Messages and Siri. If synthetic AIs live up to expectations, they could make phones more like intelligent personal assistants.

Foldable phones are approaching a breakthrough moment.

It's not just the phone brain that's evolving; Their shape is also changing. Dual-screen phones have been widely popular since 2019 despite only making up a small portion of the smartphone market. But in the US, companies like Samsung, Google, Motorola and OnePlus worked to change that throughout 2023, making it a banner year for foldable phones.

Although Samsung used to be the only "big guy" in the folding screen phone market, now nearly every smartphone manufacturer offers this product. Google released the first Pixel Fold in June, OnePlus Open was also "introduced" in October, giving users more than twice as many options as in 2022.

In addition to more choices, the quality of foldable phones also improved in 2023 -- especially flip phones. The Motorola Razr Plus and Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5 both have larger external displays, making them more useful when folded and more suitable for the price.

However, foldable smartphones have taken a step forward, with lower prices in 2023. However, users still have to wait quite a long time to access them in the mid-range price segment.

According to Counterpoint Research, in 2024 and beyond, folding screen phones will become increasingly popular, with shipments expected to exceed 100 million units by 2027. Meanwhile, only about 20 million units will be shipped. by 2023, according to an IDC report. This growth comes at a time when the overall smartphone market is shrinking, with total shipments falling 0.1% in the third quarter of 2023.

Phones can charge faster and last longer.

Foldable screens and smarter AI assistants won't help if the phone's battery can't last all day. While battery life remains largely the same in 2023 compared to previous years, some smartphone manufacturers have shortened the charging time of their phones.

For example, the new Xiaomi 14 is already capable of 90-watt charging - faster than the 67-watt charging of the previous version. The OnePlus 11 supports 80 watts charging in the US and 100 watts in the UK.

Faster charging combined with more energy-efficient chips has helped make up for any lack of advancement in battery technology, according to analysts.

In addition, Apple and Samsung both expanded their self-repair programs. Apple expanded its program to the iPhone 14 and iPhone 15 series while Samsung expanded its program to countries including: Brazil, Mexico and South Korea. Samsung has also added its latest foldable phones: Galaxy Z Flip 5 and Galaxy Z Fold 5 to its self-repair program by the end of 2023. This is a positive sign.

We'll have to wait and see whether technologies like AI and foldable screens have a big impact on mobile devices. Before ChatGPT arrived in November 2022, the tech world was enamored with the metaverse instead of creative AI. And before 2019, the idea of a foldable phone was just a futuristic concept.

Still, it's safe to say that phone manufacturers are looking to push the smartphone experience forward. All will benefit consumers.