You certainly do remember Apple’s iPhone 2G from 2007. At its launch on June 28, 2007, Steve Jobs introduced the iPhone as a "wide-screen iPod with touch controls, (...) a revolutionary mobile phone and (...) a breakthrough internet communication device." Indeed, this device had a pioneering role in what we live as the smartphone era. It goes without saying that a heated technological competition has been taking place for a decade or so, which led to our 2017-standard phones. But, very importantly, this emerging mobile industry has reshapen global economy in a number of aspects.
Smartphone innovation: a true battlefield!
Smartphones have witnessed a number of changes ever since the concept started being democratised. Smartphone touchscreens slightly moved from resistive ones which only recognised levels of pressure to capacitive ones, opening up to a wide range of finger gestures. Those at first displayed 64 thousand distinct colours, then moved to 256 thousands, ending up in the actual 16-million-colour standard. Screens grew sharper and excellently colour-calibrated with technologies such as IPS LCD or Samsung’s signature Super AMOLED. Resolutions went up from VGA (360 × 640) to qHD (540 × 960), then to HD (720 × 1280), Full HD (1080 × 1920), Quad HD (1440 × 2560) and even up to the staggering 4K resolution (2160 × 3840) with the Sony Xperia Z5 Premium in September 2015. 2017 saw the emergence of non-standard screen aspect ratios such as LG G6’s 18:9 QHD+ display and Samsung Galaxy S8’s 1440 × 2960 18.5:9 Infinity Display.
But smartphones are very commonly known for their cameras, aren’t they? Smartphone manufacturers went for a megapixel race in order to assure the most detailed pictures. Samsung introduced a 16-megapixel rear snapper with the Galaxy S5, HTC went for a 20-megapixel one with the HTC One (M9+) while Sony put high bets on the 23-megapixel camera aboard the Xperia Z5 Series. Even selfie snappers have gone through a very interesting history, moving from mere video-call cameras with very low resolutions to capable cameras camcorders, sometimes even surpassing their rear counterparts and going up to 4K video recording as is the case of Nokia’s latest flagship, the Nokia 8. Mobile manufacturers have also gone for other important parameters such as bigger pixel sizes, dual-camera setups, Electronic Image Stabilisation (EIS), Optical Image Stabilisation (OIS) and High Dynamic Range (HDR). Sony, for example, opted for a RAM-linked camera setup allowing for HD 720p slow-motion video shooting at a whopping 960 frames per second on its Xperia XZ Premium. Device performance has also been subject to much evolution. From the single-core processors of 2009 and 2010, we arrive now at an abundance of octa-core processors and even deca-core ones (ten, yes! You are not mistaken!) with the MediaTek Helio X30. Qualcomm’s high-end chipset, the Snapdragon 835, is an octa-core one, reaching clockspeeds of 2,45 GHz. Random Access Memory has also been steadily expanding, with devices now offering 6 GB of RAM or even 8 GB such as the OnePlus 5 or the ZTE Nubia Z17. This expansion is also relevant to internal storage as some smartphones now come with 64 GB, 128 GB or even 256 GB of offered storage, always expandable through Micro SD cards. Several brands now offer water and dust-resistant smartphones such as Samsung, Motorola, Sony, HTC, LG and - very recently - Apple. Even build quality testifies to this technological rivalry. Away with all-plastic bodies! Much more refined and time-resistant materials are being used now: aluminium, glass, titanium (Essential PH-1), ceramic (Xiaomi Mi Mix) etc. And many of them now do even support wireless charging. To briefly round this discussion up, the story of technological evolution is never going to be exhaustive. But beyond this game of numbers and sophisticated terminology, how does the smartphone market revolutionise our view of global economy?
Beyond the specs sheet: a remaking of global economics!
This issue is a much more serious one. Competition between the different mobile manufacturers is at its toughest. However, quite obviously, the greatest share of high-technology markets is moving eastwards. It is not that the Western companies are not doing their best to be the best at what they are doing. In fact, by 2017 standards, the question is not only about excellent product quality; it also includes initiative and revolutionary decision-making. Let us take the example of Apple’s iPhone 7 Plus. It is an excellent smartphone with an all-metal, IP67 waterproof body, a dual-camera module, 3 GB of RAM and an incredibly fast Apple A10 Fusion chipset. However, none of those features is a first for a smartphone, but they are certainly so for an Apple! Waterproofing was first introduced with the IP57-certified Sony Xperia V back in 2012. Metal bodies had been a standard feature of the HTC One series since 2013. The Samsung Galaxy Note 3 was among the pioneering smartphones to feature 3 GB of RAM during that same year. But when was the iPhone 7 Plus released? In September 2016!
Another matter is yet to be considered here. The Eastern mobile companies did consider pioneering innovation as far as design language goes, as well. In fact, smartphones are often viewed as front panels with screens and quite thick top and bottom bezels. Starting from late 2016, with the Xiaomi Mi Mix, the Eastern camp clearly stated it could do fine without those bezels. And many phones indeed did follow suit such as the Galaxy S8, the LG G6 and the LG V30. Prior to the emergence of such a trend of near-bezelless phones, the Western companies -Apple in particular – hadn’t felt a bit apologetic about the great footprint and bothersome bezels of their phones - consider the iPhone 6 Plus. The Chinese and the South Korean, by contrast, went on teaching lessons about space management (achieving a maximum screen area within the limits of a minimal space without affecting the operability of the device).
Further, the Eastern manufacturers did what their Western counterparts failed to achieve: they managed to democratise the highest standards of mobile technology for quite reasonable and competitive prices on the market. You may get the Xiaomi Mi 6, the ZTE Nubia Z17 or the OnePlus 5 for under 500 € even though these are obvious top-of-the-line devices. You can get 4K video recording or as much as 6 GB RAM on a mid-range phone, and even dust and water resistance (the Samsung Galaxy A series or the LG Q8). This rapid process has resulted in the constant resetting and questioning of what a smartphone is capable of. For this reason, Apple stands alone as one of the major mobile companies in the world, with Samsung as a world leader (manufacturing OLED displays for Apple’s iPhone X!) and Huawei, Xiaomi and HTC as immediate challengers to this status. Phone shipment figures during the first half of 2017 tell a lot about the increasing influence of China and South Korea as major technological centres in the world. And far beyond, the region is quite rapidly emerging as a new cultural centre as the manufacturing of smartphones often goes with figures from popular culture, displaying the region’s commonalities of history, language and folklore. Is it a reinvention of high technology itself? A seeping reversal of power positions and cultural influences? Let us wait for the next mobile designs and what they may bring along.
Mohamed Ali Slama
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