Innovation of the last year

Cameras with more and more lenses

A mobile phone with just one camera is a rare thing these days. You will probably find it only in old models or devices of the lowest price category. Even dual cameras are slowly disappearing from the market. The number of cameras is simply something that manufacturers really love to compete in. Unlike hardware, cameras are visible and touchable. And if there are more of them, it just makes a better impression.

Artificial intelligence is getting smarter

We can clearly see the effect of artificial intelligence (AI) on photos in their final form. It is most evident when using automatic mode. If you take pictures in this mode, there are several processes going on in the background. In particular, it is the recognition of objects (based on a database of hundreds of thousands of images) and the evaluation of optimal exposure for the best image quality.

ToF sensor provides a blurred background

ToF sensor (time-of-flight) is one of those components that allows your mobile portrait photos to have a beautiful blurred background and highlight the photographed object. The principle of operation is simple, it is similar to the sonar in the submarine: Time-of-Flight sensor sends a signal which is then reflected by the objects in the field of view of the sensor and returns back to the receiver in the sensor. By comparing the transmission time and the reception time for each pixel, we get a value indicating how far from the sensor is situated the object that reflected the signal.

Optical image stabilization eliminates vibrations

If you have the impression that your photographic hand is as firm as a rock, you'll soon find out it isn't. There are always subtle vibrations that you won't notice with your eye, but those have a significant effect on the focus and blur of the resulting images. This is resolved by optical image stabilization, which is a common part of high-end phones nowadays. The advantage of optical stabilization is, compared with the digital one, that it is done mechanically, so no unwanted software interventions into the resulting photograph are necessary.

Fast payments with NFC technology

Although the NFC has been around us for some time, it has only recently experienced a real boom. If you look at the specifications of any modern smartphone, you will most likely find NFC technology in it. And what is it good for? It is mostly used for the wireless payments. This is a very quick and safe way to pay virtually anywhere. All you need to do is install a payment application ( Google Pay for Android, Apple Pay for iOS, or other) on your smartphone with NFC, fill in your credit card information and just hold your mobile phone over the terminal at the checkout.

With NFC you can instantly pair phones via Bluetooth, unlock doors or do whatever your smartphone is capable of. The technology works on the basis of communication with special "NFC tags" which can be easily programmed. In the future, even our ID cards will likely have such NFC tag.

Bluetooth enables use of wireless accessories

Bluetooth is nothing new, we could find it in mobile phones even before the era of smartphones. At that time, however, it mostly served solely as a way to transfer files between phones. Nowadays Bluetooth is not often used for that anymore, due to social networks and cloud storage.

Wireless and reverse charging is no longer a privilege of the flagship models

There is not many technologies that look as futuristic as wireless and reverse charging. That's why it is a must have in all high-end models of leading manufacturers. Just place the phone on a special cordless charger and charging starts automatically - without need to plug in any cables. Reverse charging applies to the wireless accessories mentioned above. The accessory can be charged with this technology directly from the phone by simply placing it to the back of the phone.

Mid-range phones already support 5G networks

The 5G mobile network has been a huge topic in recent years. We will have to wait some time before the 5G arrives in our country, however, there are already phones supporting 5G networks on the market and their number is gradually growing. The big advantage of 5G is significantly higher data speed compared to 4G networks. Currently, the new 5G networks support speed of up to 250 MB/s (4G only ± 7 MB/s), but in the future it should rise up to 12.5 GB/s.

In-display fingerprint readers are a standard

Fingerprint readers quickly caught on and not long after the pioneer of this technology, the iPhone 5S with its still popular design, it was introduced by all flagships and subsequently by the entire middle class. The advantages of readers are obvious. They secure data on your phone and speed up the access to it, as users no longer need to enter their PIN. They're also very convenient when using Google Pay or Apple Pay.

Face unlocking is safe and practical

But fingerprint readers are not the only biometric authentication to secure phones. Increasingly, manufacturers also use face unlocking. This doesn't necessarily have to replace fingerprint readers, both methods can coexist. Face unlocking has several advantages - it is comfortable and relatively fast, wet finger is not a problem, and it usually provides solid security. When you set up the phone for the first time, it just scans your face and when unlocking, it will always compare the saved image with your appearance.