The year 2019 is about to end, but what a year it has been for smartphones. The industry was hypercompetitive, driving innovation at a breakneck pace while dramatically influencing the price-to-value ratio. Some highly anticipated concepts like foldable phones finally became a reality to mixed reception, while the design and capabilities of regular smartphones were also advanced by leaps and bounds. We went from 48-megapixel cameras to 108-megapixel shooters on a phone, all in a single year. But at the same time, consumers became more conscious about the software experience, regular updates, security patches, accessibility, and other such aspects.
To be fair, 2019 ushered in a tonne of new trends and turned nascent ideas into mainstream stuff, which make it difficult to select just ten of them. After much discussion and debate, here are our picks for the top ten smartphone trends of the year 2019:
1. Foldable phones finally became reality
Samsung Galaxy Fold was the first commercially available foldable phone, but it had a tonne of issues
At this very point in 2018, foldable phones existed only in the realm of fancy concept videos and leaked sketches. 2019 started off with a bang, with Samsung[1] announcing the world's first mainstream foldable phone - the Galaxy Fold[2]. Packing top-of-the-line hardware and a design that would make anyone drool, the Galaxy Fold also impressed us with its versatility and promise of an altogether new smartphone experience. Huawei[3] followed suit with an equally impressive take on the foldable phone idea with the Huawei Mate X[4]. Xiaomi[5] gave us another peek at a rather novel foldable phone design. Later on, Motorola[6] also entered the fray with...