Although we’re only a week into 2024, it’s easy to spend all of your time looking ahead at what’s next. It’sparticularlyeasy this year, actually. WithSamsung’s Galaxy S24 eventscheduled for January 17th and theOnePlus 12set for its global debut less than a week later, OEMs seem set on kicking off the flagship race as early as possible. But for as quickly as every company seems intent on moving in 2024, I’m hoping these companies have learned from some of their successes — and, more importantly, their mistakes — this year. Becausesmartphone design is so incrementalat this stage, every little factor counts.
Let’s start with one of my biggest pet peeves: glossy smartphone finishes. This isusuallyglossy glass, though thePixel 7aproved you didn’t need to implement more fragile materials to keep things looking and feeling gross. While throwing a case on any smartphone (particularly one avoiding clear, smudge-prone TPU materials) improves things immensely, I’m a believer that any good gadget design should be able to stand on its own,no additional accessories required.
A trio of matte phones😍
Look, I understand the appeal of a glossy finish. When you place a brand new smartphone face down on a desk, studio lights reflecting perfectly off its colorful design, it looks immaculate. The problems, of course, start thesecondyou pick it up. Smudges, grease, sweat, dust — everything shows up on a glossy finish. Swapping to a matte back minimizes all of this, while usually making a phone a little grippier. If you’re trying to go caseless, it’s by far the best style you’ll find.
This was something of a mixed success in 2023. Google finally swapped back to a matte finish for thePixel 8 Pro, but kept glossy glass for thesmaller Pixel 8. Samsung used matte colors across the main Galaxy S23 lineup and theGalaxy Z Fold 5, but theGalaxy Z Flip 5abandoned the matte finish of its predecessor, and theGalaxy S23 FEfollowed suit. It’s unclear if either of these companies will stick to avoiding glossy materials throughout 2024, but if forced to bet one way or another, I’d go against. Glossy glass might be on the downswing, but there’s no shot it’s a thing of the past just yet.
Thankfully, another bad design trend seems to be truly dead and gone. After nearly a decade, curved displays on smartphones are on the way out. Samsung’s only curved display arrived on theGalaxy S23 Ultra, complete with a reduced radius compared to the S22 Ultra from a year earlier. If you believe the leaks — and this close to launch, I don’t think there’s any reason not to — theGalaxy S24 Ultrawill be Samsung’s first S Pen-equipped phablet with a flat display in years. And frankly, I’m excited.
Say goodbye to these curved edges, because they probably aren’t around for much longer.
It’s an improvement Google already made, with the Pixel 8 Pro sporting flat edges just like its smaller counterpart. There’s always a chance the company doubles back on this style, but I doubt it. Unfortunately, we already know the OnePlus 12 kept this style — a major disappointment for a phone that I otherwise think looks pretty sharp. Likewise, I can’t imagine Motorola abandoning curves on its more powerful Edge+ phones, considering that is partially what the name is referring to, but hey, you never know. Even with a couple of standouts, we’re clearly moving in the right direction here.
Looking over at folding phones, it’s hard toargue that 2023 wasn’ttheyear of foldables— at least in the US. The Galaxy Z Fold 5 was as boring as ever (removing the gap isn’t impressive when you’re the last to do it, Samsung), but the Pixel Fold andOnePlus Openboth brought impressive concepts to the tablet, and — for the most part — succeeded in their own ways. The wide outer screen on the Pixel Fold is really comfortable to type on, and if Google can reduce the weight of apotential Pixel Fold 2, I could see it being much more of a success. The OnePlus open, though, managed to feel really thin and light for a folding phone, complete with a typical aspect ratio for its outer screen. It’sSamsung who has to catch up here, and I’m hoping to see some improvements with theGalaxy Z Fold 6.
There are a couple of trends I’m worried about, though. Apple’s swap to titanium on its Pro phones seems set to push at least a couple of Android OEMs to follow suit, withSamsung rumored to debut titaniumwith the Galaxy S24 Ultra next week. Titanium is a lighter material, which is great for making these massive devices a little easier to both hold and carry, but it also resulted in myiPhone 15 Pro Max review unitgetting dinged upmuchfaster than I would’ve liked. We’ll have to see how Samsung — and anyone else adopting titanium — uses the material before making a final judgment.
ICYMI: It took me an hour to put that first scratch in the iPhone’s frame.
Then there’s wireless charging. While most companies consider it an essential addition, OnePlus completely abandoned the tech throughout this year. That’s set to change with the OnePlus 12, but I’m still concerned wireless charging could be a miss in 2024. DespiteQi2 being ready to go, OnePlus isn’t using it on its latest phones, and we haven’t heard any rumors of it appearing on Samsung’s upcoming Galaxy S24 lineup. Yes, this standard is still fresh, but as aself-described fan of MagSafe, I’mdyingto see Qi2 appear on Android phones, and the longer we go without any rumors, the more concerned I am that we could be waiting until 2025 to see the tech widely adopted.
Still, I’m feeling pretty optimistic overall about the future of smartphone hardware. Yes, the changes with each generation are more incremental than ever — and deep down, I truly wonder if anyone outside of stockholders really needs annual refreshes anymore — but at the very least, every small step still seems to be in the right direction.
