From holographic displays to solar-powered devices – the future is looking funky!
If we cast our minds way back to the Motorola Dynatac 800X, the very first hand-held mobile phone, we think its fair to say that we’ve seen some advancements in the mobile world.
For starters, the mobile phones we have these days don’t require six months training at the gym just to lift them to our ear. The Dynatac, not to dispute how great it was in its time, weighed a whopping 907g – this would be like carrying the weight of a whole pineapple in your pocket!
We thought the iPhone 12 Pro Max was a beast but weighing only 228g, it looks like a little mouse in comparison! Of course, size, design and weight isn’t the only thing that has improved along the way, we’ve seen an epic journey through the G’s and have evolved from 1G to 5G – the future of mobile tech is here.
From new chips and tougher materials to foldable phones and fancy cameras, we’ve seen it all over the years. But what we really want to know is just how far these advancements are going to go in the future – the whackier the better!
Hooray for Holograms!
Mr Tony Stark himself had a full room of holograms which only added to his unbelievable coolness. The Force Awakens featured a very handy holographic map which lead directly to Luke Skywalker and Shuri’s lab in Black Panther was overcome with cool holographic displays.
This is all sci-fi and superhero stuff that we see in films, but futurologists are arguing that holograms are something we could see in everyday life via our mobile phones. Researchers, from Queen’s University in Canada, showcased a HoloFlex prototype, which pretty much does what it says on the tin.
It’s both holographic and flexible meaning users would be able to bend the mobile to view the 3D display from different angles and interact with the images on screen. Build your own titanium super-suit and you might just have some directors calling you up!
HoloFlex is still in development and we imagine there are endless things to consider, so don’t get too excited just yet. (Okay maybe get a tad excited, it’s holograms!).
Let’s get flexible…flexible!
More than one phone company have entered discussions about creating a mobile phone that is so robust that the user themselves can physically fold it in two. We aren’t talking about a flip phone or a slider phone, we mean one that can actually bend.
Nokia had a vision of the flexible phone back in 2008 when they showcased The Morph phone. Tapani Tyhanen, the designer, promised to transform users into an entirely new mobile phone experience.
The idea was that the phone could be wrapped around your wrist like a watch or used as a flat screen to stream videos and movies. Samsung has been in the flexi game for years but so far, they’ve been unsuccessful.
The closest they came to anything half-decent was the Galaxy Round smartphone, which sadly you lot weren’t blown away by. Fingers crossed we see something cool in the future!
Saving the planet, one step at a time.
There’s no denying that climate change is one of the biggest threats that the earth is facing right now and mobile phone companies are looking for ways to make their products environmentally friendly.
They’re looking at everything from the materials they use in their designs, their packaging, and each phones charging. Apple have joined this battle with their latest iPhone 12 series and have taken measures to ensure they’re doing their bit for the environment.
The iPhone 12 is made with 99% recycled tungsten and 98% recycled earth elements as well as recyclable packaging. But what if there was a phone that was powered by the sun?
At the Mobile World Congress trade show in 2016, Kyocera showcased a solar-powered prototype. It was aimed at people who work outdoors in the sun such as builders and gardeners.
It was aimed at those who loved to camp or go on long hikes. It was aimed at those who got their thrill flying down a mountain on a pair of skis. It wouldn’t take away the need for a wall charger, but the sun would give these users enough charge for a one-minute phone call – perfect for emergencies!
This type of tech is not only something we may see in the future but is something that would help us save the future.
The future is looking good.
Of course, none of these advancements are confirmed but we do know that there are lots of different companies that are working to make these sort of things possible. It could be years; it could be decades.
If you’re simply not up for waiting that long, then we’ve got some great deals available now on some of the very best that there is. Kick off 2021 with a storm!
