The “next big thing” in personal technology may not be an immersive augmented reality headset or a phone that folds in half. It could just be finding new ways to get more out of the phones we’re already using.
That message rang clear throughout 2022, as companies like Apple, Samsung and Google introduced new ways to make our phones more practical, reliable and private. This year’s offerings lacked the wow factor that defined the smartphone’s first decade, instead including upgrades that could make our phones last longer and feel more useful. Among the changes: lengthier Android software support for Samsung devices, free new privacy features for fledgling Pixel phone owners, and better safety features for the iPhone.
These subtle but noteworthy changes say a lot about the state of the smartphone industry. Mobile devices have matured to the point that annual hardware improvements don’t feel as monumental as they once did. As it becomes more difficult to impress consumers with new technologies, tech giants increasingly keep existing users hooked by making phones feel more essential in everyday life. That’s as important as ever in 2022 as inflation has dampened the appetite for new smartphones, making it even more challenging to drive upgrades.
Your phone as a safety net
It’s difficult to define precisely how smartphones evolved in 2022, because there isn’t one common dominant theme as there has been in years past. It wasn’t, for instance, the year smartphones got ultrawide camera lenses, or fast charging capabilities.
“Smartphones over the last five, six or so years — it was all about how many cameras, how big the cameras were, screen size, battery improvements,” said Aaron West, a senior analyst covering the smartphone industry at Omdia. “And now it’s kind of plateaued a bit.”
But a couple of shared themes become evident once you dig below the surface.
The first is peace of mind, and that phrase means something a little different for each new major smartphone we saw in 2022. For the iPhone 14, it’s the ability to automatically detect car crashes and connect to emergency services via satellite when cell networks aren’t available. Google’s Pixel phones have supported accident detection for years, but it’s a first for Apple. It’s also one of the few features that separates the iPhone 14 from the iPhone 13.
Emergency SOS via satellite. Apple unveiled the upcoming feature on Sept. 7.
Screenshot by CNET
For Samsung, it’s knowing that your Galaxy S22 or Galaxy A53 5G won’t feel outdated anytime soon, since it’ll get up to four generations of Android version updates. That even outlasts Google, which provides only three years of major Android OS support for its Pixel phones. Both companies provide five years of security updates, but Samsung’s extended support means you’ll get new systemwide features for another year.
For Google’s Pixel 7 and <span class="…….