1. MOBILE PREDICTIONS 2016 | SANDISK
What’s in Store
for Mobile in 2016
Chris Bergey,
Vice President and General Manager of Mobile & Connected Solutions at SanDisk Corporation
A
s I get ready for Mobile World Congress,
the answer is: No. Not even close. The
pace of innovation along with customer
demand for greater performance and new
experiences mean that mobile will remain one
of the key drivers in technology. Don’t forget:
the camera phone was a questionable fad 15
years ago. Now more than a trillion digital
images1
get captured a year. Here’s what to
expect in 2016:
1. MEGA PHONE
In 2015, the typical premium smartphone
came with 38.9GB of storage. By 2018, the
typical capacity for premium smartphones
will nearly double to 77.2GB, according to
SanDisk Market Intelligence. The overall
average, meanwhile, will rise from 12.1 GB in
2014 to 24.6 GB by 2018. Why? Phones are
becoming the go-to device for a growing
segment of customers. You’re even seeing
phones rival computers: the high-end iPhone
already has as much capacity (128GB) as the
entry-level MacBook Air.
2. THE NEED FOR SPEED
Besides capacity, manufacturers and
consumers will start to concentrate more on
the speed. With fast storage, you can capture
10 to 15% more images in burst mode or get
better results with high-definition video. The
latest embedded flash drives, for instance use
predictive analytics to determine whether to
load incoming (and soon-to-be captured)
images into single-level memory cells for
greater speed and responsiveness or go
straight to “capacity” memory that hold three
bits per cell.
You’ll also see greater read/write speeds
and transfer rates coming to memory cards
and mobile memory.
3. UNREAL IMAGERY
Virtual reality, 3D photography and 4K Ultra
HD will fundamentally change how we make
and consume content: almost everyone that
experiences modern day VR is wowed. And
the vast majority of users will first experience
these new mediums through smartphones, or
through systems that rely on smartphones.
The idea that visual technology comes to the
TV first is gone.
Accommodating these technologies will
require changing the underlying architecture
of devices. Processors and memory will have
to function at a far faster rate. What’s the
point of making an HD phone when the video
jitters? Many 3D photos need to incorporate
multiple images and 3D models into a single
piece of media, that then “moves” as you do.
The hardware and software footprint for
accomplishing this is far from basic.
4. THE INDUSTRY WILL ADDRESS THE
ELEPHANT IN THE ROOM:
NETWORKING
Global Internet traffic will grow by three fold
over the next five years, according to some
predictions2
. Users will begin to download high
definition movies that could take up to 80GB. We
will need much faster networks as well as edge
devices that can store a video for neighbourhood
or local download to cut down on traffic.
5. NEW FACES
Who was the fastest growing smartphone
maker in the second quarter of 2015? Huawei,
says Gartner3
. China brands, particularly
brands like Xiaomi, Lenovo and Huawei, will
continue to shake up smartphone markets
with new designs and new ways of selling
directly to consumers.
Part of this is being driven by emerging
markets, which accounted for 76 percent of
all smartphone shipments in 2014 and will
rise to 82 percent by 2020, according to
SpecTRAX and PriceTRAX databases from
Strategy Analytics. But many of these brands
are expanding in Europe and North America.
Check out ZTE’s NBA sponsorships.
6. THIN IS IN.
You’ve seen ultrathin phones with new types
of screens being demoed as concept devices
for years. Soon, you’re going to see them in
greater numbers on shelves. USB Type-C™
devices will further cut down bulk by
consolidating all external ports into a single,
thin plug.
7. THE EYE IN THE SKY
Drones have sparked the imagination of
entrepreneurs, consumers and large
commercial users and adoption is happening
faster than many anticipated. You are even
seeing drones being used for professional
filmmaking. But what are drones? Flying
cameras that sometimes also have wireless
connectivity. Thorny issues such as licensing
and registration have to be worked out, but
there’s really no stopping the market. Drive
capacities and cards will play a big role here
in brining 4K Ultra HD to the skies.
8. YOUR SMARTPHONE IS SO
JANUARY 2016
Consumers will turn in smartphones more
rapidly than ever before. Repurposed
smartphones are becoming a significant
market. The market for refurbished phones is
expected to grow from 53 million in 2014 to
275 million4
in a few years.
9. MEMORY CARDS TAKE ON A NEW
ROLE
The number of phones with microSD™ card
slots has actually been remarkably stable at 75
percent for the past several years, according
to Strategy Analytics. But in the near future,
the use and versatility of microSD cards and
slots will grow. Both Google and Microsoft
have added OS support that let you use
microSD card as primary memory.
10. YOUR SMARTPHONE WILL
BECOME YOUR CONNECTING KEY
TO EVERYTHING
The connected home, office, car, and city are
happening quicker than expected. You’re even
seeing IoT take off in agriculture as a way to
reduce water consumption and waste. Analyst
projections are being increased all the time.
And the lynchpin to all of these systems will
be the phone. In the future, you literally won’t
be able to get around without one.
1.
Josh Haftel, Adobe, December 2015
2
Cisco Visual Networking Index, May 2015.
3
Gartner Research, Aug. 2015.
4
Global Telecoms Business, Feb. 2014.
©2016 SanDisk Corporation. microSD is a trademark
of SD-3C, LLC. USB Type-C™ is a trademark of
USB Implementers Forum.
Are we at Peak Mobile yet? The
point where the smartphone market
is “mature” and we’ve got nothing
to look forward to but incremental
improvements and moderate
increases in sales.
Monday 22nd February MOBILE WORLD CONGRESS DAILY 2016 | www.mobileworldcongress.comPAGE 26
Photo credit: David Newton, SanDisk Extreme Team photographer. www.photopositive.co.uk