Android smartphones trends have come so far especially for budget smartphones. Features only reserved for midrange and flagship devices are slowly trickling down to entry-level devices and price-conscious consumers are now not only spoilt for choice but also getting too much value for the devices they are paying for.
Here are some smartphone trends we expect for budget devices come next year.
Design
Entry level devices tend to go with plastic backs but the past few years, we’ve seen them pick colour-gradient designs featuring two tone finishes that give off that premium vibe.
We expect the same trend with the devices next year with different colour variations.
In terms of displays, we expect more punch hole displays either with a single or double cutout for single or double selfie cameras.
We expect even bigger displays.
Another good trend is that higher refresh rate screens are coming to budget devices. 90Hz is not much but we expect 120Hz(this is a stretch even for me, but who knows – realme or Infinix may surprise us)
Something else we expect is full HD screens with 1080p resolution. I hope OEMs are listening as this is long due.
Performance
This is where budget smartphones cut corners but this year has seen a couple of devices upping their game in terms of performance.
We’ve seen the likes of MediaTek Helio G80, Helio G70, Helio G90T, Qualcomm Snapdragon 662, Qualcomm Snapdragon 665, Kirin 710F and other relatively faster processors.
Next year, we expect devices to features even better and much faster processors.
We’ve also seen companies ramp up their RAM and storage configurations – a major plus for consumers.
We’ve seen devices with 4 or 6 or 8 gigs of RAM and upped storage to 128GB of onboard storage – no need to buy extra microSD cards.
Photography
This is where budget smartphones are starting to excel even in lowlight.
OEMs are now including AI-powered quad rear setups that feature either 48MP or 64MP main cameras.
The other cameras need to catch up also instead of just being there for marketing reasons – the ultrawide, macro and depth or telephoto need to improve also.
The cheapest smartphone that wowed me in terms of camera performance was the Infinix Hot 10 and it’s Ksh 13,999 – definitely go buy it.
Selfie cameras have also upgraded – we now have 16MP front-facing cameras with other devices featuring dual selfie cameras that are pretty decent for their prices.
Otherwise, whatever budget you have in mind – you are sorted in terms of photography.
We expect next year’s budget smartphones to bring even better camera performance – so that has me excited for next year’s budget devices.
Batteries
Budget smartphones usually pack really big batteries and we’re expecting that on next year’s devices.
This year OEMs started to include USB Type-C charging port and fast wired charging too.
This is actually a good thing and we expect more smartphone companies to follow through with trend.
