INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Some of you may be working on your 2019 resolutions
Want to try being vegan for a month, start doing to gym again or stop stealing from stationery cupboard at work because it's all getting a
According to 14th amendment, corporations are afforded some of protections of personhood
So why shouldn't they have to make some New Year's resolutions tooHere are 2019 resolutions smartphone giants should adopt
Heck, Apple even sailed right across it with iPhone XS Max.How about we get real, and realize that most of us can't, don't want to, or
really shouldn't, spend this much on a phone Sadly, this one is likely to happen as your pledge to go to gym four times a week, every
week.The latest news suggests we'll see even more expensive phones next year, with 5G models reportedly commanding a $300 premium over this
headphone jack (what did it ever do to you)Changes in mobile phone tech usually get us a bit excited
But whole "ditch headphone jack" thing There's not much to excite there.And why is it happening You can make water resistant phones with
headphone jacks, last time we checked those sockets don't cost $100 in parts, and claims phones can no longer fit them in seem deeply
suspicious when things didn't suddenly get smaller when jack sockets were wrenched out.Some lobbyists from big headphone must have some dirt
on big phone-makers or something
Can we just have jack back nowGet over this glass obsessionFor past two years, phone makers have nailed glass designs
We've seen matte ones, super curvy ones
There are even phones, like Google Pixel 3 XL, that you could mistake for aluminium from a distance.It's time for an intervention
Phone companies need to get over this glass obsession in 2019.Let's not just roll back onto familiar combination of aluminium and plastic,
There are other options out there in world
The obvious one, as tried and tested as glass or plastic, is magnesium.There are magnesium alloy tablets and laptops
And this metal is tougher and lighter than aluminium
And unlike glass it won't smash if you drop it on sidewalk from wrong angle.Expandable storage for allPhone developers can act like annoying
live-in parents sometimes
Bear with us on this one.Don't use something for a while and they quietly file it away into bin while you're not looking
It happened to IR blasters, now headphone jacks and microSD card slots are in great cleaner-upper's targets.Granted, a lot of phones now
But with a half dozen flavors of apocalypse looming, you'll want a good amount of local content stored, loads of storage space and a solar
Well, unless we manage to scorch sky, but a stack of 90s club classics and every episode of Friends won't get you too far then anyway.Bring
The IR blaster can stay in past, though.Get over notch obsessionWe're over 18 months into era of notch
And phones like Pixel 3 XL prove maybe it is time for something new
Or old, like no notch at all.Remember when phones didn't have miniature trunks hanging down from top of their screens A half-desperate way
screen is bigger without actually making it more useful, as movies, games and articles don't flow around those lines.But what will we
actually get in 2019 The notch will still be around, but top phones will also use punch holes, which are like notches just large enough to
fit around front camera.Don't forget securityHere's one for Android phone makers
Android security updates are like taking a ten-minute meditation during busy weeks or forcing yourself to do exercise
You might not feel difference from missing it once, but you'll be much better off in long run if you stick to plan.Google releases monthly
security updates for Android platform
And how many phones actually get them Hardly any, not regularly at any rate
Without these updates your mobile is more vulnerable.Some phones are barely updated after launch, in any fashion
We do have to give a prop or two to Sony here, though
Often when we return to a Sony phone to write a feature, there are often a half-dozen updates to trawl through.Discover camera enlightenment
beyond 12MPFor years almost every top phone camera has used a 12MP sensor, usually one made by Sony
Sure, we know this approach works, and increasing resolution adds its own issues, caused by a shrinking of sensor pixels that reduces how
much light a sensor gets to make up each pixel in image.But it's now time for phone-makers to give up burdens of 2018 and follow their 2019
bliss, as Gwyneth Paltrow might say when not trying to sell you an avocado enema.It looks like this progress will happen in 2019 too
And once again it's mostly thanks to Sony
In July it revealed IMX586, a 48MP sensor for phones.To camera traditionalist, this sounds like a bad idea
Tiny sensor pixels means bad low-light performance and dynamic range
However, we're in era of computational photography, which effectively lets a phone bunch together several of these pixels to boost
performance when light isn't perfect.It'd likely take 12MP images, until you switch on "Pro" mode and force full-res capture, which could
work brilliantly on a sunny day
And we can't wait to see what big smartphone names do with it.Cheap phones deserve color tooRemember a few years ago, roughly 45 years in
smartphone terms, during good old days of Nokia Lumia phones Bright and colorful they were
So cheery they'd put a smile on your face just to look at cute little palm sized things
And if you think that's affordable, you're wrong.Phone-makers are now pros at making sub-$200 phones seem like ones that would have cost
$600 or more a few years ago
Just don't make it all-black.Use bigger batteries, please (again)This resolution turns up every year
We still want phones that last longer, between charges
Break it down honestly and you'll probably find this is more useful than 5G, more useful than a slightly better camera or a phone that
folds.Oddly enough, it seems some phone makers actually listened to this one in 2018, and ended up making some real bruisers in budget
category like Moto G6 Play
A phone that lasts longer is much easier to live with.It's not necessarily about being able to spend four extra hours poring over Instagram
and Twitter, but having extra juice so you can forget about thing, without worrying whether it'll have enough power left for some Spotify on
fitting in a crazy camera or some new hardware most will barely use.EGeW6LRPhksZZpRDENfAqj.jpg#
