Gearfuse Technology, Science, Culture & More
As you start your search for a new smartphone, you might wonder what makes some more expensive than others. Certainly the brand has something to do with it, along with the age of the model, but people typically spend more to buy flagship phones. The flagship phone has the most popular features and is the one that a manufacturer tries to sell the most of, making it the biggest revenue-driver for the company. Here are four key features of a flagship phone that explain why it stands out above other options.
Fingerprint Sensors
Security is one of the main issues that plague smartphone customers today, so it makes sense that most companies would include top-of-the-line security features in their flagship smartphones. In the past few years, the main security feature has been the fingerprint scanner. Motorola was the first company to include this feature back in 2011, but other brands like Apple, HP, and Samsung quickly followed suit. Now it’s a popular feature on almost every phone, while it was previously limited to flagship models. Furthermore, many financial and personal apps also use it to ease the login process.
Flagship models also help us get a peek at what’s to come in the future of security. Many phone companies are working with facial recognition tools and even eye sensors to add to future upgrades and flagship models.
Waterproofing
The next great frontier in flagship phones has been waterproofing. Many phones have short-circuited and been ruined as the result of getting dropped in the pool or getting water spilled on them. Now, manufacturers are listening to the needs of customers and designing phones that can handle not only a little water, but even a complete dunking.
One of the first waterproof phones was made by Samsung. Rapper Lil Wayne was featured in a commercial pouring champagne on his Galaxy S7 during a call, much to the delight of his friend. Another friend in the room tried the same thing on his (non-Samsung) phone, and it short-circuited. A similar ad showed Lil Wayne dunking his phone into a fish tank and continuing the call. Now, other manufacturers are trying to add this capability to keep up with Samsung’s flagship device.
Advanced Camera Features
There were more than 1 trillion photos taken in 2015, and by 2017, almost 80 percent of all photos captured will be taken with a smartphone. Photography has been completely revolutionized in the past decade and has become an art and communication form that changes the fabric of our society. As such, it’s important that smartphone cameras are able to take high-quality photos.
This is why when flagship phones debut, they often feature top camera capabilities. Historically, this included reverse cameras that allowed people to take selfies or to video chat with each other. Where would Snapchat be today if we weren’t able to take a photo of ourselves with just a swipe of the phone? Today’s advanced smartphone camera features include facial recognition, high pixel count, and editing abilities.
Changes in Headphone Jacks
Not all changes to a flagship phone are received positively. Earlier this year, Apple announced changes to its flagship phone that included a missing headphone jack to usher in a new era of smartphone use. Without an adaptor, users will have to start using wireless headphones, changing how people listen to music. This manufacturer has a habit of making such dramatic changes as a way to encourage new user behavior.
So far, the results have been mixed. Many people are balking at the idea of wireless headphones and prefer to be connected. From here, there are two options: other companies will try this option and create phones without headphone jacks as well (turning a fad into a common feature), or this will go down as a mistake and the next flagship model will have a headphone jack again.
The next time a flagship phone debuts, take a look at its features to better understand why it’s important to the manufacturer. This will explain why the company made certain decisions about pricing and why there’s such high demand for the phone. This will also help you research other phones to see what features match before you buy.
