Small adjustments over time make smartphones in 2023 a testament to product maturity.
Although we haven’t seen any major changes this year, the changes made have made the products more mature and practical to use than their 2022 counterparts.
For example, the iPhone 15 Pro has a new ProRes LOG recording feature, and Google has finally realized that its strength is artificial intelligence with the launch of the Pixel 8 series. Smartphones have come a long way and now there is something for everyone.
Why are iterative updates compounded over time
Smartphone features increase over time, like compound interest, giving you a
a significantly different product. You might dismiss the iPhone 15 Pro as a minor technical glitch, or just notice the change to titanium as a frame material, but for creators, the LOG imaging capability has made the iPhone a serious pocket-sized content powerhouse. The new models’ ProRes LOG video is easy to grade and removes the digital look while preserving any detail you might want to tweak. This puts it in a class of its own, and when combined with other features and features Apple has piled on over the years, the iPhone finally lives up to its Pro designation.
Like Apple, Google also made gradual changes to the Pixel 8 series and
doubled that, making the Pixel 6 and Pixel 7 really good options. The
the company realized that its strengths are artificial intelligence and machine
learning, and is therefore committed to developing AI-enabled features for the Pixel 8 Pro. In fact, the Pixel 8 Pro now features Google’s latest LLM
called Gemini, and it’s the only phone to do so.
The Pixel 8 Pro also offers a refined design with a flat screen a
curved panel, and this change, along with the continued focus on AI, makes it a
really mature product.
“Nothing” changed with the Nothing Phone 2?
Last year, Nothing released a phone (1) that was packed with flashy features like Glyph lighting and a transparent back. This year, the London-based brand released the Nothing Phone (2), an iterative update to the original device.
Again, the iterative approach made the phone a solid contender at upper mid-range prices, entering the premium market. The brand revised the design with the curvature of the rear glass and reduced bezels. Additionally, the phone now offers interaction with apps like Zomato to show where your order has arrived, which is truly unique.
The technical data were also modest. The phone has Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1, which is not the latest, but still offers a first-class, fast and reliable user experience. Also, nothing has made the Nothing OS feel much better and more pleasant, thanks to all the refinement of the interface, the feel of the animations, and the look of the OS. All these small changes add up to a product that is a solid choice in the Rs 40,000 price range moving into 2024.
The same can be said about other manufacturers, such as OnePlus. Their updates are modest compared to previous models, but the increased efficiency, better software support and overall stability make the products feel significantly better than before.
No matter what category of phone you buy this year or in early 2024, it’s really hard to find a bad phone. And with the release of next-gen models like the iQOO 12, this trend looks set to continue next year.
