iPhone X - The Best Smartphone Features of 2017

From single-camera bokeh shots and funky AR apps to the world’s first neural processing unit, it has been a year jam-packed with innovations. We pick out the ones that really matter and the phones that have rocked our world

If there is one single feature that epitomises smartphone evolution this year, it would be the shift towards slim-bezelled handsets with displays that stretch almost edge to edge.

The top releases in 2017 were all noticeably smaller and easier to hold than last year’s editions without losing screen real estate, such as the LG V30 and Huawei Mate 10. In the case of Apple and Samsung’s flagships, users got more screen in a smaller body.

But while this bezel-less movement is understandably getting most of the attention – it is the first thing we see, after all – tech companies have made several improvements to smartphones that may not be immediately noticeable, but are perhaps more important.

The first is continued advancements in artificial intelligence (AI), from both an immediate and long-term perspective. Huawei built the world’s first mobile chipset with a dedicated NPU (neural processing unit, essentially a souped-up CPU capable of running AI applications), which will shape the tech in future years. Apple and Google, meanwhile, improved their current machine-learning algorithms to work wonders today.

Remember the dual-camera trend pioneered by Huawei but popularised by Apple? Consumers were told that two cameras were needed to produce that depth-of-field effect in portraits (aka bokeh). But the single-camera Google Pixel 2 phones can produce bokeh shots just as good, if not better, than Apple and Huawei’s dual-shooters.

Google was able to achieve this with AI smarts that identify scenery and then produce the blurred effect through post-photo processing.

There is still a reason for the second rear camera to exist – LG uses it for wide-angle shots, for example – but Google has effectively shut down the claim that two cameras are needed to determine the distance between subject and background.

Over at Apple, the iPhone X uses what the company calls a “neural engine” to power an impressive facial recognition system and AR (augmented reality) prowess. The latter is especially useful in the real world – just try AR apps by Ikea and Topology Eyewear that respectively allow users to place simulated furniture in their living room and glasses on their face.

That Apple is pushing so hard for augmented reality – the company introduced an AR framework to app developers in its newest iOS software – is yet more proof that AR is far more important than the overhyped VR.

Android users wanting the latest AR apps need not fret: Qualcomm recently announced that its Snapdragon 845 chipset, which will be in most 2018 Android flagships, is built to focus on AR capabilities.

Smaller brands like LG and Razer do not have the resources to develop AI like Apple, Google and Huawei, so this year they’ve turned their attention to improving media consumption.

LG went against the industry trend of retiring the analogue headphone jack by putting two hi-fi audio DACs (digital-to-analogue converters) into its V30.

Also read:  6 Important Tips You Should Know Before Applying for JAMB UTME 2018.

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