Smartphone features that have become popular in 2017

Find out what were the most popular smartphone features in 2017.

By Chandrika

| Updated: Friday, December 22, 2017, 18:01 [IST]

As we come to the end of another year, it is time to look back on the smartphone features that became the trend in 2017. We have seen a countless number of smartphones getting launched in this year, in particular. And, if you notice, many of them share some common features.

Smartphone features that have become popular in 2017

From full-screen design to dual-cameras, some smartphone features really caught on in 2017. What's more interesting is that these features were not limited to high-end phones, several budget phones that was launched this year also boast the same ones. For example, Samsung unveiled the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8 Plus back in March with Infinity displays.

When you take a look at those smartphones, the first thing you will notice is their beautiful full-screen design. However, later on many budget smartphones also came with similar bezel-less displays, if not the same. The names we have in mind are the newly launched Honor 7X, Honor 9i, Vivo V7/V7 Plus and many.

Moving forward, we have listed the smartphone features that have become the common trend in 2017. Scroll down to have a look.

Full-screen design with bezel-less display

So when did the trend of full-screen smartphones started. If we were to say, it was with the launch of Samsung's Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8 Plus flagships early this year. The smartphones sport, what Samsung likes to call "Infinity" display. Basically, they have a huge display with almost negligible bezels around it.

Soon after, the trend caught on like wild fire, with several OEMs coming up with smartphones that feature bezel-less displays. Initially, it was just the high-end or premium smartphones. Later on, full-screen design made its way to mid-range and budget devices as well.

It is worth mentioning about the iPhone X, which is the 10th anniversary model of iPhones. Apple made some major changes in terms of design to its latest flagship, the most significant one being the inclusion of edge-to-edge screen with a notch at the top.

Well, then in the last half of 2017, we saw a number of smartphones featuring the bezel-less display. Samsung Galaxy Note 8, Xiaomi Mi Mix 2, Honor 7X, Vivo V7/V7 Plus, LG Q6, the list is quite long.

Dual-cameras

Dual-cameras is another trend that caught on this year. In fact, if you consider the mid-range category, there is hardly any smartphone today that do not feature dual cameras.

That being said, some of the biggest players in the industry including Sony and HTC, are yet to come up with a dual camera smartphone. Even Samsung first introduced dual cameras on the Galaxy Note 8, which was launched in September.

While those are the exceptions, Chinese brands especially launched so many dual camera phones this year that we lost the count. The list includes Lenovo K8 Plus, Lenovo K8 Note, Honor 6X, Honor 7X, Xiaomi Mi A1, Moto G5 Plus, Honor 8 Pro, Honor 9i (it has dual camera setup both at the front and rear).

If we move up to the high-end smartphones, there are iPhone X, iPhone 8/8 Plus, OnePlus 5 and 5T, LG V30, LG G6, Samsung Galaxy Note 8, and the list goes on.

What's interesting to see is, even HTC and Sony are planning to launch dual camera smartphones in 2018. Needless to say, the dual-camera trend is going nowhere.

Bigger batteries

As the year passes, we become more dependent on our smartphones. From taking selfies to watching movies, it is almost impossible for us to spend a moment away from our mobile devices. This is why, manufacturers have made it a point to include bigger batteries in their smartphones.

2017 saw the rise of smartphones featuring bigger batteries (we are suggesting 4000mAh and 5000mAh). Even better, many of these smartphones fall into the lower mid-range to mid-range category. Nokia 2, Micromax Bharat 5, Gionee M7 Power, Xiaomi Mi Max 2, Motorola Moto E4 Plus, Panasonic Eluga Ray 700 and the Infinix Zero 5, you will be spoiled with choices.

Fast charging

In 2017, batteries of smartphones have not only gotten bigger, we have also seen the entry of fast charging. Of course, reverse charging and wireless charging also deserve the honorary mention, it is the fast charging feature that has become quite the trend.

While it was there from last year itself, this year we have seen a number of smartphones employing fast charging feature.

Well so how does fast charging work? Well, usual chargers power up your phone at a controlled, consistent pace, because if the power flows in too quickly, it could end up damage the battery and, in worst cases, fry your phone.

Fast charging, on the other hand, changes that by increasing the upper limit of voltage that can flow into your phone. And, the best part is, fast charging technology is designed to be completely safe.

Some of the our favorite smartphones that come with fast charging support are Samsung Galaxy A5 (2017), Samsung Galaxy S8/S8 Plus, Lenovo K8 Note, Oppo F5, Nokia 6, OnePlus 5T, OnePlus 5 and the list doesn't seem to end.

AR (Augmented Reality)

Well, it may not exactly been a trend, but everyone has been lately getting aboard the AR hype train. There is no doubt that AR is going to be the future, and the immense popularity of the Pokemon Go proved this point. However, it should be kept in mind that AR is not really hardware dependent, it is mostly software based.

Earlier this year, Asus had unveiled its ZenFone AR, which as it name suggests come with AR capabilities. However, the phone's AR capabilities are not really baked properly.

Here, we must mention the ARKit, which enables AR apps on most recent iPhones. So if Apple has taken up something, it does mean AR is the new big thing.