The Phones We Once Chases: From Fleeting Trends to Fading Memories

The Phones We Once Chases: From Fleeting Trends to Fading MemoriesRecently, I unearthed a Redmi K30 Pro from the depths of a drawer. Surprisingly, after a brief charge, it still worked! Testing the camera, I was delighted by the motorized pop-up front camera a feature that would still impress many today

The Phones We Once Chases: From Fleeting Trends to Fading Memories

Recently, I unearthed a Redmi K30 Pro from the depths of a drawer. Surprisingly, after a brief charge, it still worked! Testing the camera, I was delighted by the motorized pop-up front camera a feature that would still impress many today. This nostalgic experience spurred reflections on the era of diverse and innovative phone designs, those that were once popular but have since faded into the annals of mobile history. How many of these quirky designs do you remember?

I. Pop-up Cameras: A Balancing Act of Tech and Practicality

The Redmi K30 Pro, powered by a Snapdragon 865+ processor and boasting one of the last generation's pop-up cameras, still retains a loyal following. Its emergence coincided with a transition in screen designs, moving from waterdrop notches to punch-holes, a change met with resistance from many users.

In 2018, vivo NEX pioneered the pop-up front camera, instantly gaining praise and making the NEX one of the hottest flagship phones of its time. Following closely, OPPO Find X boldly implemented a "dual-track periscope structure," integrating both front and rear cameras into a single pop-up module for a stunning, bezel-less design on both sides.

The Find X's ingenious design even garnered international attention, hailed as the "most beautiful phone of 2018." Its pop-up camera module not only solved the problem of camera concealment but also freed up space for front-facing sensors, enabling features like 3D facial recognition considered cutting-edge technology at the time.

From 2018 to 2020, pop-up cameras were at their peak, adopted by phone manufacturers across all price ranges. However, their reign was short-lived. After 2020, almost all manufacturers abandoned the technology.

The reasons are clear: high production costs, poor drop resistance, and compromised waterproofing and dustproofing. The pursuit of a full-screen experience sacrificed crucial user experience aspects, leading to their rapid decline. While many still cherish the futuristic feel of pop-up cameras, their revival is highly unlikely, considering current design trends and technological advancements.

II. Dual Screens: A Unique Exploration

Unless you're a seasoned mobile phone enthusiast, you might not recall dual-screen designs, as only a handful of phones ever adopted them. Nubia was a key player in this arena, releasing the Nubia X in 2018 with a 5.1-inch secondary screen covering nearly the entire back.

The Nubia X's secondary screen displayed notifications and could function as a regular screen, foreshadowing the external screen experience of foldable phones six years ago. In 2019, the Nubia Z20 inherited the dual-screen design but offered few significant improvements.

The Nubia Z20 was Nubia's last dual-screen phone, proving the design unpopular. Despite their coolness, the actual user experience fell short; insufficient system optimization and cumbersome app usage involving frequent phone rotation hampered their success.

LG also experimented with dual screens, employing a rotating design where the main screen could rotate to reveal a secondary screen underneath. Intended to facilitate video viewing and multitasking, the complex mechanism increased phone thickness and reduced durability, ultimately failing to gain traction.

Today, dual-screen phones have "resurrected" in the form of foldable phones, but their form factor differs drastically from that of the Nubia X. The chance of Nubia X-like dual-screen phones making a comeback is extremely slim.

III. Modular Phones: A Dream Deferred

Throughout mobile phone history, the modular design concept has persisted but never gained mainstream acceptance. Motorola, LG, and Google's Project Ara all attempted modular designs, but all ultimately failed.

Motorola's Z series was a classic example of modular phones, using magnetic connectors to add modules like projectors, speakers, and cameras, enhancing phone functionality. However, the only truly modular phone was Google's Project Ara. Although never officially released, its concept assembling phones like building blocks with interchangeable processors, camera modules, and screens was truly innovative.

The initial aim of modular designs was to extend phone lifespan, customize hardware to user needs, and reduce costs. However, high production costs and stability issues hindered mass production. Google ultimately shut down Project Ara in 2016.

Modular design remains a holy grail for phone designers, but balancing cost and user experience remains a significant challenge. For manufacturers, modular phones aren't financially ideal. Future attempts are possible, but their success remains uncertain.

IV. Innovation Bottleneck: Design Convergence and Experience Optimization

Since 2021, phone manufacturers seem less focused on novel designs, instead prioritizing camera system optimization. Foldable phones are the only truly innovative form factor in recent years. In the traditional straight-edged phone market, we haven't seen genuinely new designs for a long time.

Some beloved design elements have even been removed, replaced with unpopular alternatives. For example, the iPhone's toggle-style silent switch was replaced with a button, angering many Apple fans. Apple's justification was that the button design offers better scalability for future iOS functionality.

The iPhone 16 series' camera button is also controversial, criticized for accidental activation and limited practical improvement. Apple positions it as a future AI assistant button for AI image recognition, but the current AI functionality is underwhelming.

The Android camp is similar, with flagship phone designs becoming increasingly homogenous in recent years, with manufacturers emphasizing design and experience refinement. This isn't inherently bad; smooth operation and comfortable ergonomics often outweigh flashy aesthetics.

Rather than a lack of innovation, current phone designs may simply be mature enough that significant changes or new features without compromising the user experience are hard to implement. A new catalyst, perhaps AI integration, might revolutionize phone design.

V. The AI Era: The Future Shape of Phones

With the deep integration of AI capabilities, phone form factors may transform. AI's multi-modal processing could enable phones to become entirely different devices wristwatches, glasses, or others. While current AI applications mainly focus on imaging, the next major revolution in mobile phones will undoubtedly involve AI.

How phones will evolve in the next three years remains an exciting question. We may witness another significant transformation in phone design in the near future.

January 7th, 2025, CES 2025 is about to begin. Let's look forward to the next breakthrough in the mobile phone industry.