As 2016 draws to a close, we wanted to share our thoughts of the past twelve months - what impressed us, what angered us, what we look forward to. When writing news and review articles we stay objective, but this time we wanted to share our personal opinions.
So we sent out an interoffice email with three questions. Its difficult to define a whole year of tech progress (and setbacks) but each of us had comments burning in our minds so we think weve covered the highlights.
But first, meet the team:
Well start positively by discussing the greatest hits of the year on following page.
Which were the most remarkable smartphones of 2016?
Give me an up-to-date stock Android and I’d be in my happy place. That’s why New Nokia (aka HMD) is my big hope for 2017 - it was great at differentiating itself with hardware (at the time Symbian changed at a glacial pace). Of course, I’ve only heard rumors that the new phones won’t be heavily skinned like the unfortunate Nokia X handsets, so this year my vote goes to OnePlus. Next year, who knows?
Honorable mention goes to the Xiaomi Mi Mix. I had the 3.3†Sony Ericsson Xperia ray because I wanted a small phone, bezels are obviously not my thing.
That’s why my 2016 phone of the year was the Samsung Galaxy Note7. Not only was it a looker, but it also showcased all of Samsung’s know-how on how to pull off the perfect smartphone. Sadly, a design overlook and the demand for saving as much space as possible put an end to an otherwise excellent piece of tech.
But the Galaxy Note7 isn’t sold anymore and technically can’t be the one to choose. Here’s where the OnePlus 3T comes in. Not only is it the best value-for-money smartphone on the market, it’s also got charisma. It’s the one phone that can really win your heart and become the most beloved tech product in your life.
But it’s the Phone by Google. It’s Google stating that if you want the best Android phone, you need not look further than the OS maker’s own device. For a long while it was Samsung that people defaulted to for a premium Android experience, but now they don’t have to. There were always the Nexus phones, yes, but those have traditionally had less of a mainstream appeal, and more of a geek/dev vibe, and weren’t really an iPhone competitors.
And the thing is, despite its flaws here and there, the Pixel is still a mighty fine phone. It also commands a m ighty price tag - Google’s phones are priced to match the iPhones with competing display diagonals and storage sizes, and they still sell.
Now, the death of a certain Note might have helped a wee bit there, but I really feel that it’s the G letter on the Pixels’ backs that does most of the selling, and not so much the misfortunes of the competition.
This does not feed the eternal struggle for faster calculations or better pix el-pushing, but in my eyes, brings much needed optimization and real-world value to the mid-range segment, where most users currently shop. Hopefully, this technology and optimization-first approach will trickle down even further to the budget segments, so that 2017 can yield a new slew of battery efficient offers.
Continuing with the same logic of technological advancements and trends on a bigger scale, I cant fail to mention the Xiaomi Mi Mix. Dont get me wrong, in its current shape it is bulky to the point of being almost unwieldy and very expensive. However, in it I see a collection of design and tech implementations, that will hopefully finally break the visual stalemate the smartphone realm is in. Xiaomi definitely got an avalanche going and I believe Samsung might very well provide the next nudge, if and when its coveted foldable and flexible panel handsets finally become reality.
The LG G5 and iPhone 7 Plus also brought meaningful innovation with completely different takes on the dual camera implementation. And the Google Pixel with its HDR+ mode showed that you can, in fact, use math to offset physical limitations.
Another glorious device that no 2016 list would be complete without is the Xiaomi Mi Mix. Not because it’s a perfect phone, but because it’s a glimpse of the future - only you can have it in your hands now.
Which brings me to one very controversial device I currently own, and will surely raise a few eyebrows.
It’s the Apple iPhone SE. I will accuse Apple of laziness in the next chapter, but I consider the SE model as one of the companys very thoughtful decisions, given the fact that more than 20% of the iOS users are using 4" iPhones.
I was never a fan of the big smartphones though I owned quite a few of those (including the 6s Plus) and when the SE came out - I knew it was the right phone for me. If some company is wondering how to do a mini flagship - thats how. There is so much power in this little fella that will keep me warm for the years to come. Or at least until the 7s, who knows.
The OnePlus 3 and OnePlus 3T deserve both a spot here because OnePlus succeeded in making two amazing flagships - superb design, screen, performance, camera, and very clean Android experience. I recommended the OnePlus 3 series to quite a few friends and they are all very happy with the purchase. And I really believe the company has found the right way to develop an Android flagship.
Finally, the Xiaomi Mi Mix deserves an honorable mention here. There can be no one left unimpressed by its screen, and whatever the Mix shortcomings turned out to be, its one of the phones everyone will remember from 2016.
But the most remarkable product of 2016 was the Xiaomi Mi Mix. When I saw it first I believed it was just a concept product, a drawing in some R&D office in China. I still can’t quite believe its real when I’m holding it.
The incredible design, the surreal screen, the piezo-electric screen tech, the ceramic body - it’s all quite remarkable. Personally I’m waiting for a water-proof Mi Mix 2 with an OLED screen and a great camera.
As a runner up I’d put Samsung’s Galaxy S7 Edge. I owned this one for a couple of months and loved it. What makes it remarkable - the Super AMOLED screen, which is without a doubt the best on the market (if only the Galaxy Note 7 was n’t a dud), the super fast camera with the most incredible focus ever (I loved it for video) and the sleek glass body. The battery life and signal reception were pretty remarkable too.
If I’m allowed a third entry I’d give it to LG’s V20. It has LG’s innovative dual-camera design with a true wide-angle lens and regular one that’s close to perfect in my mind, it has an innovative second screen that’s always on, a quad DAC almost no smartphone competitor can match and a solid metal body with a removable battery.
Then the Motorola Moto Z - unlike the LG G5, the modularity that the Moto Z offers actually makes sense, although whether or not well see more modular smartphones in near future will totally depend on the devices success. The phone looks cool, so thats another plus. The Moto Mods might be expensive, but its been just a few months since the phone launched, so we can expect prices to come down with time.
Finally the Samsung Galaxy S7 and S7 edge - before the Galaxy Note7 came in, the Galaxy S7/S7 edge were the Samsung flagship phones to look out for. And after the Note7 was prematurely discontinued, the focus shifted back to them. The handsets lived up to the expectations, and have effectively carried the burden of Note7s demise as well. Both get a solid thumbs up for their design as well as specifications (especially the camera, which gives tough competition to the one A pples iPhone 7 features).
The second one would be the OnePlus 3. OnePlus has been trying to disrupt the market with its cutthroat pricing for two years now but while the pricing and on-paper specifications were impressive, the actual products often left a bit to be desired. This years OnePlus 3, though, simply knocked it out of the park with all-round impre ssive performance while maintaining the affordability factor. Even the updated OnePlus 3T, despite its higher price, remains a fantastic value for money proposition.
Lastly, theres the Xiaomi Redmi Note 3. The Redmi Note 3 did for the budget segment what the OnePlus 3 did for the premium segment, turning it on its head with a tremendous product at a scarcely believable price. The phone went on to break sales records and even after nearly a year since launch, the competitors are still struggling to match Xiaomis price to performance ratio.
This is a refreshing change that came with a price hike for the Pixels compared to the Nexuses before them, because Google seems to have realized that in order to actually be thought of by normal people as being on the same quality level as Apple’s iPhones, these need to cost the exact same amount. For most non-tech savvy people, “more expensive†equals “betterâ€. For the first time in many, many years Google seems to actually have a strategy regarding smartphones (and hardware in general), and up until this point it’s managed to execute it a lot better than you’d expect based on prior experience.
That said, there still are many things to sort out next year , starting with distribution - you can’t seriously say you’re competing with Apple by selling your flagship smartphones in only a handful of countries through a handful of carrier and retail partners in total. That’s just not going to cut it, and this being Google I wouldn’t be at all surprised if the availability issues aren’t going to be fixed soon, or at all. In fact, this is one company that absolutely loves to shoot itself in the foot, mind you, but this time at least the start has been promising. Let’s see what comes next.
Next on the list is the Moto Z Force. Like the S7 Active, the Z Force is a carrier-exclusive on Verizon. And although the Moto Z is available in other markets, its battery is not very large. The phone’s desire to be thin has negatively affected the phone’s overall battery life. The Moto Z Force brought a 35%-larger battery and a shatter proof screen. The Moto Z Force also features one of the best Android UIs available. Near Stock Android keeps things snappy without weighing down the OS, while Moto Actions brings some of the best value-added features like Moto Voice and double twist to launch camera. And the Moto Display, which even in its first iteration, worked much better than Android’s Ambient display.
Next up is the LG V20. While it might not be the most popular phone of the holiday season. I still think it deserves some praise. The camera’s UI is quite robust, with many recording options, including manual controls for photos, videos, and hi-resolution audio recording. As a filmmaker, I also really enjoyed the wide-angle cameras on the V20. Both the front and rear of the phone feature a wider-angle camera for those really wide shots. Also great is the up scaling audio to 24 bits for any audio device via the 3.5mm headphone jack without the need for an external amp. Another thing worth mentioning is LG’s commitment to keep removable batteries. Sadly for some, rumors point to an LG G6 with an enclosed battery, which makes it easier for waterproofing down the road.
With the best in tech covered we move on to the greatest disappointments of 2016. Join us after the break!
Which are the biggest disappointments of 2016?
It ranges from hard to impossible to tell until you actually try. Look, Ive used Bluetooth 1.0 when it took a prayer to connect, Im not spoiled. But if USB-C was the "One cable to rule them all" then incompatibilities are the last thing I wanted. There are reversible USB 2.0 cables too, you know.
PS. I dont care for USB-C headphones, the 3.5mm jack works fine.
However, it seems that in its pursuit of innovation, LG lost focus on the polishing of the product. The LG G5 is just such an example. The V20 manages to shine brighter than its smaller sibling, but still has quirks across the board.
I also have to agree with this wise man Peter here at the office and his complaints on the state of the USB-C standard, if you can call it a standard. The whole thing just cant not evoke that XKCD comic https://xkcd.com/927/ in your head.
Everybody loves the versatility of Type-C, which is great. But what many choose to forgo for technologic al, financial or other reasons is what lies behind said connector. Since the standard allows quite a bit of fallback, many still choose to implement USB 2.0, instead of 3.0 or 3.1 for data transfer. And things get even worse when it comes to charging.
Type-C has a perfectly good USB Power Delivery 2.0 standard, for up to 100W. Yet, most quick charging solutions still insist on using non-standard pin configurations. And since the Type-C connectors are practically identical at first sight, regardless of the custom nature, the burden on end users is painfully reminiscent of the era of proprietary connector and port standards.
We also saw the final n ail in the coffin of removable batteries - driven out by the pursuit of ever slimmer phones. Having carried spare packs to save me at events in the past I cant help but feel a little sorry for that.
The war on the 3.5mm audio jack also came out of the blue and I really dont get what caused it. Even though Im hardly an audiophile, its hard to find justification for removing it as it only saves a very tiny amount of internal volume.
Apple iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus are among my biggest disappointments of the year. Apple recycled the iPhone 6 design once more, ditched the audio jack, and tried to make up for that with the insanely expensive and ugly AirPods. And I could just leav e all that here, but, no, I want to say more.
Ive been an iPhone user since the iPhone 3GS, but I think Apple is becoming really lazy. The company is now a master of captivating presentations, but the final products are rarely living up to the promises made. The iPhone 7 and 7 Plus cameras are underperformers when it comes to still image quality, and even the "never-seen before" Portrait effect on the 7 Plus didnt make up for the disappointing telephoto camera quality. Even the iOS top 10 new features are really just two or three, and nothing that we havent already seen somewhere else.
The Apple brand alone is not enough for me, not anymore, and while I am invested into iOS, I wont buy another iPhone if it doesnt introduce something fresh or at least live up to its promises. The insane performance alone isnt enough to sell, not anymore. Here is hoping Apple is holding back for the anniversary iPhone, which would be both great and greedy.
Apple did away with the beloved 3.5mm jack, Motorola (Lenovo) made the Moto Z Force an unnecessary 7mm thin and removed the audio jack too - personally Id love a phone thats 8mm thick with a bigger battery and a headphone jack.
I also not enamored with the trend of making smartphone cameras lower resolution. I love to have detail in my photos and most of the time 12MP isnt great when you zoom in. But hey - heres to okay low light performance, am I right!
Moving on, tablets, I think, are slowly on their way out, as evident from decreasing user interest, which has been highlighted by recent reports from multiple market research firms. Finally, Windows Phone is really struggling, and if the situation continues the way it currently is, the mobile OS from Microsoft will soon be a thing of past.
And all this for what, just so Samsung could beat Apple to the punch in the market? Worst of all, Samsung couldnt even fix the phone after recalling it once and then waited until many more reports came in before finally deciding to pull the plug on it. People lost property to this phone and risked getting physical injury. Meanwhile, owners were in a limbo not knowing what will happen to their phones and those who had pre-ordered had given up hope of ever getting their phone. Undeniably the biggest disaster of 2016, or recent time, for that matter.
And its such a big pity, this - the Note7 was one of the most beautiful smartphones ever made (in my humble opinion), it was packed to the brim with features as youd expect from a Note, it had a new, slightly redesigned skin atop Android, it had great innards, the S Pen... I could go on.
Before its release, it had every chance at becoming the most successful Note ever, but then the fires started and the rest is history. Samsungs handled the situation decently overall, although the blunder with the first recall then followed by assurances that the new devices are safe, only for those to be proven wrong was all a bit tough to swallow. Still, hopefully the Galaxy S8 will come out ever stronger from this experience.
I wont go into why these are bad choices on Apples behalf, but this completely turned me off to any Apple computer as it seems like the company only wants to sell me something kind-of-good so it can try to sell me something a-little-better the next time aroun d. The iPhone 7 was in the same boat, it finally offered stereo speakers, waterproofing, and the fastest CPU around, but for Apple, it was only playing catch-up, and it didnt update the design of the phone as it had done for the past 6 years starting with the iPhone 4 (4, 4S, 5, 5S, 6, 6S, 7(which still looks like the 6???).
There didnt seem to be much happening with smartwatches in 2016 with the exception of the Apple Watch Series 2. Apple was finally able to succeed its first-generation smartwatch with new features and proper water-resistance. The Apple Watch is the one I see out in public the most, way more than any other Android Wear smartwatch. Most smartwatch makers decided to wait the year out before making any new smartwatches, resulting in a boring year for smartwatches. Googles delay in releasing Android Wear 2.0 could be to blame as well.
What devices and technologies are you most looking forward to in 2017?
Obviously, the phone will just serves as a display and sensor array, a PC (or console) will do the actual graphics rendering. Some apps try to do this, but given how sensitive VR is to latency, I think a hardware solution is required. Something like Intels WiDi could transmit the image wirelessly (no cables!). Unfortunately it seems that Intel killed it off in favor of Miracast (which wont work as it gives no guarantees about latency).
I am also looking at OnePlus, Xiaomi and Samsung to push the envelope of the smartphone capabilities. However, I am sure we can all agree that everybody wants a polished user interface experience. And since I am an Android guy, the next version of Googles mobile OS is exciting beyond belief.
A super wide-angle camera is a must and fits like a charm (LG G5 and V20), regular focal lengths in the 24-28mm equiv. range are the norm, lets just focus on telephoto. Periscopes have been done (Zenfone Zoom), just ditch the zoom bit and give me the long end - thatll help reduce lens dimensions while keeping a meaningful sensor size, no? Uhm, okay, possibly two of those, at different focal lengths (50mm + 80mm), pretty please?
Aaah, sure enough - a monochrome camera for those moodier moments, but just one, at a modest 26mm. Or none at all, who cares when youve got the other four.
Also, can we finally start shaking off the proprietary approach in wireless casting technology next year? I dont really mind the "format war" of sorts, but with all said and done, I am never really quite sure if and how any two particular gadgets with WiDi, Miracast or the like will play together.
Im also hoping that more and more manufacturer will follow the example of Xiaomi and come out with bezelless phones. How could they not, now that the Mix is out. Its hard looking at you phone the same way once youve played with that.
Im looking for a maker to match the HDR+ of the Pixel phones with a dual camera ala Huawei P9/Mate 9. These two approaches boost the weakest part of each smartphone camera - the low light performance. One can only hope to see the two working together in a proper "night-mode" cameraphone.
There is this VR trend thats going on right now and since the Gear VR was released, I seem to encounter only cheaper and less inspirin g solutions. I wasnt a fan of the Gear VR quality and performance either. I dont want this VR trend to disappear, just to be put on hold until the technology is ready.
Today it seems to me the manufacturers are cutting corners to meet the minimum hardware requirements for VR, but its quality and available content are rather questionable. I dont want companies to focus on how to put VR in expense of innovations in camera, display, or even batteries. I dont want VR to kill the smartphone innovation impetus because the VR is just too low quality for now. Let it grow naturally, and in the meantime - lets make the smartphones great again. Yes, I used that phrase.
Finally, I am beyond curious about whats next for Apple and Huawei. As an iOS user, I want the next (anniversary) iPhone to be something to remind us of the Jobs era, but somehow, I doubt it will turn out like that. In the meantime, Huawei and Leica are doing something I am already sold on and I secretly cheer for th e Huawei P10 to outshine Apples next big thing.
Continuing on that train of thought Im looking forward to better cameras, especially cameras made better with software. With the Pixel, Google showed us that you dont need optical stabilization to have a stable camera and that you dont need to be a pro to make professional-looking images. Googles pair of phones have the best camera on the market, the best camera processing in the industry so lets all get behind smart cameras - not just flashy cameras.
I hope in 2017 we can finally have smartphone cameras with large sensors (1/2 .6",1/2.3") and an above 12MP resolution.
Aside from it, I really hope driver less cars become mainstream in near future, as countries like India, that are developing good road networks but lack road safety, would immensely benefit from this technology.
Another area where I expect to see improvements is Bluetooth audio. With the days of the headphone jack appearing numbered, now is the time for Bluetooth device manufacturers to step up and improve their game. The convenience factor of Bluetooth audio is undeniable but for some the audio quality just isnt there yet. If the manufacturers finally get it on par with wired audio and improve battery life, it should help ease the transition to wireless audio. Not to mention, the prices will get more affordable as well as more people buy them.
Then theres the Nokia brand, which will once again be featured on smartphones, this time running Android. Im trying not to look at this reentry into the market with high expectations (because those lead to huge disappointments usually), but theres still a lot of brand awareness for Nokia so if they play their cards right a certain amount of success is easily attainable.
I am also excited to see what LG has in store for this years new flagship, as 2015s G5 was not very outspoken. I am also really interested in seeing what Apple will do with the next iPhone, given that this years iPhone 7 was somewhat underwhelming with no major design changes.
Looking toward 2017, I would love to see the evolution of smart home. Googles Home assistant created competition for the otherwise unopposed Amazon Echo. As more smart home devices become a part of our lives, security of these devices needs to become a priority, so we dont have another major internet outage like we did last year.
! ( hope useful)
