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Smartphones have evolved so much, with bigger displays, fast performance, and superb cameras being the latest smartphone trends. From keypads to current smart devices, we have come a long way. However, some of the basic things seem to be missing in the current lineup.
In this article, you will find a list of seven things about smartphones that we miss and hope for their comeback in 2024.
Headphone jacks, dedicated memory slot, and five other discontinued smartphone trends
1) Headphone jack
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Many people don’t know that OPPO was the first brand to remove the headphone jack from the smartphone. OPPO’s Finder ditched the headphone jack to attain the crown of being the thinnest phone. But when Apple abandoned the 3.5mm port, it shook the market.
Since then, many smartphone brands stopped adding wired audio ports to their phones. However, it should make a comeback, as the wired headphones are cheaper, provide better sound quality, and last much longer.
2) Power adapter in the box
The credit for removing the adapter from the box of the phone goes to Apple. Despite initially criticizing the brand for doing this, other companies started following suit. Now, barring some exceptions, we don’t get a charging adapter with the smartphone.
It does seem like this smartphone trend will go away soon, and we hope to see brands begin providing the power bricks in the box again.
3) Dedicated memory slot
Storage is one of the core features of any smartphone. But just like the headphone jack, a dedicated memory slot has become an obsolete smartphone trend. Even when you can find devices with a two-slot tray, you can either use it to add a microSD card or a secondary SIM, in addition to your primary mobile number.
If you are using two cellular networks, you have to adjust to the inbuilt storage of your device, which is quite tough at times. To go with the higher space option, you need to spend more money, which was not the case when smartphones first came up with a dedicated memory slot.
4) Stylus
Back when it was first introduced, the stylus was the coolest smartphone trend ever. For those who don’t know about a stylus, it is a pen-liked instrument that can be used to operate touchscreens. Initially, the stylus was used with touchscreen phones until Apple launched the iPhone with a capacitive touchscreen.
Today, we all use smartphones that work incredibly well with just our fingers. However, a stylus can still provide more accurate and controllable input.
5) Rear fingerprint scanner
Various sources suggest that Pantech GI100 was the first phone with a fingerprint scanner. However, with the iPhone 5S’s Touch ID feature, Apple made fingerprint scanning mainstream. After a couple of years, almost every brand started giving this security feature.
This feature underwent many changes, and today we have the in-display fingerprint sensor in our smartphones. But if we look back, the rear-mounted scanner was faster, simpler, and easier to access. Additionally, it was also associated with other tasks like clicking a selfie.
6) Notification LED
Nowadays, smartphone manufacturers are constantly trying to increase the screen size ratio of the device. Hence, we see the pursuit of minimizing bezels in the latest smartphone trends. Earlier when this was not the case, we used to get a notification LED with our devices, which was a simple yet useful feature.
Users could customize the color of the LED to get alerts about phone calls, messages, and other notifications without getting distracted by excess, irrelevant information.
7) Handy size
Smartphone screen sizes have grown drastically over the years, to the point that many brands simply offer larger screen sizes so they can brag about it. While a big screen size does provide a better experience in terms of watching and gaming, it's quite a challenge to navigate a big phone with just one hand.
We hope manufacturers bring back the handy-size smartphone trend in 2024 to make devices more manageable and convenient for users to handle.
This concludes our list of seven smartphone trends that should make a return in 2024.
