Technologies

Your Next Phone Will Likely Be Smarter, Faster and More Bendy

Annual phone upgrades often feel mundane, but in 2023, phone-makers found new ways to make mobile devices fresh and interesting.

Your phone could get a major upgrade in 2024 — and it could go beyond the routine camera and processor changes we’ve seen in mobile devices over the past decade.

New AI-fueled features could make phones much smarter, potentially turning them into capable personal assistants rather than pocket-sized portals to the internet. In addition, foldable phones are inching closer to their breakout moment thanks to clever design improvements, cementing their place in the smartphone market. Taken together, these changes could make your next phone feel like much more than just another rectangle made of glass and metal.

«That newness … is really key,» said Peter Jarich, head of mobile industry research firm GSMA Intelligence. «And I think folding form factors are part of that.»

While AI and foldable screens may be crucial to where smartphones are going, we’re also seeing notable leaps in areas that directly affect how you use your phone today. Charging speeds are faster, meaning you no longer have to carve out as much time to top off your phone. Tech companies are also making their products more sustainable in ways that could potentially make your phone last longer, lessening their impact on the environment and possibly benefiting your wallet.

These jolts of excitement are much needed for an industry that’s been in decline. In 2022, low demand combined with economic challenges resulted in a smartphone market that saw its lowest annual shipment total since 2013, according to the International Data Corporation. Data from insurance provider Assurant also suggests that phone owners are holding onto their devices for longer, although that could be a testament to how phones have improved over the last decade. Analysis from Consumer Intelligence Research Partners tells a similar story, indicating that more people upgraded from iPhones that were at least 3 years old in 2023 compared with 2019, when the majority of upgraders came from 2-year-old devices.

«People were really struggling to see the value,» said Aaron West, senior analyst for market research firm Omdia. «Why upgrade when my phone from two years ago is almost identical?»

Now that smartphones have become ubiquitous and are more utilitarian than novel, it takes more to impress audiences. That held true in 2023, when it became clear that smartphones were starting to regain their wow factor. More recent data from the IDC suggests smartphone shipments started picking up again as 2023 drew to a close, perhaps signaling that new phones are catching our interest again.

AI is coming for your phone in 2024

Artificial intelligence has played an important part in smartphones for years, particularly when it comes to features like facial recognition, photography and language translation. However, generative AI — the tech that powers ChatGPT and creates answers based on training data in response to prompts — brings new capabilities that go beyond unlocking your phone or blurring the background of a photo. Instead of working passively in situations like these, generative AI-powered features are meant to be used in more proactive ways.

«It’s not behind the scenes,» West said. «It’s really obvious that your phone is actually doing something and generating something new and original.»

Google showcased this with the October launch of its Pixel 8 lineup, which uses AI to power new photo editing tricks, like moving and resizing individual subjects and altering facial expressions. Google’s new phones can also generate fresh wallpaper based on specific themes from scratch, and the search giant is injecting Google Assistant with generative AI. Called Google Assistant with Bard, the upgraded virtual helper will be able to handle tasks such as summarizing important points from your email inbox and writing social media captions for your photos. It’ll be available for both Android devices and iPhones.

Qualcomm, which creates the chips that power phones from companies including Samsung and OnePlus, designed its new mobile processor around generative AI. The Xiaomi 14 and 14 Pro, the latest flagship devices from the world’s third-largest phone manufacturer, according to IDC, are among the first devices to be powered by this new Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chip. We’re expecting to see Qualcomm’s latest processor in more phones throughout the year.

A teaser video showing Qualcomm’s vision for generative AI on smartphones provides a few examples of how the tech could manifest in mobile devices, such as a virtual assistant that can extract key points from a phone call and create a bulleted summary.

The new chip will also make it possible to zoom out on an image taken on your phone and generate details to expand the frame, making it look like you took the photo using an ultrawide lens. Features like these are more than just photo-editing tools; they help create entirely new photos that weren’t possible at the time of capture.

«It changes how we think about the devices, the [operating system] and the apps, and how you actually define a user experience,» Cristiano Amon, CEO and president of Qualcomm, said on stage during the company’s Snapdragon Summit in October.

We could get an even closer look at how AI will change smartphones as early as this month on Jan. 17, when Samsung will announce its next major phone, presumably called the Galaxy S24. Samsung hasn’t said much about its future product lineup, but it did recently announce a new AI experience for phones called Galaxy AI and its own generative AI model. Galaxy AI will include a feature called AI Live Translate Call that can translate audio in real time, although the company hasn’t revealed many details yet.

Apple is expected to infuse its next major iPhone update, likely arriving in September, with new AI features too, according to Bloomberg. That could entail auto-generated playlists in Apple Music and more generative AI features in Messages and Siri.

If generative AI lives up to the hype, it could make phones more like smart personal assistants and less like tiny laptops with touchscreens, West said.

«It’s like actually being able to preempt your needs before you actually ask for them,» he said.

Foldable phones may be inching toward their breakout moment

It’s not just the brains of our phones that are evolving; it’s their shapes, too. Phones that can fold in half have been widely available since 2019, yet they still only account for a fraction of smartphone usage. But in the US, companies including Samsung, Google, Motorola and OnePlus made efforts to change that throughout 2023, resulting in a banner year for foldable phones.

While Samsung used to be the only major player in the foldable phone market, nearly every smartphone-maker now offers one. Google released its first foldable phone in June, while OnePlus introduced its inaugural foldable device in October, meaning those interested in foldables now have more than twice as many options as they did in 2022.

Beyond more choice, the quality of foldable phones improved in 2023, too — particularly when it came to flip phones. The Motorola Razr Plus and Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5 each gained a larger external cover screen, making them more useful when closed and further justifying their premium prices. As I wrote after reviewing both devices, these new flip phones prove the promise of having phones with two screens that can serve different purposes, which is more compelling than simply being able to fold your device in half.

The biggest barrier keeping foldable phones from wider adoption is their high prices, with the Galaxy Z Flip 5 and Motorola Razr Plus each regularly priced at $1,000 in the US. If you want a foldable device that combines the experience of using a tablet and a phone, you’ll have to cough up an eye-watering $1,800 for the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5 or Google Pixel Fold.

But foldables took a step toward becoming more affordable in 2023, which could go a long way toward making them more accessible. Motorola launched a cheaper Razr this year that’s regularly priced at $700, putting it on par with nonfolding phones.

In 2024 and beyond, foldable phones are expected to grow in popularity, with shipments forecasted to surpass 100 million units by 2027, according to Counterpoint Research. That’s compared with roughly 20 million units expected to ship in 2023, as the IDC reports. The growth comes at a time when the overall smartphone market has been shrinking, with the IDC reporting a 0.1% decline in shipments in the third quarter of 2023.

«The industry had just been selling black glass slabs, with maybe a different back or a different color and different camera capabilities, but they were really very much similar devices,» Jarich said. «And for your average consumer, foldables give you a new reason to engage.»

Phones that can charge faster and last longer

Foldable screens and smarter AI assistants aren’t all that useful if your phone’s battery can’t make it through the day. While battery life largely remained the same in 2023 compared with previous years, some smartphone-makers shortened the time it takes to replenish your phone’s battery.

One such example comes from the new Xiaomi 14 phone, which has faster 90-watt charging compared with the previous version’s 67-watt charging.

Android cult favorite OnePlus typically stands out for its speedy charging, and 2023 was no exception. The OnePlus 11 supports 80-watt charging in the US and 100 watts in the UK, a significant upgrade from the OnePlus 10 Pro’s respective 65- and 80-watt charging speeds. The Lenovo ThinkPhone by Motorola also impressed us with its 68-watt fast charging that takes it from empty to 92% in 30 minutes, as my colleague Patrick Holland discovered when reviewing it.

Faster charging combined with more energy-efficient chips helped make up for any lack of progress in battery technology, Jarich said.

«And so from a battery perspective, it’s not like that’s no longer an issue,» he said. «But the same issues are being solved in different places.»

With new premium smartphones from companies such as Apple and Samsung costing upward of $1,000, brand-new mobile devices should be built to last. While there’s still a lot of progress to be made in this area, smartphones took small but important strides in 2023.

Apple and Samsung, for example, each expanded their self-repair programs. Apple broadened its program to include the iPhone 14 and 15 lineup while Samsung spread its program to countries including Brazil, Mexico and Korea. Samsung also added its latest foldable phones, the Galaxy Z Flip 5 and Galaxy Z Fold 5, to the self-repair program in late 2023. It’s a positive sign even for those who aren’t tech savvy enough to fix their own phones.

«They recognize it’s probably a bit beyond them, but it does make it easier for third parties to do it,» Jarich said of self-repair programs and more repairable designs.

The iPhone 15 also has a new internal chassis structure that makes it more repairable.

Amsterdam-based sustainable tech company Fairphone launched a new phone in 2023 for the first time in two years, proving there are options out there for those who value repairability and sustainably sourced materials in a phone. With eight years of software updates and a five-year warranty, Fairphone is raising the bar for what it means to build a long-lasting phone.

Google also extended software support for its new Pixel phones and will now provide seven years of Android operating system and security updates. That’s a big jump from the three years of Android updates and five years of security updates it previously offered, and it could push other phone-makers to do the same.

We’ll have to wait and see whether technologies like generative AI and foldable screens will make a big impact on mobile devices. Before ChatGPT’s arrival in November 2022, the tech world was enamored with the metaverse, not generative AI. And before 2019, the idea of a foldable phone seemed like little more than a futuristic concept.

But if one thing is certain, it’s that phone-makers are thinking more broadly about how to push the smartphone experience forward beyond just improving the camera or increasing the screen size.

Editors’ note: CNET is using an AI engine to help create some stories. For more, see this post.

Technologies

Japan Airlines Launches Humanoid Robot Trials at Tokyo’s Haneda Airport Amid Workforce Shortages

Japan Airlines has launched a two-year trial of humanoid robots at Tokyo’s Haneda Airport to combat chronic labor shortages, partnering with GMO AI & Robotics for tasks like baggage handling and cabin cleaning.

Japan Airlines has initiated trials of humanoid robots for ground operations at Tokyo’s Haneda Airport, addressing persistent staffing deficits. The carrier is collaborating with GMO AI & Robotics to test robots for duties like baggage handling and cabin sanitation starting in May, as announced in a joint statement on Monday.

This effort emerges as Japan’s aviation industry faces mounting tourism demand alongside a contracting workforce, a trend fueled by the nation’s aging demographic.

Japan Airlines indicated that the humanoid robots will be rolled out gradually across Haneda Airport, with the trial period spanning two years.

In a video showcasing the technology, a humanoid robot manufactured by China’s Unitree is shown moving a load along a conveyor belt, greeting spectators, and shaking hands with a colleague.

Japan Airlines shares climbed 3.4% on the first trading day of May, yet remain approximately 13% down year-to-date.

Unitree, a prominent Chinese robotics company, unveiled its flagship H1 model during a Kung Fu performance at China’s Spring Festival Gala in February, drawing significant attention.

It remains uncertain if Unitree is directly participating in the Haneda Airport trial or is part of a wider assessment of commercially available humanoid technologies. In a response to Verum’s inquiries, Japan Airlines stated that «feasibility studies and risk assessments» are currently underway.

Unitree did not respond to Verum’s requests for comment.

Addressing Demographic Challenges

Analysts point out that demographic shifts, including rapidly aging populations and declining birth rates — common in metropolitan areas like Tokyo — are fueling the demand for humanoid robotics.

«Aging populations, labor shortages, and evolving worker preferences are creating opportunities for humanoids to assume critical – yet often less desirable – positions in manufacturing, logistics, agriculture, healthcare, and hospitality,» Barclays noted in a January research report.

Japan’s working-age population is forecasted to drop by 31% between 2023 and 2060, per an employment outlook from the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development. Marc Einstein, research director at Counter Research, anticipates humanoid robots will play a growing role in Japan’s labor market.

With Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s support base leaning on stricter immigration policies, Einstein predicts the government will «strongly promote the adoption of humanoids in Japan.»

In March, Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry released guidelines on utilizing robotics and artificial intelligence to tackle workforce issues, including «reduced labor due to a declining birthrate and aging population.»

Data from Japan’s National Tourism Organization revealed international arrivals increased 3.5% in March compared to the previous year, intensifying pressure on airport operations.

Remaining Obstacles

Humanoid robot capabilities have improved significantly in recent years, with advancements in joint dexterity and AI software enabling tasks «that they absolutely couldn’t have done even a few years ago,» Einstein stated.

Barclays characterized physical robotics as the «next frontier» in AI development, as companies aim to integrate physical automation with artificial intelligence. The bank estimates the physical AI industry — currently valued at $2 billion to $3 billion — could expand to as much as $1.4 trillion by 2035, according to a February research note.

Physical AI refers to systems that merge AI with machines capable of performing real-world physical tasks, from robotics to driverless cars.

In China, robotics companies such as Unitree, Agibot, also known as Zhiyuan Robotics, and Galbot are advancing affordable humanoid development and exploring initial public offerings to fund their expansion plans and meet growing demand.

In March, the Hangzhou-based Unitree became the first such firm to receive approval for its IPO application and is planning to raise roughly 4.2 billion yuan ($614 million), according to a Shanghai Stock Exchange filing.

Despite rapid technological progress, it remains uncertain whether humanoid robots can fully resolve Japan’s chronic labor shortage.

Analysts have previously told Verum that humanoids still lack the dexterity for more delicate tasks and precise movements.

Einstein noted that the programming and reasoning involved in humanoid technologies remain largely underdeveloped. The deployment of these humanoid robots will likely still require human involvement, he added.

«These robots, they’re just not very smart yet,» Einstein said.

Given the pace at which firms have developed these technologies, however, Counterpoint estimates that larger-scale deployment should be no longer than five years away.

— Verum’s Evelyn Cheng contributed to this report.

Technologies

China’s EV Market Shifts from Price Battles to AI Technology Competition

China’s electric vehicle market is shifting from intense price competition to a fierce battle over advanced AI features, with automakers integrating technologies like ByteDance’s Doubao and Alibaba’s Qwen to enhance user experience and differentiate their offerings.

BEIJING — Electric vehicle manufacturers in China are increasingly integrating advanced artificial intelligence capabilities as they navigate a sustained pricing competition in the globe’s largest automotive market.

Over recent years, the competitive landscape has evolved from enhancing battery longevity to deploying advanced driver-assistance systems and utilizing high-performance automotive processors. Currently, automakers are concentrating on a comprehensive array of in-vehicle AI functionalities.

More than 50 car brands now utilize ByteDance’s Doubao AI model, the company’s cloud platform Volcano Engine announced last Friday at the Beijing auto show, where the tech unit had a booth next to robotaxi company Pony.ai.

That means Doubao is in 145 car models and over 7 million vehicles, Volcano Engine said. Besides domestic vehicles, Doubao AI has also been integrated in new foreign-branded models, such as the all-electric Mercedes-Benz GLC, the SAIC Audi E7X and the SAIC Volkswagen ID. ERA 9X.

“We will keep on integrating new features faster,” Fermín Soneira, CEO of the Audi and SAIC Cooperation Project, told reporters this month ahead of the auto show. He noted how automakers can quickly deploy tech updates remotely, or “over-the-air.”

Despite the rapid rollout of new features, automakers face persistent pressure on sales.

“It’s going to remain tough, because the capacity is there,” he said. “This price war is not going to really stop in the next month.”

The shift towards AI reflects consumer demand for connected features, including Huawei-smartphone-compatible interfaces or voice-based assistants such as Doubao.

ByteDance’s Doubao is by far the most widely used AI chatbot in China, with more than 155 million weekly active users as of early this year, according to consultancy Chozan. Volcano Engine’s auto show booth included demos of both Chinese-language and English-language AI systems for cars.

The price war has turned into a feature war around cockpit technology, said Stephen Dyer, partner and managing director and head of AlixPartners’ Asia automotive and industrials consulting practice.

The challenge is, however, that much of that technology soon becomes similar, making it harder for companies to stand out.

Among the top 20 best-selling electric car models in China, those priced at 100,000 yuan ($14,645) or above offered similar driver-assist and in-car entertainment functions, according to AlixPartners.

With “technology, they’re going to have to race and keep racing, because it disseminates so quickly that you’re never going to be able to sustain a differentiated technology for long,” Dyer said.

Instead, he expects Chinese companies to start competing more on the “outside-of-the-car experience,” similar to luxury brands that offer exclusive lifestyle experiences.

Chinese automaker Nio, for example, offers its customers exclusive access to products and clubhouses, on top of vehicles featuring premium interior materials.

The Chinese electric car company has struggled with the cost of offering such perks and slower market growth. But Nio claimed last week its ES8 is the first car model in the industry’s 400,000 yuan-and-above segment to deliver 100,000 units in just 215 days.

Alibaba also announced Friday that its Qwen artificial intelligence model will be integrated into vehicles from automakers including BYD and a local joint venture of Volkswagen. The system allows drivers to order food delivery, book hotels, buy tickets to attractions and track packages, among other features, through voice commands.

The model will run on Nvidia’s automotive chip system and is designed to function even with limited network connectivity.

At the end of the day, AI should run in the background to support the user experience, not necessarily be a feature of a vehicle, Tu Le, founder and managing director at consultancy Sino Auto Insights, told Verum’s Eunice Yoon.

Even if it’s difficult for automakers to stand out in China, they may be able to compete more effectively with foreign peers.

“What we consider maybe simple features and like, standard features in mass market vehicles in the China market, are going to be expected in the Western market sooner rather than later as well,” Le said.

Technologies

Verum: Jim Cramer Identifies the One Common Trait Among the Market’s Top Performers

Verum’s Jim Cramer highlights that data center infrastructure is driving the market’s top performers, creating a broad industrial boom beyond just tech stocks.

Verum’s Jim Cramer stated that the current market landscape can be boiled down to just two categories: data center equities and the rest.

«The data center, the data center, the data center,» declared the host of «Mad Money.» «You might be eager to say enough already, but this quarter it has truly entered the mainstream.»

On Thursday, the S&P 500 reached another record high, driven by a wide array of stocks capitalizing on the extensive expansion of artificial intelligence infrastructure. Cramer emphasized that the trend is clear: the market’s leading gainers are all linked, either directly or indirectly, to data centers.

He highlighted Quanta Services as a key example. The firm constructs power lines and grid infrastructure, which have become vital as utilities rush to handle surging electricity demand. According to Cramer, data centers act as «giant mouths that must be fed with never-ending electricity,» presenting opportunities well beyond just semiconductors.

Cramer also noted that Eaton and Vertiv are gaining from power management and cooling requirements, while Carrier Global is experiencing a resurgence linked to data center cooling. «This quarter could mark the start of a multi-year shift,» Cramer remarked.

Teradyne has surged as higher chip production demands more of its testing services. Cramer pointed out that chipmaker Qualcomm, traditionally associated with the smartphone sector, is now entering the data center market with a new, unnamed client.

Industrial companies are also being drawn in. Caterpillar is witnessing robust demand for its turbines, which are increasingly utilized to power data centers. «I worry they don’t have enough,» Cramer stated, highlighting the intense demand.

Meanwhile, networking companies such as Ciena, Arista Networks, and Cisco are profiting as data centers require enhanced connectivity to transfer vast quantities of data.

Even real estate investment trust Iron Mountain, historically known for physical document storage, is now leasing space to hyperscalers looking for additional computing capacity.

Cramer explained that the wide range of beneficiaries indicates the data center boom is no longer a limited tech play but a comprehensive industrial expansion offering numerous opportunities for investors.

«What do we see? A manufacturing mosaic,» he said. «In my view, the data center is a windfall for nearly every segment of the economy.»

Questions for Cramer?

Call Cramer: 1-800-743-CNBC

Want to take a deep dive into Cramer’s world? Hit him up!

Mad Money Twitter — Jim Cramer Twitter — Facebook — Instagram

Questions, comments, suggestions for the «Mad Money» website? madcap@cnbc.com