Smartphones are rapidly evolving in terms of both hardware and software, and every year, all the manufacturers leave no stone unturned to bring out the very best. However, we hardly get to witness manufacturers hitting the right notes due to compromises that are unavoidable. The outcome of this disruptive race to build the most powerful smartphone is newer technologies and innovations being incorporated. What if we had complete freedom to pick the right specs and features for a device, eventually combining to emerge as the ultimate smartphone of 2016? We won’t be going on an unrealistic tangent in terms of hardware, but our aspirations will echo what every enthusiast wants from a smartphone. This is our take on Digit’s Ultimate Smartphone for 2016.
Design
We’re basing the design of the front panel heavily on the LG G4. Additionally, the screen will extend all the way to the sides as if no bezels exist. The same will be done with the top and bottom of the display panel as well, except we will be a little more forgiving here, enough to accommodate the dual-front facing speakers reminiscent of the Moto X Style. Two capacitive buttons will be placed on either side of the bottom front-facing speaker while the top panel will be fashioned once again like the Moto X Style. The back panel will have the camera along the centre with the LED flash right below it, as seen on the OnePlus 2. Moving on to the side rims, the right side will consist of the power button (doubling as a fingerprint scanner), volume control buttons and a camera shutter release like the one on the Xperia Z5. The left side will house a dual-SIM hot swappable slot similar to the one on the iPhone 6s. A USB Type-C charging port will be seated in the bottom and a 3.5 mm headset jack on the top edge.
As for the chassis, our ultimate smartphone will be constructed using Liquidmetal or Liquidmorphium and will feature a removable battery, leaving room for replacements/upgrades in the future. You’ll be able to customise the device using interchangeable back covers. The hardware buttons (except the power button) will sport a knurled texture to offer better grip and a satisfying tactile feedback.
Display
Smartphone sizes are rising where once 5.5-inch screen mobile devices were termed as phablets, and now, the very same form factor is now considered a staple for flagships. However, phones this big make it difficult to ensure a seamless single-handed usage and that’s why we opted for a 5.2-inch screen. The display on Sony’s 4K smartphone is overkill since it’s really difficult to distinguish the difference between 4K and Quad HD displays, highly dependent on the type of screen coating used. The Quad HD Super AMOLED display on the Samsung Galaxy S6 definitely looks brilliant which automatically makes it our choice for the ultimate smartphone. Force Touch essentially broadens the scope of functionality on apps which makes it a must have feature. For the display surface, we can’t think of any material other than sapphire crystal owing to its extraordinary hardness and resistance to scratches. We can’t leave it just that, the screen will be topped off with an oleophobic and hydrophobic coating, practically making it smudge-proof and a fingerprint repellent.
Processor
Our ultimate smartphone is highly dependent on the processor and if the rumours are true then the next greatest from Qualcomm will be the best choice. The Snapdragon 820 is a quad-core processor with a core reduction owing to heating issues on its predecessor and the fact that Qualcomm will be using their custom ‘Kyro’ architecture rather than Cortex’s ARM. The 820 is said to be 50% more powerful than the Exynos 7420, Samsung’s current flagship chipset thanks to the heterogeneous capabilities of the new architecture. Samsung’s Exynos 8890, which is slated for release next year is a good contender as well which is why we are considering about releasing two variants for our smartphone with the Snapdragon 820 and Exynos 8890.
RAM
Smartphones had been shipping with LPDDR3 memory chips for a while and as manufacturers shifted to Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 810 and Samsung’s Exynos 7420, LPDDR4 memory is now supported. There are already a few smartphones with LPDDR4 memory, and we expect upcoming flagship devices to adopt the same standard because they enable higher data rates and consume less power. Samsung had recently announced their 12 Gb (Gigabits) LPDDR4 DRAM chips, supposed to be faster and more efficient, making it possible for mobile devices to pack 6 GB of RAM which will definitely be included in our ultimate smartphone. Although LPDDR5 has been announced it will certainly take some time for the top SoC manufacturers to incorporate its capabilities into their design, which is why we’ll be skipping it until 2017 or 2018.
Camera
There can be no doubt when it comes to the camera, so we picked Sony’s Exmor RS CMOS sensor which was first seen in the new Xperia Z5 lineup. Its strengths include the ability to capture 23 MP images and record videos in 4K (30 fps), 1080p (60 fps) and 720p (120 fps). Sony’s plane phase detection autofocus will allow us to capture high-speed moving objects and essentially improve the image processing capabilities while Optical Image Stabilisation (OIS) sweetens the deal. Similarly, the front camera will have a 13 MP sensor with autofocus and OIS. Of course, the device will feature dual-tone LED flash on the front and the back.
Battery
Battery technology in current mobile devices seems to have plateaued. Manufacturers are either selling devices with huge batteries or compromising on battery capacity for a compact form factor. It’s time we forayed into new territory with better battery technology, something similar to what a startup called Prieto has built. This new technology incorporates a 3D lithium-ion battery technology made possible with porous materials (here, copper foam) to effectively increase the power and energy density. Higher density means you can get more capacity in the same size and it further ensures they are cheaper to manufacture, smaller in size and safer than the conventional batteries due to the use of non-toxic materials. So, with all things considered, a battery capacity of 4,000mAh should be enough to power the QHD screen, the audio DAC and the flagship SoC.
Features
The device already has 128 GB of internal storage, and will additionally support hot swappable, expandable storage of up to 200 GB. Certain manufacturers such as Vivo, Marshall, Axon, etc. are shipping their smartphones with DACs and amplifiers and hence, in a bid to offer better audio quality, we are going to equip our device with Hi-Fi audio hardware. Aside from the DAC on the SoC, we’ll feature an add-on module which can be accessed by popping the battery cover. These swappable modules will consist of a dedicated DAC and an operational amplifier(s) allowing you to change the audio signature to your liking.
Equipped with IP68 certification, the smartphone will have complete protection against dust and survive an immersion in water beyond 1m. It’s no wonder that the device will come with a micro-USB v3.0 Type-C port. This cable will also support the MHL 3.0 standard to boost data transfer, stream 4K video output and 10W of power to charge your device. The device will be compatible with the latest standards of Qi Wireless Charging and the recently announced Quick Charge 3.0, said to be 38 percent more efficient than Quick Charge 2.0. The power button will double as a fingerprint scanner on the right side of the device which works the same way as the one seen on the Xperia Z5 devices, where pressing the power button with the registered finger unlocks the phone. The latest version of Android Marshmallow 6.0 will be running on our smartphone, with slight enhancements over the mobile OS to offer more control and functionality without hampering the stock Android experience.
Screen Size: 5.2-inches
Display type: Super AMOLED (Force Touch)
Screen Resolution: 1440 x 2560 pixels (~565 ppi pixel density)
Screen Protection: Sapphire Crystal, Oleophobic and Hydrophobic coating
OS: Android Marshmallow 6.0
Processor: Snapdragon 820/Exynos 8890
RAM: 6 GB LPDDR4
Internal storage: 128 GB
MicroSD slot: Expandable up to 200 GB (Hot swappable)
Rear Camera: 23 MP, Sony Exmor RS sensor, Phase detection autofocus, OIS
Front Camera: 13 MP, OIS, Dual-LED flash, Autofocus
Video: 2160p (30fps), 1080p (60fps), 720p (120fps)
Battery capacity: 4,000mAh (3D lithium-ion battery)
SIM: Dual hot-swappable Nano-SIM card slots
WLAN: Wi-Fi 802.11 ac, dual-band, Wi-Fi Direct, DLNA
GPS: A-GPS, GLONASS Bluetooth: v4.2, A2DP, aptX, LE
USB: v3.0 (MHL 3.0), Type-C reversible connector
Updated: New battery technology.