Generally speaking, 2019 was a pretty good year for smartphones. However, with so many
Nokia 9 PureView
Hot expected device that warmed upour expectation with every leak. Equipped with a total of 5 cameras placed in a strange module on the rear panel, the new PureView was supposed to be a smartphone with an amazing camera. Nokia also praised its capabilities for the announcement of the device on stage. The phone uses five 12-megapixel sensors that fire simultaneously when the shutter is pressed, and then glue the photos together to presumably get excellent detail and exposure.
That's just in practice, Nokia 9 PureView showedyourself completely different. Firstly, the camera application is very slow, and processing the pictures taken takes some time. As a result, gluing the photo in general may fail, and the photo may be biased. And if the technology still works, the final photos do not look so good, at least they are no different from any other flagship. And in poor lighting conditions, their quality is actually worse than that of competitors.
Ultrasound scanner
We are talking about ultrasonic fingerprint scannersfingers from Samsung. The first generation of under-screen scanners, which appeared in 2018, was of the “optical” type — the sensor was located under the glass, and whenever the user placed a finger there, a small part of the screen would light up to allow the scanner to “see” and read the fingerprint. They are still used today by various brands and have become quite stable when it comes to speed and accuracy.
Samsung, however, decided to go differently.ways using ultrasound fingerprint scanner technology. The technology involves the use of a complex combination of components to send a sound pulse, reflect it from a finger and then read a 3D card of a scanned fingerprint. It is reported to be safer than optical technology, and it should also work stably, regardless of wet, greasy or greased fingers.
In reality, however, the ultrasonic sensorThe fingerprint on the Galaxy S10 and Galaxy Note 10 was a slightly annoying disappointment. It often fails on the first scan and usually requires too many attempts to register a fingerprint. We hope that the second generation will solve these problems in 2020, but so far, ultrasonic fingerprint scanners have been a disappointment.
Folding future
The year began quite successfully, and not just one, but immediatelytwo large companies have finally unveiled their foldable phones. These were Samsung Galaxy Fold and Huawei Mate X. Both devices greatly worried the public, but in the end we were again disappointed.
Galaxy Fold should already have been launched to the masses,when serious problems were discovered. A small number of new items were sent to reviewers and influential bloggers for evaluation, reviews and promotion, which found a number of shortcomings. At first, Samsung said that it was just a coincidence and that the Galaxy Fold release would go according to plan. But when the first broken phones were returned and checked by the company's engineers, the launch was stopped. We had to wait another 5 months until Fold was reissued with some improvements to reduce its flaws. But, nevertheless, users were no longer so confident in buying an ultra-expensive phone.
As for Huawei Mate X … for nowmoment, we have no idea if we'll see this phone. It was supposed to launch in September, then the release was delayed until November. To top it all off, Huawei is having trouble selling in international markets due to the Google ban. Mate X has reportedly launched in China — it was a short, online-only sale that ended as quickly as it started, with the Mate X marked "sold." We have no idea how many of them there were in total and whether we will see him again.
It is worth noting that Motorola Razr (2019) was also launched recently and so far there have been no glitches and no problems. In fact, the phone is actively praised for its design, compactness and nostalgia.
Contactless navigation
Both LG and Google tried it this yearimplement air gestures. «Camera Z» The LG G8's front panel was used to detect the user's hand. The user can rotate the wrist left or right to launch applications or control media, or rotate the wrist by rotating to control volume. Sounds like a feature you'd appreciate when your hands get wet or dirty while cooking, for example. Unfortunately, the G8's Air Motion feature is rarely activated when desired — usually only by chance.
Then we have the Google Pixel 4.This is the result of Google Project Soli — a multi-year attempt to develop a contactless interaction interface. Well… what we got with the Pixel 4 is a far cry from the concepts Soli started with. Basically, you can change songs and cancel calls by waving in front of the screen.