Every few months, smartphone technology giants roll out products that are significantly better than their predecessors. If not a new processor or a significantly ramped up graphics processing chip, tech engineers and designers go for ultra-sleek form factors and smartphone security features like fingerprint recognition among others. For many individuals, especially for the tech-savvy ones, technological innovations in the smartphone arena are a necessity in the highly mobile world.
But how about those who still have their legacy mobile phones with them? Is technology simply too fast to catch up?
If they purchase a mobile device that is considered top-of-the-line now only to find out that a significantly better and more efficient smartphone will be coming out the following month, what will they do with their just-bought mobile devices? Throw it out? Hand it down to a family member or a friend? Sell it on eBay or even Craigslist? Is this what innovation really is? Or is it more of a farce masquerading as an elegant work of art? For many individuals, the rapid pace of technological advances in the smartphone industry is believed to be more a result of profit orientation than it is innovation. In a billion-dollar industry, not rolling out the latest gadgets for all types of people across the entire range of socioeconomic classes is deemed a fatal mistake for smartphone companies. As everyone is simply wanting to roll out smartphone devices every now and then, individual companies must think on how to leverage on whatever advantages they have over the competition. Everyone simply wants to outdo one another. While the end result is that it benefits the consumers, not every consumer is happy about it.
For example, an average-earning employee saving whatever means he has to purchase a top-of-the-line smartphone next month will only be frustrated to find out that there is an entirely new and better-performing product by that time. Is he going to stick with his initial plan of buying the now-obsolete piece of technology? Or is he going to buy the new, better one? In which case, is his savings enough?
Partly to blame, nonetheless, is man’s propensity to be not contented with what he already has. Man has always strived for the better things in life. And while this is essentially a good thing and is truly admirable, it does pose serious questions as to his priorities in life. If man will keep on buying newer and better things even if he still has something that is fully functional and not at all obsolete, smartphone companies will keep on rolling out products that are not necessarily a significant leap from their previous versions.
For instance, the improvements made from one smartphone model to its newer version are not necessarily significant to make reasonable individuals to junk their old smartphones for the newer ones. To give a case in point, comparing Apple’s iPhone 6S to the iPhone 6S Plus version shows that the only difference is the size and the resulting pixel density and resolution. The 6S sports a 4.7 inch screen while the 6S Plus comes in at 5.5 inches. Is this enough to pay at least 100 USD more for the 0.8 inch increase in screen realty? Perhaps for individuals who have problems with their vision, the 5.5 inch display of the 6S Plus is well worth the reason to dump the 6S. However, if visual issues are a main concern, why not invest in a tablet rather than a smartphone?
Conclusion
This trend is evident in every smartphone manufacturer, big or small. Now, is this really innovation? Or is it more an ingenious way of creating demand for something that is obviously not really needed? Whatever the reasons are, it is very unlikely that smartphone tech giants are ever going to stop rolling out newer and supposedly better smartphones.
