**The Ultimate Form of Smartphone Design: A Gimmick?**

Like Huawei are doing the full waterfall design where the screen almost wraps all the way around. That, to me, kinda feels a lot like a gimmick. It doesn't really change the fact that this sort of, as of now in 2020, is sort of like the ultimate in smartphone design.

Now, back in 2012, 2013, there were massive differences between going for the Samsung or the HTC or the iPhone. And while, of course, there are still differences, and some of them can be significant, we are very quickly hitting a point where pretty much any phone, even budget phones, are good enough.

I mean, there are a ton of manufacturers who exclusively focus on phones that cost like two, three hundred dollars. I mean, even the Google Pixel 3A that was $400 was absolutely fine for almost everyone. And it didn't really sacrifice on a lot of major areas, such as the camera.

As we continue to go and as we continue to look at these ridiculous overkill phones, I get why Samsung and Apple and everyone are trying to innovate by, like, oh look, we have four cameras on the back or five, or we have 16 gigabytes of RAM, or whatever the case is. But at the end of the day, these phones are incredibly expensive, and you have to justify that to consumers.

**Peak Smartphone: Where Design Has Reaches Its Ultimate Form**

To really illustrate one of the biggest differences, or rather, one of the biggest similarities between phones lately, let me play you a clip from my review of the Galaxy S10 from last year, just with some slight edits to fit the Galaxy S20. On the back of the Galaxy S20 Plus, we have a full four cameras. So pretty much all of them have 12 gigs of RAM, with the exception of the base model of S20 which has 12 gigs, as well as the high-end version of the S20 Plus which has 16.

What does that say about my videos? It says that I am a consistent person with the same opinions that never change, even when I realize that things I say are wrong sometimes. (laughing quietly) I feel like we're reaching peak smartphone, right? This design, which has been around since, what, 2007 with the iPhone, has really kind of hit its sort of ultimate form.

There is only so much that can happen in this type of design. And I think that, again, like the back of these things is where companies are trying to push themselves now to show that they're a little bit different. But the smartphone design now is becoming very iterative. They add new little things every now and then.

**The Fun Has Been Removed from Designing Smartphones**

I agree with you in the sense that, like this idea of what a device like this looks like, this is probably, I mean, you say these things and you look silly in a couple of years, I think this is about where as maximum as it can go. Now there's certainly nothing wrong with having phones that have a perfect design, but it very much approaching kind of as far as that we can realistically push things.

But it removes a lot of the fun out of it. And especially when it comes to if you're a Samsung, if you're a OnePlus, if you're an Apple of the world, you have to make that new phone. And how do you differentiate? Right now, they're just continuing to push on higher megapixel cameras, higher refresh rate displays, whatever gimmicks or whatever kind of legitimately useful features they can throw at it.

**The Main Differentiating Factor: Software**

There's only so far you can push it when the phones continue to look the same. And for years now, they've largely been good enough. Don't get me wrong, the Samsung Galaxy S20 5G Plus Ultra, whatever they decide to call it, looks like an excellent phone. But the issue is, so does the next generation OnePlus and iPhone and Pixel.

The differentiation here is not with the hardware, it's not with the specs, it's not with the megapixels. What it's really about is how these phones will continue to age into the future, and how software can really be the main differentiating factor between all of these different devices.

**Conclusion**

It's gonna be a brave new decade, my friends. So if you enjoyed this video, definitely be sure to subscribe. I will certainly be doing a video all about the S20 and all its wonderful variants. And until next time, Uncle Austin signing out from his rant corner. (Austin chuckling) That was the worst outro I've ever done. (laughing)

WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: en- Hey guys, this is Austin.On February 11th, Samsung will unveiltheir brand new flagship for this year,the Samsung Galaxy S20.Like pretty much each everysmartphone these days,the Galaxy S20 is prettythoroughly leaked to this point.So we're looking at five variants,the Samsung Galaxy S20, the S20 5G,the S20 Plus, the S20 Plus 5G,and of course the SamsungGalaxy S20 Ultra 5G,because why not.So in addition to 5G being an optionacross the entire range,we're also lookingat a ton of major upgradeson the spec front.So cameras, specifically this year,seem to be a major focus.We're talking about four camerason pretty much all the Galaxy S20s.So on the standard S20, S20 Plus range,we're looking at a 12-megapixel camera,a 64-megapixel camera,as well as a three-times optical zoom,as well as the littlesensor for depth of field.Depth of what, no, no, what is it?- Time of flight.- Time of flight, thank you very much.Time of flight, thanks, Ken.What would I do without you?Be wrong, I would be wrong.Jump up to the Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultraand the specs get even more ridiculous.So the main camera'supgrade to 108 megapixels.Sorry, I'm just gonna letthat sink in, 108 megapixels.Oh, and it'll also record8K video, because why not.You'll also have a 10-timesoptical zoom camerawith 48 megapixels, whichis actually kind of cool.I'm, like, kind of excited for that one.We also have 12-megapixelultra wide camera,as well that same time of flight sensor.There's a lot of ridiculous specs here,and that's just on the camera side.All of the S20 models thisyear should be taking advantageof either the Snapdragon865 or the Exynos 990.And when you go up to the Ultra edition,that is going to have an optionto go 16 gigabytes of RAM on your phone,as well as 512 gigs of storagewhich you could back upwith a one-terabyte micro SD card.'Cause obviously, 1.5 terabytes of storageis about what I what I need in my phone.Now this is all being poweredby a 5,000 milliamp-hour battery,according to the rumors.And all of the S20 modelssupposedly will be taking advantageof a 120 Hertz display this year.Now when you look at all of thesespecs, it is very clear,Samsung are going hardfor the most spec-ripped,over-the-top ridiculouslypowerful phone that they can do.But really, what I'm curious aboutis is it actually worth it?See, I got the Is It Worth It in there.You didn't see that one coming, did ya?The real question here isobviously the Galaxy S20,and pretty much all the 2020 flagshipsare going to be insanely high end.You've got all the specsyou could ever hope for.But at what point doesit not matter any more?I mean, sure, I'm a nerd, I'm a geek,I love that sweet Geekbench scoreand that extra 37 megapixels on my camera.But at the end of the day,we're all doing very similarthings on our phones.And while, yes, I love tohave a 100-megapixel camera,everyone's looking atthat photo on Instagram.Does it really make a huge difference,and is it worth spendingthat $1,000 plus to upgrade?Probably not.The real differentiator as we gointo this decade for smart phones,I think really is on thesoftware side of things.To go a little deeper,I sat down with my goodfriend Myke Hurley,who's the co-founder of Relay FMand the host of many excellent podcasts,including Cortex, as wellas Connected, and many more.What exactly can you do to differentiate?Because everyone's usingso many of the same parts.And I argue what you do to differentiateis you focus on software,because that's really whatmakes these phones different.That's the only thingthat really gives yousome kind of sense of a, oh look,my phone will take betterphotos because of the software.It's faster because it's better optimized.Whatever the case is,software is really the keythat is making all these phonesnot just the exact same thing every year.- Yeah, 'cause otherwiseyou've got gimmicks.- Not everyone needs abrand new phone every year,every two years, every three years.And I think software is a huge partof why that differentiationcan even happen.Now, I'll actually single out Samsungfor this specific point,because software, I think,entails a lot of differentaspects of a phone.One of the things I think goes underthe radar a lot is software support.I think in this day and age,a lot of phones are outdatednot because their hardware breaks,not because the batteries are out,but because they no longerreceive timely software updates.And that's something I willgive Apple huge props for.The iPhone 6s, which is like fouror five years old at this point,still gets absolute day-and-day updateswith every other iPhone out there.Take a look at a SamsungGalaxy S9 even, or an S8,and you're lucky to get a coupleof years of updates if even at that.And it sometimes it takes your foreverto actually get the correctupdate at the right time,you might be six months behind.I mean, it's an absolute mess.So when I say that softwareis incredibly importantgoing into this decade, I meanthat in a lot of contexts.Samsung, for a while,was really on top of the Android game,as far as design, right?So especially when like--- Oh, there was like a few yearswhere they were making betterlooking phones than Apple.- Absolutely.- Like, without a doubt.- Like with the S7 whenthey started doing, like,the curved edges andeverything was super smooth.But now it's like, okay, cool,you've kinda pushed thatdesign as far as you can.Now obviously, companieslike Huawei are, like,doing the full waterfall designwhere the screen almostwraps all the way around.That, to me, kinda feelsa lot like a gimmick.It doesn't really change the factthat this sort of, as of now in 2020,is sort of like the ultimatein smart phone design.What it comes down tois that phones today areall excellent, right?Now, back in 2012, 2013,there were massive differencesbetween going for the Samsung,or the HTC, or the iPhone.And while, of course, thereare still differences,and some of them can be significant,we are very quickly hitting a pointwhere pretty much any phone,even budget phones, are good enough.I mean, there are a ton of manufacturerswho exclusively focus on phonesthat cost, like, two, three.I mean, even the GooglePixel 3A that was $400was absolutely fine for almost everyone.And it didn't really sacrificeon a lot of major areas,such as the camera.Now as we continue togo, and as we continueto look at theseridiculous overkill phones,I get why Samsung and Apple and everyoneare trying to innovate by, like,oh look, we have four cameras on the back,or five, or we have 16 gigabytes of RAM,or whatever the case is.But at the end of the day,these phones are incredibly expensive,and you have to justify that to consumers.To really illustrate oneof the biggest differences,or rather, one of the biggestsimilarities between phones lately,let me play you a clip from my reviewof the Galaxy S10 from last year,just with some slight editsto fit the Galaxy S20.On the back of the Galaxy S20 Plus,we have a full four cameras.So pretty much all of them have 12 of ram,with the exception the basemodel of S20 which has 12 gigs,as well as the high end versionof the S20 Plus which has 16.- What does thatsay about your videos?- It says that I am a consistent personwith the same opinions that never change,even when I realize that thingsI say are wrong sometimes.(laughing quietly)I feel like we're reachingpeak smart phone, right?This design, which has been around since,what, 2007 with the iPhone,has really kind of hitits sort of ultimate form,because there's a couple of key componentsthat all of these phones share.- There is only so much that can happen,right, in this type of design.And I think that, I mean, again,like the back of these things is wherecompanies are tryingto push themselves nowto show that they're alittle bit different.But the smart phone design nowis becoming very iterative.They add new littlethings every now and then.But I agree with you inthe sense that, like,this idea of what a devicelike this looks like,this is probably, I mean,you say these thingsand you look silly in a couple of years,I think this is about whereas maximum as it can go.- Now there's certainly nothing wrongwith having phones that have a,I don't want to say a perfect design,but it very much approaching, like,kind of as far as that we canrealistically push things,but it removes a lot of the fun out of it.And especially when it comesto if you're a Samsung,if you're a OnePlus, ifyou're an Apple of the world,you have to make that new phone.And how do you differentiate?Right now, they're just continuing to pushon higher megapixel cameras,higher refresh rate displays,whatever gimmicks or whatever kindof legitimately usefulfeatures they can throw at it.There's only so far you can push itwhen the phones continue to look the same.And for years now, they'velargely been good enough.Don't get me wrong, the SamsungGalaxy S20 5G Plus Ultra,whatever they decide to call it,looks like an excellent phone.But the issue is, so doesthe next generation OnePlus,and iPhone, and Pixel.The differentiation hereis not with the hardware,it's not with the specs,it's not with the megapixels.What it's really about is how these phoneswill continue to age into the future,and how software can really bethe main differentiating factorbetween all of these different devices.It's gonna be a bravenew decade, my friends.So if you enjoyed this video,definitely be sure to subscribe.I will certainly bedoing a video all aboutthe S20 and all its wonderful variants.And until next time,Uncle Austin signing outfrom his rant corner.(Austin chuckling)That was the worst outro I've ever done.(laughing)