Smartphones are getting weird again, and it could be a sign that the industry is on the brink of another huge change

Reuters

• In recent years, new smartphones from companies like Apple and Samsung have seemed like iterative improvements rather than game-changing releases.
• But at Mobile World Congress, brands like Huawei and Nokia debuted new phones with unconventional features and new form factors.
• It's unclear if any of these new phones will prove successful, but it's a sign that tech companies are seriously thinking about what comes next after the modern smartphone. 

When Steve Jobs unveiled the first iPhone more than 10 years ago, he famously showcased its ability to function as three devices in one: a phone, an iPod, and an Internet communicator. But the breakthroughs that occurred in the years following the iPhone's debut were almost just as impactful — the launch of the App Store in 2008, the emergence of larger-screened devices following Samsung's first Galaxy Note in 2011, the rise of touchless voice controls with the launch of Siri in 2011 followed by the original Moto X in 2013, and the iPhone 5s' TouchID home button that made passcodes feel obsolete in 2012.

Yet it's become increasingly difficult — if not impossible — to pinpoint new smartphones that have made a similar impact. New models introduced by the industry's biggest players like Apple and Samsung have felt iterative more than revolutionary in recent years.

See the rest of the story at Business Insider

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