In developing countries and other nations many of the prices for smartphones are actually quite low. Google, manufacturer of the largest smartphone platform in the world recently released Android GO.
Android GO allows for less expensive smartphones to achieve far better benchmarks than before (Kumar). This significantly lowered the price of the global smartphone market and allowed for the more widespread adoption of smartphone technology. Despite the decrease in the price of smartphones worldwide, the average price of a phone raised by 7% between 2015 and 2017. This can be almost solely contributed to the United States market driving the price of the smartphone up. (Baig).
Anyone who has had to upgrade their phone in the past year knows that the bottom line on their credit card bill has been a lot higher than previous experiences. But with the increase in price comes an upgraded list of technologies now available to consumers in their everyday lives. New technology may come at a price but the product is worth the cost. Upgrades in features, processing power, and security justify the trend of increased prices.
The processing power and flexibility of smartphones has gone up dramatically in 2017. Samsung, one of the world’s largest smartphone manufacturers, has introduced their product called Samsung DeX. DeX is intended to replace low-powered processing computers all together. The DeX dock allows for a user to plug in their smartphone and use it as a computer by connecting to a large monitor, keyboard, and mouse. The power of this computer is easily enough to get done any word processing, spreadsheets, internet browsing, or even photo editing all without carrying around a laptop (Cerevantes).
Samsung’s approach to mobile computing is groundbreaking where they have virtually illuminated the need for a traditional computer. You have all of your files and information with you in your pocket. Already in the works are lightweight laptops that can be used in the same way the DeX system works (Mirateam). Granted there are things that need to be worked out but as time improves the DeX system will only get better and more widely adopted.
In today’s age people must be cautious about how they interact with the internet. There are countless stories of hackers being able to ruin a person’s life without ever touching them. That’s where security with cell phones comes into play. As prices increase the security of phones becomes much stronger. Apple, a large manufacturer in the United States, builds their software with security in mind. Biometric sensors in cell phones add another layer of security. Apple’s industry-leading app security helps prevent unwanted attacks by only allowing installation of apps by recognized developers and monitoring user usage to prevent attacks. (“IOS Security: IOS 11.”)All top-tier smartphones offer other features to protect the user’s data such as encryption, WiFi monitoring to prevent wireless attacks, wireless payment security, and many other features. Samsung’s Knox program is their security for mobile phones. This groundbreaking security system for cellphones is strong enough for all consumer and all but highly classified government business. The platform works to secure the phone from outside attacks and has powerful tools to wipe data from a stolen phone (“IOS Security: IOS 11.”). The increase of phone prices can easily be justified based on the secure nature of phones alone. This can be invaluable to customers who need their data protected. Most importantly this technology allows for businesses with sensitive information to allow their employees the flexibility of mobile devices without compromising their sensitive data.
Samsung DeX