It is easy to forget that the technology we enjoy today is a product of many years of innovation. While some ideas hold the test of time, most of them end up in the trash due to scarcity of resources, insufficient expertise, ignorance of consumer needs or simply poor management.
Whatever the reason, these failed attempts help teach valuable lessons and enable technology companies to create better, faster, and more user-friendly products for all of us. In light of these advances, let’s take a look at some of the strangest Android bugs of the last decade.
1. Enclosing screens
One of the most bizarre smartphone designs ever has to be the Xiaomi Mi Mix Alpha. The device was announced as a concept phone in 2019 – a time when OEMs increasingly put curved screen edges on their phone.
The enclosing screen on the Mi Mix Alpha looks like a fast forward version of this trend. Instead of being limited to the front, the display continues on the back of the phone, giving you an almost on-screen experience.
Although the phone looks very futuristic, it is wildly impractical. For example, it is a bit pointless to have a screen on the back as you only see one side of the phone at a time. And if you ever drop the phone, it’s likely to crack the entire screen right away because of its flexible – and therefore weak – glass. Also more screen means more battery consumption.
And let’s not forget that repairing such a device is probably not a nightmare. We could go on, but you understand the idea.
2. Modular designs
The idea behind modular phones was kind of ingenious. Instead of buying a new device, modular phones will allow you to replace damaged or less useful components with new ones. You can theoretically create your dream phone this way, all the while producing less electronic waste in the process. Fat, right? We saw Google’s Project Ara try to achieve the same vision.
The main reason why this seemingly revolutionary idea failed is that there was simply no demand for it. Most smartphone owners are not technology geeks; they simply want something that works reliably and they will not even have to bother choosing modules.
Plus, a company that sells modular phones would essentially cannibalize its own future sales as people do not have to upgrade to a new phone as they can settle for the replacement modules they already have. The closest we are to a modular phone right now is the Fairphone series, which is built to be repairable as much as possible.
3. Motorized cameras
Punch-hole selfie cameras are the standard now, but a few years ago, technology companies came up with all sorts of crazy ideas to get rid of the distraction from the screen.
We saw brands like OnePlus, Samsung, Vivo, Oppo and Asus launch phones with motorized cameras such as a pop-up selfie camera or a head flip camera. All of these efforts were commendable, but did not become mainstream.
Contrary to early skepticism, durability was not the issue with motorized cameras, it was space. There is only a limited amount of space in the body of a phone that OEMs need to use in the best possible way. Motorized cameras took up a lot of space inside the device, which could otherwise be used for things like mounting a larger battery, adding more sensors and more.
And it’s a victim that technology companies quickly realized was not worth the price.
Curved screens
One of the most peculiar smartphone designs ever introduced is curved screens. You may remember LG G Flex and Samsung Galaxy Round. The former was curved horizontally to create a better viewing experience, and the latter was curved vertically to make the device sit more firmly in the hand.
Curved phones had a new factor, yes, but they were simply not economical. They cost a lot to build, were harder to repair and were easier to break after an accidental fall. Due to their dimensions, they also took up more space, which meant that shipping them was also more expensive as fewer units could be put in one container. All these problems together sealed their fate.
5. Built-in projectors
A rather futuristic-sounding smartphone innovation is the built-in projector. We saw Samsung try to do the same with its Galaxy Beam phone back in 2012. The idea was that the phone would make it possible to create a “unique shared experience around digital content for everyone – anywhere and instantly”.
Unfortunately, the only time anyone would praise Galaxy Beam was during the first impressions. As soon as you saw the device in action, it became clear that it was sucking like a projector and like a phone.
The projector would only project low resolution content and the phone had outdated specifications and awful battery life. It was also super expensive, very bulky and honestly not as necessary as Samsung might have imagined.
6. Full game control
Another sad debacle was the game-centric Sony Ericsson Xperia Play, colloquially known as the PlayStation phone. At first glance, it was everything a gamer from 2011 would have wanted on their phone: a good processor, a large screen (for its time) and a control panel that slides out of the phone just like the PSP Go.
The device was supposed to support a wide range of PSP games, but only ran a handful of such titles in reality, of which most fans did not care. Since most Android games are not optimized for the console-like controls on Xperia Play, you could not even download a game from the Play Store and expect it to work well.
Furthermore, the touch-sensitive circles on the Xperia Play were not as responsive as the joystick on the PSP Go. So often, ordinary touch controls would work better than the control panel, which defeats the whole purpose of buying such a phone. In short, even though the device had decent hardware, it could not live up to its promise of being a great handheld gaming phone.
You can still buy Android gaming phones, they just do not have built-in controllers anymore.
Technical advancement requires business expertise
It takes an enormous amount of work, research and capital to get an innovation adopted by the masses. The smartphone industry is one of the most competitive out there and it is no easy business to mark and maintain your territory in it. For an idea to be successful in this industry, it must not only make sense technologically, but also economically and socially.
In fact, some brands are releasing phones with bizarre new designs, not because they expect them to become mainstream, but simply to bow before their competitors and emerge as the more innovative brand in the public eye. But unfortunately, some brands also end up losing billions in the process.
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