Samsung has announced that it's working on "denser batteries" and thinner camera sensors to arrive in its smartphones as soon as 2017.
The struggle that has plagued virtually every mobile developer is making a thin phone that doesn't cut corners. If Samsung is successful, this will be a big step in creating a more efficient handset that doesn't have to sacrifice precious battery life.
To achieve this, Samsung is upping the energy density of its batteries from 700Wh/l (Watt-hours per liter) to 780Wh/l, according to Chinese news site cnBeta. In other words, phones in 2017 will be able to contain more energy without having to up the capacity, meaning even thinner and more efficient devices.
Samsung is also tinkering with its batteries' voltage and working on better fast charging technology, aiming to charge a battery to 80% in just 30 minutes by the end of 2017.
Camera Tech
Samsung is looking to lower the pixel size of its camera sensor, resulting in a relatively substantial 1.5mm decrease in thickness on its 16MP sensor. Again, this could mean a sleeker, thinner handset is just around the corner.
There is a certain risk of quality with lowering the pixel size of the camera sensor, but Sony and Nokia have both already been fiddling with workarounds to this issue.
The Korean tech firm is also working on a new 'red white blue' (RWB) sensor to provide "better color fidelity" in photos.
Yes, 2017 feels like a long time to wait, but developing this forward-thinking tech that Samsung has announced is no simple task. Until then, we will just have to keep choosing between an easy fit in the pocket and watching Netflix without fearing the red bar.
