According to those polled they expect a continued evolution of form factors, more disruptive features and innovations and strong growth in smart wearables and other mobile devices with different device combinations and form factors.
The top-five disruptive features were said to be: self-charging; holographic or projection displays; the need to be fully recyclable; environment-proof; and no-break displays. Respondees also identified foldable devices, pop-up cameras, health biosensors, roll-able devices and the separation of device and display.
Form factors are expected to evolve over the next five years, although there was no consensus as to whether they would be smaller, larger or altogether different.
Companies expect to see rapid developments in smart clothing, glasses, earpieces and watches and consumers are likely to use more specialised devices by 2026.
Among the top features poised for the greatest amount of innovation were data connectivity (42%), wireless charging (36%), cameras (33%), Wi-Fi connectivity (28%) and built-in speakers (28%), while 82% said that they expected consumers to reap significant benefits from 5G-enabled mobile devices by 2026.
Those surveyed, however, said that technology challenges remain that could impact plans for building future mobile devices.
According to the survey, the most difficult problems to address were seen as being the performance of 5G cellular connectivity, high-speed wireless charging, battery life, sustainability and the inability to produce small components at micro or nano scale.
