As 2012 winds down, and many of us are planning on hitting the gym first thing next year, us tech junkies are excited about what's in store for 2013. Next year will bring some notable advancements to mobile devices, including high-definition 1080p displays, more powerful cameras, and increased LTE coverage.
While smartphones with a 1080p display have already started releasing here in the United States (i.e. the HTC Droid DNA), 1080p will start becoming the norm in 2013. Flagship phones from companies like Samsung and HTC like the Galaxy S4 and M7 are reported to be sporting 5-inch 1080p displays. Other companies such as ZTE and Huawei have already shown off their 1080p offerings. Even Apple is expected to release an iPhone 6 (or iPhone 5S depending on who you ask) with a full HD display. There's no doubt about it that almost every high-profile smartphone in 2013 will be rocking 1080p.
Alongside improved displays, smartphones should also be coming with rear-facing cameras over 10 megapixels. Samsung's Galaxy S4 is already tipped off to be equipped with a 13-megapixel camera, and other companies should be following suit. Analyst Peter Misek recently stated that he thinks the next iPhone will come with an HD camera. Front-facing cameras could also be as powerful as 4 or 5 megapixels in the coming year. The improved cameras should go nicely with the crisp 1080p screens, and help bridge the gap between smartphone cameras point-and-clicks.
LTE coverage in the United States should also get a big boost as T-Mobile launches its first LTE networks in 2013. Carriers Verizon, AT&T, and Sprint will all be adding new markets to their LTE networks, and more smartphones will have LTE as a standard. As the fastest type of network out there, 4G LTE will give more Americans access to the faster network speeds that today's Internet-heavy smartphones seem to require.
What mobile improvement in 2013 has you most excited?