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Tech in 2016: The year of the soulless smartphones

So what happened? How did 2016 turn out to be such a disaster for smartphones?

Anirudh Regidi|Dec 29, 2016, 11:53:52 IST

2016 began with a great deal of promise. New entrant LeEco looked set to shake up the smartphone space, Xiaomi had announced the Xiaomi Mi 5, Samsung was prancing around with its Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge and modular phones looked like they’d make a comeback.Rumours also started flying around that Google was ditching the Nexus line and that it was working on a brand new, Google-branded phone that would finally show the world how it was done.So what happened? How did 2016 turn out to be such a disaster for smartphones?Apple: One step forward, two steps back

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Nobody expected much from Apple anyway this year. The company had already told everyone that the iPhone 8 would be its focus and that the iPhone 7 would just be a speed bump. Few, however, expected that Apple would follow through with its retarded plan of ditching the headphone jack.It’s not the iPhone 7 was bad; it was just boring. The same, 3-year old design, a faster processor, and a dual-camera on the larger model don’t necessarily make for an interesting device.(Also read: Here are 5 ways that Apple ruined our future)Google: Still in beta

When Google said that it was working on a Google-branded flagship, we were excited. Finally, Google would take real responsibility for Android and build a worthy rival to the iPhone.It almost succeeded.The phone’s launch event was rather tame, but the device itself seemed exceptional. While the design was boring, top-of-the-line hardware, a stellar camera system, great battery life, Google Assistant and Daydream support in one device seemed like the perfect package. The price was high, but we didn’t care.It seemed like the most amazing Android phone ever, maybe even the best smartphone ever; but it wasn’t to be.

Reports started trickling in that the phone was hastily built, that it was just old HTC design with Google software, that expedience took priority over quality.Other reports of bugs popped up. Microphones that didn’t work properly, speakers that crackled, random software issues, Wi-Fi bugs, and more recently, the dreaded 30 percent battery bug from the Nexus 6P.Pixel was supposed to change the game for Android, and it did, but just not the extent that we hoped. All it ended up being was a flagship Nexus device, a beta product.Samsung: Boom!

Samsung could have just trod all over 2016 with its smartphones. The Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge were amazing phones. They didn’t offer anything new over the previous S6 and S6 Edge, but we weren’t asking for much more anyway.The first half of 2016 saw the company seize chunks of market share, particularly in the flagship space, from Apple and others.[caption id="attachment_337865" align="aligncenter" width="640"]

Image: Hui Renjie[/caption]This success was to be followed up by the launch of the Galaxy Note 7, which certainly looked like another winner from Samsung. But then the explosions started and the rest, as you know, is history.Samsung’s profits tanked, people lost faith in the brand and the Note 7 is a by-word for disaster.If you want a quick refresher, be sure to check out our feature here.Modular phones: Meh

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Modular phones hold such promise. They are, in fact, the dream smartphone. Wouldn’t it be great to just swap out a part and upgrade, as you would a PC?[caption id="attachment_316497" align="aligncenter" width="640"]

Representational image for smartphones.[/caption]LG made a half-hearted attempt at this with the G5, but as with all half-hearted attempts, the phone was disappointing. Lenovo too, made a valiant effort at building the ultimate modular phone. Somehow, the company messed up the design so badly that it managed to turn us off modular phones for good.LeEco: A gimmick

LeEco’s phones were by far the most disappointing. The company seemed all set to shake up the smartphone market in India with its seemingly stellar Le Max 2 and Le 2, but the company only disappointed on all fronts. The phones were OK, offered good value at the price, but other than that, offered nothing else. It even preemptively removed the headphone jack from its phones when it heard that Apple was planning to do the same.[caption id="attachment_310473" align="aligncenter" width="640"]

The image of LeEco Le Max 2 that comes with CDLA technology[/caption]Apple at least gave us a larger taptic engine (which we didn’t ask for, by the way), LeEco gave us nothing.Marketing gimmicks don’t sell phones and today, the company is under tremendous financial strain, pending a bailout from the Chinese government.Everyone else: Booring

Discounting Xiaomi, OnePlus and Huawei, everyone else just pumped one uninspired iPhone clone after another into the market. The HTC 10 was a great effort, but the phone was boring. Sony tried to pawn off plastic-coated flagships as premium devices, Asus completely lost it and decided to start selling budget hardware at premium prices, The less said about Microsoft and Blackberry, the better.The stars of 2016: Value

The real stars of 2016 were Xiaomi and OnePlus. Xiaomi and OnePlus had the sense to build good phones that just worked, and sold them at very reasonable prices. There was simply no reason to say “no” to these phones. And I have to admit, the Xiaomi Mi Mix looks far more appealing than any phone on sale today.

Huawei can also make it to this list, but only because of its work on its camera software. The company’s partnership with Leica and excellent camera app make for a great kit.