Telephones have existed for 150 years at this point, and despite all the time that’s passed, we still haven’t settled on the perfect phone interface. Just in the past 40 years, we’ve gone from rotary phones to push-button phones and eventually to touch-screen smartphones – and given the level of rapid innovation that’s still taking place in the smartphone industry, chances are that the standard interface for a phone isn’t done evolving yet. Curious about what the future might bring? Here are some of the most unique smartphone interfaces we’ve seen so far.
Minimal Interfaces
One of the fun things about the Android smartphone operating system is that creative developers can reskin the standard interface in a variety of interesting ways. Given the fact that the front of a modern smartphone is essentially just a screen with no physical buttons and almost no bezel, having a unique interface is one way for luxury manufacturers like Samsung to stand out and differentiate their products. Recent concepts like these Galaxy S25 Edge renders illustrate where the company might be headed in the near future.
Not all companies, however, reskin the Android interface to make their products look more luxurious. Reskinning is also useful for creating simplified interfaces for children and the elderly.
Some phone makers have taken that idea to the furthest possible extent by creating new minimal Android interfaces that strip the phone’s functions down to the barest essentials. Instead of a wide variety of distracting full-color icons and notifications, a smartphone with a minimal interface has a home screen with a simple list of text commands like “Phone,” “Messages” and “Email.” Regular apps still work, of course, but they’re hidden away from the home screen for those who want to avoid unnecessary distractions in their digital lives.
A few manufacturers have taken advantage of the new minimalism movement by giving their phones e-ink displays for those who prefer the high readability of sharp monochrome text or simply want to avoid looking at bright displays at night. Will these features eventually make their way to mainstream smartphones? That’s probably unlikely, but it’s good to know that there’s definitely a phone interface out there for everyone.
Vape Phones
The development of Bluetooth created the possibility of controlling a phone with an external device. You probably remember the novelty of connecting your phone to your car and communicating with someone through your vehicle’s speaker system for the first time. If you’re old enough, you might even remember owning a Bluetooth earpiece and pressing a button on it to answer calls while your phone remained in your pocket. Well, using Bluetooth to control smartphones is definitely still a thing today, and it’s possible to add a Bluetooth chipset to almost any device that you can possibly imagine. With smart speakers, for instance, you can make and receive calls from anywhere in your home while your phone sits on a shelf.
Some gadget makers have really latched on to the idea of controlling a phone remotely. They’ve added Bluetooth to a huge variety of different gadgets just to see whether people are interested in linking those gadgets to their phones – and some of them have really caught on.
Have you ever considered using disposable vapes to talk on the phone or receive messages? Believe it or not, “vape phones” really exist, and some of them are remarkably feature filled for how inexpensive they are. In addition to being able to receive calls and read messages, some of the features of vape phones include news and social media feeds, weather apps, games, picture viewing and even fitness trackers. When the vape runs out of e-liquid, you can simply recycle it – and since it connects via Bluetooth, none of your personal information is stored on it.
Computer Mirroring
Mirroring your phone to your computer – essentially taking a portable object and making it not portable anymore – might not seem like the most useful idea on the surface. You’ll change your mind about that, though, as soon as you drop your phone and break its screen. How can you access your messages or back up the information on the phone if you can’t see what’s on the screen? Mirroring your phone to your computer can be the answer because it allows you to control your phone with your mouse and keyboard even if the screen isn’t working.
The latest versions of MacOS and iOS already have computer mirroring built in, and the same feature is available for Android through third-party apps. In addition to providing an option for emergency data recovery if you break your phone’s screen, computer mirroring is also great for gaming. Want to play your favorite mobile game on a much larger monitor? Now you can.
Vibe Control
In the age of generative AI, it seems like “vibe” is now being added as a prefix for just about everything. Programmers have vibe coding, and spammers have vibe writing. So, what about vibe control for smartphones? That’s exactly what Apple and other phone makers are working on. With voice assistants like Siri and Google Assistant, the starting points are already in place. It’s just a matter of linking voice control with AI to provide an endless array of new features.
A recent CNN article, for instance, outlines a scenario in which you’re on the road and need to pick your mother up from the airport. Which terminal do you need to drive to, though, and is the flight on time? With vibe control, you can just ask your phone. The AI can theoretically do the rest by scanning your messages for context and using the web browser to check the status of the flight.
In practice, vibe phone control doesn’t quite work yet. Sometimes, the AI agent has trouble understanding the instructions. Other times, the AI gives incorrect responses. One of the main limitations of generative AI right now is that it doesn’t always provide the correct information – even when it’s only being asked to summarize what’s on a single page. With improved contextual awareness and the addition of real fact checking, though, vibe control for smartphones will definitely happen. Exactly when it’ll happen, though, is anyone’s guess.
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