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It hasn't.
That's not to say there haven't been some great new devices. There have been plenty: The HTC One. The BlackBerry Z10. The Samsung Galaxy S4. The Moto X. They're all really good phones, and you'd probably be happy buying any of them.
But despite all the marketing hype surrounding each phone, despite all the glitzy events, despite the months of executives openly teasing their next product, none of the devices launched this year have been the revolution they claimed to be. They're all on parity with each other.
For most people, all of these devices do pretty much the same things. They let you run apps, browse the Web, watch video, check your email, and play endless rounds of Candy Crush. It doesn't matter how much you paid or what kind of special features your phone's manufacturer touts. It's all the same these days. The concept of a "smartphone" is dead.
As someone who watches the
Last week, LG introduced its new flagship phone called the G2. Its distinguishing feature? The volume controls are on the back of the device, right below the camera.
I could go on and on, but I think you get the idea. Simply put, the "wow" factor in today's
Meanwhile, it's worth taking a look at the overall smartphone market. The high-end of the market is nearing saturation, meaning just about everyone who wants a new top-tier device like the iPhone 5 or HTC One already has one. It'll be nearly impossible for another player to come in and whisk away the market share Apple and Samsung have already scooped up.
That's why we're seeing some companies like Nokia making bigger bets on the low-end of the smartphone market by producing phones that only cost a few hundred dollars (without a contract from your carrier), yet still offer the full suite of features in
To be clear: I'm not saying people are going to stop buying phones. (They won't.) I'm not saying the phones companies release are bad. (They're not.) I'm saying we've reached the point where all devices are pretty much the same, and it's silly for them to try and differentiate themselves with useless gimmicks.
Mobile devices aren't going away, but the concept of a "smartphone" is dead.