Smartphones have become almost an indispensable aspect of modern living. To develop such devices, companies need to follow a well-defined development process. Earlier, Anand Jayapalan spoke about how all good smartphones are built while prioritizing high quality and reliability. It involves rigorous testing, bug fixing, and quality assurance measures at each stage of the development lifecycle. Maintaining a robust process is important for identifying and addressing any concerns early on so as to ensure a stable and reliable product for end-users.
As a company chooses to make a new smartphone model, it is likely to already have older models and a lot of previous research. Hence, they need not start from scratch. Rather, they need to focus on fine-tuning the older models based on user or expert feedback, as well as incorporating new trends and technologies into the device. When developing a new smartphone, a brand must try to do away with all the shortcomings of the previous models and maintain an innovative approach.
Steps important to smartphone development are:
- Making of prototype: The idea of a brand new smartphone is usually conceived in the board room meeting. After considering various options, the affirmation of the idea is passed to the research and development lab of the company. Subsequent to this, the research team commences with a prototype. This prototype is likely to be a non-working one and is largely meant to determine the aesthetics of the phone. The prototype is passed on to the relevant team members, who may share their opinions and recommendations. After the appearance of the smartphone is decided, it would be the time to focus on its functionality. For this step, the responsibility of the development process is handed over to the electronics engineering team. They are the ones to make decisions about the memory and processor of the device, along with other specifications. The matching display screen, as well as the needed battery potential, would also have to be selected, along with the front and rear cameras. The device must additionally be armed with the selected components and effectively checked for its working performance. If the management team of the company is reasonably satisfied with the end prototype, then it proceeds to the next step.
- Software installation: The software team would now step in to breathe life into the device. The chosen operating system has to be loaded into the phone. It is vital that the hardware put into place played by the electronics team is compatible with the software to ensure the smooth functioning of the device. The chosen design, loaded with hardware and software, is then readied for mass production. However, before that, it does go through a rigorous testing phase.
- Testing: Before being produced for the target audience, smartphones have to be tested for quality, performance, and other parameters. Multiple types of tests, starting from drop test, water test, bend test, and more, are carried out to check its performance.
Earlier, Anand Jayapalan pointed out that a good smartphone development process is vital for delivering high-quality, innovative, and user-centric products. It goes a long way in enabling companies to stay competitive in the fast-paced smartphone market.