This article may contain personal views and opinion from the author.
The iPhone Air is one of the thinnest phones on the market and it has one Fusion camera that equals multiple advanced cameras (in Apple’s own words). Meanwhile, the Galaxy S26 Ultra will use a built in privacy protector. Are companies really listening to their customers when inventing new smartphone features?
That's a very interesting question that's been bothering me for some time, and I decided to embark on a journey to find out the answer. We've done our fair share of polls, surveys, and discussions here at PhoneArena, so the data is hanging low as a ripe autumn apple.
I've also researched a few other reputable sources, such as Statista and Global Web Index, to fill the gaps and cross-reference the facts. The results are pretty interesting, to say the least. Here are the most important smartphone features, as voted by you, in reverse order.
10. Brighter screens/Bigger screens
Smartphone displays are just great nowadays | Image by PhoneArena
Surprisingly, our last poll shows that a brighter screen is the least important thing in a smartphone. That's a very interesting result, given the fact that most smartphone brands have been focusing on this particular feature in the past couple of years.
Screen brightness has become the next arms race in smartphone innovation, and it's one of the numbers most cited in presentations during smartphone launches.
Last year this feature got only 3.85% of all the votes, and the year before, 0.98%. Either people think that smartphone displays are sufficiently bright, or there are much more important features the companies should be focusing on.
The same goes for screen size and quality—we've reached a point where even budget phones come with big AMOLED panels with high resolution and fast refresh rates. Let's move on.
9. Exotic building materials/IP rating/durability
The original Motorola ThinkPhone had an aramid fiber back | Image by PhoneArena
We did a poll about the Galaxy S24 Ultra last year, and titanium as a feature ranked toward the bottom (5th place out of 7), so there's that as well.
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The IP rating is a strange one, as companies are also pushing this feature to its extremes—check out our IP69 explainer article for more information. The reason behind this might have something to do with the fact that more than 80% of people use their phones with a case anyway, so materials, durability, and even design don't matter that much in the end.
8. Charging speed
Charging speeds are not as crucial as one might think | Image by PhoneArena
Another shocker is charging speeds. Apple and Samsung are notorious for keeping charging speeds pretty slow compared to most Far East flagships. Brands like Oppo, Honor, Huawei, and OnePlus offer fast charging pushing 100W, whereas Apple, for example, has been keeping these numbers around the 30W mark for years!
Well, it looks like people don't think 10 or 20 minutes less time spent on a cable matters all that much. Another thing worth mentioning is that higher charging power doesn't always bring the same difference in charging times. For example, if a 30W charger is able to fill your phone battery in one hour, a 60W brick won't necessarily cut that time in half.
7. Storage
People have spoken - 256GB should be enough... for now | Image by PhoneArena
The amount of onboard storage ranks pretty low in most desired smartphone features, which is kind of expected. Modern flagships, and even midrange models, now start at 128GB or even 256GB base storage, which most people find sufficient, at least according to the polls.
The latest one we did on our YouTube channel showed that 256GB was enough for more than half the voters, where 128GB, 512GB and 1TB got 12%, 26% and 9% respectively. This is another reason for the demise of the microSD card, along with the fact that onboard storage is much faster, and most people use some form of cloud storage for backup.
6. New designs
A transparent back can do wonders | Image by PhoneArena
In 2022, the “better camera” feature was more important than the overall design of the smartphone, according to our poll. One year later, though, people already put this feature before the camera system. This goes to show that phone designs are getting more and more similar, and people are noticing the trend.
Most modern phones look quite similar, and the sole differentiator is the camera housing. There's not much smartphone manufacturers can do with a big rectangular screen as a design base, but still, there are ways around this. You can, for example, make the back transparent, the camera system flush with the body, etc.
5. Better cameras
Most phones take pretty decent photos nowadays | Image by PhoneArena
I honestly expected this feature to be higher on the list, but it's around the middle. A quick reference with our Camera Benchmark shows that even midrange phones now offer a decent camera performance, which might explain the poll results.
Another thing worth mentioning is that people who are into photography, either professionally or semi-professionally, are a niche demographic and tend to use dedicated cameras, so they don't show in the statistics that much.
That said, everyone likes to take pictures, and good ones at that.
4. Fast chipsets
It turns out hardware is still important to people | Image by Qualcomm
Another area where innovation keeps on moving at a rapid pace is chipset performance. Every year Qualcomm, Apple, MediaTek, and other chipset brands score double digits in performance increase, and it seems that people are finding these gains important.
My personal experience is that flagship processors from the last couple of years offer very similar user experience when it comes to normal day-to-day tasks. If we put AI and mobile gaming into the picture, things look different, and the latest chip is always welcome.
3. Long software support
Better to have it and not use it than vice versa | Image by Google
Google raised the bar with the Pixel 8 series when it comes to software support. The company pledged seven years of major OS updates for the Pixels, beating Apple at longevity and setting a new standard for Android phones.
Samsung followed suit, and even Chinese brands now try to extend the support cycle of their flagship phones. Honor, for example, started offering seven years for its Magic Pro series last year. Even midrange models such as the Pixel A-series and Galaxy A-series now offer seven and six years of software support, respectively.
Things are getting more and more expensive, and smartphones are no exception | Image by Pixabay
The price component was lower on the list in 2022 (6th place with 4.63%), but inflation and economic headwinds changed the picture. In 2023, a cheaper price was the second most requested feature, raking in almost 20% of all the votes.
The reasons behind the price increase are complex and include high demand for AI integration, TSMC raising chip prices, and also the infamous Trump taxes of late. People don't want to spend a fortune on a smartphone, and that's perfectly understandable.
1. Battery life
Without juice a smartphone is just paperweight
The clear winner, and for several consecutive years, is battery life. The smartphone is a great invention that can do dozens of things for you, but without power, it's just a paperweight.
The good news is that companies are pushing the boundaries when it comes to batteries, and we're witnessing a rapid advance in this technology.
Many factors are in play here, one of the most important being electric vehicles and mobility in general, but smartphones and other gadgets that use batteries are the beneficiaries.
Silicon-carbon tech is now almost a standard in phones from the Far East, offering battery capacities of 7,500-8,000 mAh and a solid two-day battery life. Solid-state batteries are also on their way, and they will further increase the stamina of modern phones.
It's great to find a correlation between the most important feature in a smartphone for most people and what looks like one of the areas where companies have made the most advances in the past years.
What do you think about this list? Is it accurate in your opinion? We've included a poll to see how things stand toward the end of 2025. Vote and comment!
What smartphone feature matters to you the most?
Brighter screens/Bigger screens
4.55%
Exotic building materials/IP rating/durability
4.55%
Charging speed
0%
Storage
9.09%
New designs
0%
Better cameras
22.73%
Fast chipsets
4.55%
Long software support
0%
Attractive price
4.55%
Battery life
50%
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Mariyan, a tech enthusiast with a background in Nuclear Physics and Journalism, brings a unique perspective to PhoneArena. His childhood curiosity for gadgets evolved into a professional passion for technology, leading him to the role of Editor-in-Chief at PCWorld Bulgaria before joining PhoneArena. Mariyan's interests range from mainstream Android and iPhone debates to fringe technologies like graphene batteries and nanotechnology. Off-duty, he enjoys playing his electric guitar, practicing Japanese, and revisiting his love for video games and Haruki Murakami's works.
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