Android Makers Abandon Niche Phone Features as 2010s Experiments Fade After 1 Generation
Updated
Updated · Android Police · Aug 17
Android Makers Abandon Niche Phone Features as 2010s Experiments Fade After 1 Generation
2 articles · Updated · Android Police · Aug 17
Summary
Android phone brands have largely stopped shipping quirky hardware ideas, favoring standardized designs and dependable features over the niche experiments common in the early 2010s.
1-generation lifespans for features like Samsung’s 50-inch 360p Galaxy Beam projector, 3D cameras, and LG’s self-healing backs showed the high risk and low sales payoff of gimmicks.
Some abandoned ideas were more practical, including LG V10’s 2.1-inch secondary screen, rotating cameras on phones like the ZenFone 6, and HTC’s squeeze controls later used on Pixel models.
Standardization around waterproofing, wireless charging, and tougher frames pushed brands toward fewer components and more predictable upgrades, while modular efforts such as Project Ara died as unviable in 2016.
Nothing’s evolving Glyph lights are cited as a rare holdout, but even foldables are now drifting toward cookie-cutter annual updates instead of generation-defining changes.