The smartphone is the next big computing platform. But unlike previous computing platform shifts smartphones aren't just "same stuff, smaller package". They pack capabilities that were never dreamt of in earlier computers. Today's smartphone is an extension of the individual who carries it. They can see, hear and feel. They know where their users are, where they've been, and how they move. Over the next few years this approximation of the smartphone as a personification of their owner's identify and capacities will only deepen. Based on the roadmap of major smartphone vendors and emerging new technologies we'll laid out some grounded speculation of what the smartphone of 2015 will look like.

More importantly for you as programmers the development experience will change radically. As the capabilities deepen, diversity will only multiply in device form factors and vendors. But there will not be room for six different SDKs. Web standards will be leveraged for the user interface portions. But device capabilities will need to be addressed in "standardish" ways that standards bodies will not be able to keep up with. Local data and storage will continue to be important as not only will the world not still be fully connected but the level of connectivity will vary. In some areas holographic 3D projection will take place on highend phones on 4G networks. In other areas still barely reaching 3G that information will need to be available offline. Tools to port apps among the dizzying array of device will be critical.

Keywords:iPhone, blackberry, android development

Target Audience: Developers of mobile apps