Smartphones are hitting Ctrl + Z, and that’s good news, says Vishal Mathur

On Nothing’s Phone (1), for instance, LEDs on the back of the phone let users see new notifications without having to turn on the screen. (None of the major smartphone brands — Samsung, Xiaomi or Vivo — is currently showing signs of following suit, but that is expected to change if the device is a hit).

Meanwhile, wireless transfers are finally genuinely usable on smartphones. Both iOS and Android neglected Bluetooth functionality for years. The workaround first came from third-party apps such as AirDroid, which made these rudimentary yet useful transfers seamless again.

Google and Apple are now also making dedicated moves in this direction. Apple lets users connect with nearby devices through a feature called AirDrop; on Google’s Android devices, the feature is called Nearby Share. These currently only operate within walled gardens; Nearby Share only really works between Android devices and AirDrop only works on Apple hardware. That’s still a step back from the early 2000s, when one could use infrared connections or the very early generations of Bluetooth (up to a distance of a few feet) to transfer files unhindered.

But these are welcome changes in what Carl Pei, CEO and co-founder of Nothing, has called “a stagnant industry”. While he’s exaggerating, of course, it is true that the smartphone industry has largely ignored innovation over the past decade.

Now, in new innovations too, small steps are being made. With Apple’s iOS 16, launched last month, iMessage became the first messaging app to allow users to edit a sent text (within a 15-minute window). The Meta-owned WhatsApp (by far the most popular messaging app globally, with over 2 billion active users) is also testing a message-editing feature, and Android Messages is expected to follow suit.

Some of us are hoping that hardware will revert to more logical alternatives as well. In addition to universal chargers (which will soon be mandatory in the European Union), perhaps removable batteries could make a comeback, so that phones don’t have to be discarded over a single flaw. Hopefully, the headphone jack will stay; it forces phones to be a little bit thicker but, let’s be honest, few people really prefer wireless earbuds.

As for the feature that many of us miss most — the physical keyboard — we’re probably never getting that back. Touch is here to stay. Still, after years of stagnation, it’s heartening to see the return of some of what we lost in the quest to be slimmer, faster and busier.