All eyes on 2014: what's next for smartphone cameras

Smartphones have long been said to be able to replace point-and-shoot cameras. Ever since the arrival of the iconic Nokia N95 in 2007 (that some of you may still remember), it was clear that what was happening was a fundamental shift in the way we take and share images. In 2011, we finally started seeing smartphones like the iPhone 4 topping the list of most popular cameras on services like Flickr. Today, with record levels of smartphone penetration, there’s no arguing that a huge amount of people have already replaced their point and shoot cameras with a phone camera.

A lot of amazing things have already happened for smartphone cameras. 2013 - with all else - brought us unprecedented variety exactly in the camera area. Starting with state-of-the-art cameraphones like the Nokia Lumia 1020 with its 41-megapixel PureView camera and unmatched image quality, to the more polished smartphone camera interfaces coming from point-and-shoot lands with Samsung's high-end Galaxy devices and LG's phones, and finally ending with the large-pixel experiment of HTC One's UltraPixel camera. There was something for all tastes, and consumers could not complain about lack of choice.

With all this in mind you might be wondering: “Can 2014 bring us a new revolution in smartphone cameras?” There are a few technologies that have been ripening in the past couple of years and may finally land in real devices in 2014. We lay them all out below, and we're looking forward to hearing what are you most excited about. Have you heard about an exciting camera technology? Sound off in the comments below with your thoughts and opinions.