The growth in the popularity of reconfigurable antennas has been observed recently. Because of the fast progress of wireless communication technology in current wireless applications with large data rates, multimode and cognitive radio operations are implemented with reconfigurable antennas. These antennas are well-suited for wireless applications, including 4G and 5G mobile devices, due to their versatile capabilities. These include requiring minimal front-end processing, providing strong isolation, and effectively rejecting signals outside the desired frequency bands. In this article, we reviewed some of the latest reconfigurable antenna designs that have recently been proposed for use in wireless communications, including cognitive-ratio, MIMO, ultra-wideband, and 4G and 5G mobile terminals. It investigated the fundamental properties and characteristics of reconfigurable antennas with single and multiple reconfigurability modes. This study examines related publications on reconfigurable antennas across a variety of platforms to determine methodologies. In the present year, the examination of reconfigurable antennas involves addressing various complexities in their development and analysis. The existing methodologies exhibit certain advantages and constraints, which are studied upon. Furthermore, emerging research hurdles in this domain are identified and proposed. Each concept and its design techniques are analysed, with merits, limitations, and future improvement highlighted.