Ask Slashdot: What Matters When Buying a New Smartphone? 131
Longtime Slashdot reader shanen writes: What matters to you when buying a new smartphone? How can we make the recurring topic relevant without more SCREAMS about "dupe"? I do have a bit of recent research I could share -- quite a bit of fresh data since my latest search started a couple of months ago. Or perhaps I could start with a summary of the useful bits from an ancient Ask Slashdot discussion about batteries?
Seems funny to ask about relevant books, even though two come to mind already. One is The Anxious Generation by Jonathan Haidt, where he argues that smartphone use by preadolescents is destroying their personalities. The other is Antifragile by Nassim Nicholas Taleb, who doesn't actually say much about them, but I still think they should have been included in the the big table of examples at the end of the prologue. The "system" of smartphones is antifragile, even though the earliest models were quite fragile. The essence of this question is about which current smartphone models are the most robust...
Maybe I should include a list of my own criteria so far? However, would would just be responses to the problems with my current Samsung Galaxy and the Oppo I had before that. I've already determined that the two main problems with those models don't exist with any of the current options offered by my phone company... And the ancient battery problems are still lurking, too.
Seems funny to ask about relevant books, even though two come to mind already. One is The Anxious Generation by Jonathan Haidt, where he argues that smartphone use by preadolescents is destroying their personalities. The other is Antifragile by Nassim Nicholas Taleb, who doesn't actually say much about them, but I still think they should have been included in the the big table of examples at the end of the prologue. The "system" of smartphones is antifragile, even though the earliest models were quite fragile. The essence of this question is about which current smartphone models are the most robust...
Maybe I should include a list of my own criteria so far? However, would would just be responses to the problems with my current Samsung Galaxy and the Oppo I had before that. I've already determined that the two main problems with those models don't exist with any of the current options offered by my phone company... And the ancient battery problems are still lurking, too.
Battery and software (Score:5, Insightful)
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Okay, so you seem to be going there and I'll say one good thing about the Samsung Galaxy I'm currently carrying: The battery has not swollen. I think that's because of the option to set the charging limit at 80% of maximum. Swelling batteries have plagued most of my smartphones over the years, including my only other Galaxy about 10 years ago, but the only battery problem so far is faster discharge. However, even in this category Samsung has messed it up by not explaining the three options. Speculations inv
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Okay, so you seem to be going there and I'll say one good thing about the Samsung Galaxy I'm currently carrying: The battery has not swollen.
Good for you. My main objection to Samsung is their bloatware though.
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Thanks for clarifying your priorities. I mostly ignore their software.
However, I will comment on one bit that could have been a good idea if properly implemented. They started sending me a not-too-frequent diagnostic test that runs through most of the hardware. The implementation is bad mostly because of how bad the battery test is. The result is just pass/fail? Not very helpful in assessing the state of the battery. I also suspect there are problems with the touch sensor, but the test for that has never de
Re:Battery and software (Score:5, Insightful)
I will get one step farther: If the battery is not user-replaceable, I will not buy, regardless of what else the phone offers.
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I have a Fairphone. Not available in the US?
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- Battery life, absolutely number one. Because new smart phones SUCK at battery life.
- Size - fit in my trouser pocket.
- NO ADS. That freaking adware sucks up all my bandwidth. It is killing my ipad, it slows to a crawl, and if I turn off wifi then it speeds up like it used to when new.
- Makes phone calls, cals are easy to hear, and I can see if there's voice mail without turning on cellular data. (omg I HATE this about iphone if there's no cellular data then it won't tell you that people left voice mai
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On the "no ads" thing, I can reccommend this https://pi-hole.net/ [pi-hole.net] which I also access via https://www.pivpn.io/ [pivpn.io] when I'm out of the house sometimes.
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The only factor that pushes me to change smartphone, since at least 15 years, is an upgrade to the camera. The rest is secondary. Two days battery life is probably the next best thing. User-replaceable is of no importance. For $50 you can get your battery replaced at the Apple Store, and that's fine with me.
Which phone doesn't suck? (Score:2)
Legit question because I want to buy a new phone soon. My iPhone and Android phones suck. Are there any don't?
No worries (Score:2)
For me the phone is an appliance. I don't seek crazy standout features if it an anyway degrades my legacy knowledge and expectations in operating my appliance. I don't like relearning how to use a different microwave oven. A toaster is simple and all that matters is that it's a good toaster that cooks evenly and reproducibly.
But I like new features so I don't just want to keep my old phone. I just want an ecosystem that has tamed new innovations and integrates those across my existing apps well.
Getting
What matters (Score:4)
Re:What matters (Score:5, Interesting)
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Actually, I probably should have mentioned the screen size thing... One of the problems of getting older is they keep shrinking the fonts. Like my forehead keeps rising... So the bigger screens are kind of nice for me. I sort of considered the possibility of a tablet, but I couldn't find one with a "smartphone" mode that I liked. (I do have a Chromebook, but I count it as one of my worst computers ever.) The Samsung is actually pretty good on the font sizing, but about four phones ago I had a mini that was
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Quite aware of that, but it isn't always implemented properly. For recent smartphones I've owned from Oppo and Samsung I can say that it was done pretty well. For that "mini" I mentioned, nothing helped much.
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Quite aware of that, but it isn't always implemented properly. For recent smartphones I've owned from Oppo and Samsung I can say that it was done pretty well. For that "mini" I mentioned, nothing helped much.
Should have also noted that it's often helpful when the app allows the spreading gesture to magnify problematic bits of the text, but that behavior tends to be app specific and too many apps block it.
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And even the biggest ones are WAY too small for me
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Yes, this, and for me also that it has a small form factor. I don't want to carry the likes of a a small TV around.
Indeed. One looks ridiculous holding one of those phones that seem to have been designed with a NBA players in mind.
Screw Android (Score:3)
Android is just horrible, period.
Unfortunately, the duopoly and half of the internet being proprietary means I have to at least run Android apps.
I will only buy a phone if I can run Sailfish with Android App Support.
Nice camera is always useful.
5g -- who cares
NFC -- would be useful but App Support doesn't and never will support it
These days? (Score:3, Interesting)
Unfortunately, where was it made (read: where did the parts and software come from)? Never cared before.
I wouldn't be the slightest surprised if there were backdoor functions embedded in the chips of all mobile devices, all comm equipment in the towers, a lot of networking gear not specifically from a reputable manufacturer with certified local parts (which costs a fortune, comparatively), and more. At this point, nothing is safe. It never was but might an entity want to activate it in response to being screwed over by "us"?
Dangerous times. I hate to use the simplest and most overused phrase, but you shouldn't play with fire if you don't want to get burned. The play has already started.
Re:These days? [Who can you trust?] (Score:2)
Thanks for raising another important criterion and thereby hangs a sad tale. I am NOT loyal to any brand, but it is possible for a brand to earn my repeat business for good value at fair price. Huawei was such a brand until the security considerations and resulting software war drove their smartphones out of the market. (I've owned about 10 of their devices over the years, of which at least two were quite satisfactory smartphones.)
My original position was that Huawei was sort of safe precisely because we di
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If our security experts were better than theirs, then we would check out their phones quite carefully and detect any problems, right?
Smarts aside, who do you think would do this analysis, and why?
The correct answer is: No one. Some academic security researchers might look into it if they thought there was something interesting to find, but they not only won't check every model from every Chinese manufacturer, they won't even examine all of any one device, they'll look at specific areas of specific devices that they think might yield something worth publishing. Government or corporate security engineers might take a look if the gover
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Thanks for your thoughts, though I disagree pretty strongly with most of your points. In particular I don't think there is such a thing as a "known-trustworthy" supplier. There are only degrees of trust and even those should be based on tests by people who know something. It seems our main point of agreement might be that it's impossible to prove a negative, which in this context would be the negative existence of security vulnerabilities.
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And what locale have you found where manufacturers don't have a long track record of installing back doors?
If you didn't build it with your own 2 hands, it has a backdoor. The only question is how many have access to it. Typically the backdoors get discovered before long and passed around to whoever wants to buy it, governmental or otherwise.
Re: These days? (Score:2)
This works the other way too. The USA has the worst record in this respect and so I will never choose a phone from there, or car/etc (ie tesla).
I trust the Chinese more, so it'll be huawei for me, just as it is currently. I'm currently on HarmonyOS, which is Google free, but still aosp based, iinm, but next time it'll be NEXT so not even aosp.
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But are there any phones that don't run US software (backdoored and usually full of ads) and which are not made in China?
Re: These days? (Score:2)
Yours.
Antifragile ... (Score:4, Insightful)
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You must not have read the book. I'm still early in it, but would already recommend it, even though his tone is so negative and critical. Hard not to take it personally each time I disagree with him on some detail. But he definitely makes you think about things.
Of course an individual smartphone is not antifragile, but they used to be quite fragile and are now relatively robust. I wrote that the "system" of smartphones has antifragile properties and the new phones and apps are much better as a result of pre
Build quality (Score:3)
Having tried multiple vendors for multiple phones over multiple years, I can back this up. Google Pixel 6 (of all the newer phones!), HTC phones, LG, etc. etc. all had issues. My Samsung Galaxy S10 is still going as my dad's, my Galaxy S8 was only ever replaced because my area upgraded from LTE to LTE+ only and I was literally losing internet service over not having a new enough phone rather than it breaking. Sister's Iphone 11 is still getting updates years later. Samsung and Apple have build quality, so the "price" is worth it. Other phones might be cheaper initially, but you'll end up paying to replace ones that can't even be fixed regardless of "repairability" scores (I.E. the Pixel 6 had modem issues, can't repair that even if the battery and screen could be fixed).
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I've had a Pixel 6 for 3 years now. I've never had a problem with it.
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I've had a Pixel 6 for 3 years now. I've never had a problem with it.
Same for the Pixel 5a I got in 2021.
Needs to ba phone first, everthing else second (Score:2)
- Phone functions should work easily, with text messages and address book.
- Everything else is secondary.
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I personally really like the Pixel line, they're really good phones without a lot of bloatware. The problem with them is the fact that they aren't consistent within a generation, much less between generations. This means that the cases for every single variety of Pixel phone are different. It's maddening.
I generally support phones for my household and I'd really like to move them all to Android, just for consistency because it's what I use, but I question how my dad will manage when his iPhone SE 2022 pl
Re:Build quality [and real cost of ownership] (Score:2)
Thanks. Several good criteria there and I have a few thoughts on them...
I see the smartphone as essentially disposable after a couple of years. Therefore I am unable to understand why anyone would pay so much extra for a premium smartphone. Two or three times the cost and the premium features (that are truly valuable) will be part of the basic phones soon enough. The expensive smartphone might last longer, but probably not, so the cost of ownership seems too high.
That's also my general reaction to the iPhon
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I have two main uses for my phone, a Pixel 6A: music and camera for timely shots (when cycling, etc..)
The music sucks. No headphone jack. I want to use the headphones I already have (and fit my ears and don't annoy me), so I have to use a dongle, which sucks. If you look at it the wrong way, it cuts out. (Have tried different ones, keeps happening.) For whatever reason it it's moved slightly the wrong way, I'm guessing it loses signal, and stops the music.
The camera also has major issues. It'll crash, and c
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Sorry bud but my experience is different. Still have a Pixel 2 that is operating and on one trip to Europe I had to share my data because my cousins family brand new iPhones had issues connecting data.
Must have automatic answering service (Score:2)
Pixels are the only phones I know of that have an automatic call answering.
I'll never buy another phone that doesn't.
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I love my focused work time by having robocalls automatically shunted to some software designed to not bother me unless it's a real person.
This is one of the real values of the Pixel.
In a word... (Score:3)
What matters to you when buying a new smartphone?
Price.
Got the missus a new Samsung Galaxy S24 FE for a Black Friday special for $399. My wife wanted a bigger screen, and I was not shelling out twice as much for the S24+.
And now that I see the S25+ will be $999, I'm glad I bought what I did when I did.
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Yes. The Moto G Power (the high end version, with more storage and processor power) is still only $200 unlocked. I have the 2024 version, it's a great phone!
It has to work (Score:2)
The phone company "upgraded" their network and bricked my old (Android) phone. So I bought a new one. It also has to have reasonable battery life. This was starting to be an issue with the old phone.
I recently bought an antique iPhone (iPhone 12) to support some mobile development I'm doing at work. I'm damned if I'm going to spend that much on a new one, but the price was right on the old one. It too works.
...laura
two screens front and back (Score:2)
two screens front and back, second screen being an e ink, why not? you can better read text, and when you're note reading it can show notifications at little energy expense, for more fancy stuff like videos and web you use the other normal screen
(maybe this is not what's asked here, you want to know what you want on current existing phones)
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Interesting feature. No examples in the real world? (Actually I think I've seen a few similar things, but not recently.)
For me (Score:5, Informative)
Replaceable battery
3.5mm headphone socket
SD card slot
2 SIM card slots
Rootable
Robust, waterproof
Re:For me (Score:5, Funny)
one-button-push deployable pony that farts rainbows with pots of gold at the end
Let's see which of us gets our desired feature set first.
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I'm not the person you replied to, but the Fairphone 5 [fairphone.com] meets their specification list.
As a side note, everything the parent asked for is common on older phones. Asking for them all together is not like asking for unrealistic / unicorn options.
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Well, with one exception, asking for waterproof and a 3.5 mm headphone jack is pretty much a no go.
The one thing Fairphone is missing is the 3.5 mm headphone jack.
https://support.fairphone.com/... [fairphone.com]
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No it doesn't. It has no 3.5mm jack and is not waterproof.
Personally, I think the demist of the 3.5mm jack is fashion driven dumb shit, but I can't turn the tide. It'd be nice if had a 3.5mm jack and was waterproof, but it's still the best tradeoff of options out there for me.
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Important feature that hasn't been mentioned yet? Water resistance. Taken for granted? (But also should be part of those smartphone fashions...)
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Replaceable battery was a must for me as I hope to use the phone at least as long as the previous one at 10 or so years (unfortunate accident ended it), price as I'm not walking around with an easily stolen 1000 euro overpriced device on me, and it being robust was a preference.
Hence the Samsung Xcover 7.
Bought it retail so not much junk on it, and I disabled most apps I didn't want with App Manager (on F-Droid), Haven't seen a root option for it but the current setup is good enough for me to last until Lin
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Wait, headphone jack *and* waterproof? That's a neat trick!
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The Motorola Moto X4 has those features, but no replaceable battery.
and new kinds of sensors and networking (Score:2)
Re: For me (Score:2)
What matters to me... (Score:2)
On iOS, 512 GB to 1+ TB. Not much choices.
On Android, definitely a punch list, including a fingerprint scanner, 8-12 GB RAM, MicroSD slot, SIM card slot, preferably dual SIMs, decent cameras. Most importantly an easily unlockable bootloader so I can install LineageOS and keep upgrading to newer Android versions. Root is vital so I can use kernel level firewalling as a means of blocking ads and intrusion attempts. At least 512GB of internal SSD storage. Ideally a way to have the phone boot a Linux distr
Re:What matters to me... [fingerprints] (Score:2)
First mention of that feature? I've had various versions of fingerprint scanning on various computers and phones over the years. I use it, but still not sure how much I like it or trust it...
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A fingerprint scanner in most phones has gotten reliable enough to be a fairly decent source for authentication. Combined with a boot passphrase for fscrypt, it provides decent security for a phone. It isn't 100% secure, as it seized by LEOs, the phone can be decoded, especially by dumping RAM and pulling out the encryption keys, but it is secure agains the phone thieves which grab devices and ship them overseas.
Security-wise, I do wish phones had the option for dm-crypt/LUKS mounting /data as well as fsx
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Thanks again, though it reminds me of an old joke attributed to George Washington in the version I heard. When told that people were bathing every day he was supposed to have asked "How are they getting so dirty?" In this case, what kind of personal data do you have that you are so worried about? (But yes, I agree that too much personal data is being collected about people and that the data is being used to destroy human freedom--and I like freedom a lot.)
Price (Score:2)
I never buy anything who costs more then 200-300 euros. This way i can buy phones more frecuently.
iPhone for me (Score:5, Insightful)
When I buy a new phone, I'll typically wait until the new batch of iPhones is released, buy the latest/most powerful one, then continue to use it until it goes out of software support 5 to 6 years later. I've had 4 iPhones since they released.
Hate it all you want, but the longevity of operating system support, the seemless connectivity with the rest of my stuff, and the generally good build quality is worth the expense imho.
Function and ruggedness (Score:5, Interesting)
I love mil-spec phones; something I can drop and not worry too much it'll break. Something that isn't locked down at the carrier or OS level. After all that, something inexpensive - I'm not into conspicuous consumption and I don't give a shit how shiny your iPhone is.
Typically I buy something straight from China.
Whatever my employer buys me (Score:2)
Otherwise I'll just do without.
This answer may not be popular, but... (Score:3)
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I did this for years. Eventually I had to get one due to employer requirements. (Seems they won't let you work, buy, or sell without one now - mark of the beast vibes.) Even then it didn't have cell service and I just used the necessary applications over Wifi. The device stayed powered off outside of work.
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Doing who with the what now? You use your computer to make meat flappy noises at other meat bags? Far out!
The 1980s called and asked a bunch of turbo nerds what's the best pocket super computer with geo-nav and a permanent connection to the cyberspace, every BBS, the largest library ever created and it's also a tv and camcorder. And alarm clock for some reason.
Making voice calls comes pretty far down the list of useful
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I tried to not have a smartphone. I got SIP at home. But when my compact camera malfunctioned, I found that I couldn't buy a replacement -- because that product category did not exist any more: It had been outcompeted by smartphones.
So I bought a smartphone, and used it exclusively as a camera the first two years.
Then I got seriously ill, and was pressured by the nurses to become reachable, and to use 2FA to log into the journal system to read what incorrect information the doctors had entered.
I've recovere
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I'd have to use 2FA on a smartphone to log in five times every day.
In case applicable and of interest, I use the open-source desktop app called Authenticator for 2FA operations.
Does it do what you need? (Score:2)
Everyone has different wants and needs for a phone.
But the one that matches yours.
What other people think doesn't matter.
What matters for new phones (Score:2)
1. Support duration and device longevity: How many years of security updates and major updates are guaranteed to be available for this model from the time of purchase? Preferred my new phone should last a minimum of 7 years. The battery included should be a durable enough one to retain a minimum of 80% original capacity after 7 years. And the minimum expected lifetime on wear components should be at least 7 years.
2. Battery capacity, runtime, and longevity. Need my phone to last at least 48 hours bet
Like mt Framework Laptop (Score:2)
I want one that is the phone equivalent to my framework laptop.
Easily repairable.
Options on the battery size/Thickness tradoff.
A choice of interfaces - audio, sd, etc
An open programming environment.
Long term, and fair (Score:2)
Couple of years ago I bought a FairPhone 4. It has replaceable battery, and almost everything else. I am not sure about guarantees, but the company is still supporting previous versions. It can be opened without tools for battery and sim card access, and the rest just needs one screwdriver. Unless it gets stolen or seriously broken, I hope to keep it for 5 or 10 years more. Extra bonus is their policy of fairness, taking care where they source their materials and components from.
Has to run LineageOS (Score:2)
These are my dealbreakers:
-Headphone jack
-microSD card slot
-Carrier unlocked
-Supported by current version of LineageOS
I bought a phone meeting these criteria 2 months ago, new in box on eBay, for $75.
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That's pretty much what I'm looking for. Which phone did you end up buying?
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Motorola Moto G7+. I love it. It charges faster than any other phone I've ever had!
For me... (Score:3)
What matters to me is cost (I can't afford to spend $500-$1000 or even more on a phone), strength (is it going to break/fail easily if its dropped or something) and compatibility (will it work on my carrier and will it support the apps I need to run).
Why is it that a $1000+ flagship phone will be more easily damaged than a sub $100 cheap prepaid phone?
This is a question that can't be answered (Score:3, Insightful)
Everyone will answer a different one. It's like asking "what is the best colour?" Context matters, personal opinions matter, but one thing that doesn't matter: killer features - the modern smartphones don't have an edge over each other. Every smartphone is the best and matters the most to someone.
- Some people need cheap phones, others have spare money to burn.
- Some people demand headphone jacks, others only use wireless headphones or none at all.
- Some people demand removable batteries, others don't mind taking the phone to get serviced.
- Some people need long battery life, others are rarely away from a charging port.
- Some people need libre software and the ability to unlock a the bootloader, others don't care about corporatism and are happy with any OS they are presented.
- Some people need big screens because their eyes are bad, some need small screens because their hands are small.
- Some people need corporate security integration with MDM such as Knox, others don't even know what this means.
- Some people need the best camera, some the best speakers.
- Some people need rare niche features such as the device to be hazardous area certified, shock proof, integrated with a thermal camera, contain an ANT+ modem for their fitness gear, wireless charging, the ability to switch to desktop mode. etc. etc. etc.
We are all individuals. On a base level every phone suits virtually everyone these days. You need to find out what individual people care about.
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Interesting summary. Perhaps better than the one I've been trying to compose in my head as I read through the discussion. (I feel obligated since I posed the question.) You have covered most of the bases that people touched.
Not exactly a normative assessment, but I have found it interesting to see the range of responses. Unfortunately not much of the information was new to me, so it's mostly been interesting to see the various priorities from various people, though few of them have addressed their reasons f
the camera when I do eventually upgrade (Score:2)
I upgrade about once every 4 years. But when I do, the operating system and the camera are the things I look at. Since I use Android, that's what I stick to. I feel everything else is the same in a flagship or close to it phone. Or at least close enough. Unfortunately in N. America we're not exactly spoilt for choices. Brands like Oppo, Vivo, Xiaomi, Huawei, Sony are either not available at all or hard to get. So my choices are essentially Samsung or Google.
3.5 mm jack (Score:2)
- Good battery life
- Good UI, no bloat apps
- 3.5 mm audio jack (so far, essential. I won't buy any device without it)
- Low weight
- Resistance to drops and impacts
- Availability of slide-out physical keyboards preferred.
This is easy (Score:2)
1) Removable battery
2) User removable storage via MicroSD card
3) Headphone Jack
4) Rootable ( able to remove all bloat / spyware / preinstalled apps I'll never use )
5) No AI / Siri / Alexa listening to the microphone at all times
6) Smaller form factor
7) I don't care how thin / thick it is. Give me durability instead.
8) Real price competition vs the bullsh*t we have now.
9) Better cellular coverage.
Flash memory must be latest UFS version (Score:2)
It's the bottleneck. A new phone in 2025 should be running on UFS 4.0, at least.
Clarity in voice... (Score:2)
I mainly look for clarity in the speakers and microphone. My mobile phone is usually never anywhere near me, so a loud ringtone helps alert me when someone calls. Good battery capacity, so that it lasts at least a week or more when not connected to the internet, so I can only be bothered to charge the phone on the weekends. I should have the ability to install some apps that I sometimes want, or others assume I can.
I choose the smartphone that is the LEAST BAD (Score:2)
* The least amount of bloatware. iOS or stock Android.
* Software support for three years or more.
* Durability. Check JerryRigEverything [youtube.com].
* Battery life
* Reasonable size. Not huge
* Headphone jack.
* Camera that isn't crap. Because it will work as a point-and-shoot compact camera: because you can't buy a separate decent compact camera any more.
* Large storage, and preferably: a SD-card slot that isn't too difficult to open.
Re: (Score:2)
I'll have to add to my post above:
Whenever I buy something, I do care about the company's integrity and honesty. If it has a bad reputation: I'd seriously not consider it.
Don't lie to me about specs. Don't make it sound better than it really is.
If it has USB-C then it should be standards-compliant USB-C: it should charge over standard USB Power Delivery, and not some proprietary bullcrap that requires proprietary cables.
And no effing AI.
The #GSOD Feature (Score:2)
Call recording and smaller phone size (Score:2)
I'm not good at verbal communication so I look firstly for the now-rare feature of call recording; then the size of the phone. Ideally, I wouldn't use a phone that has a screen size of more than about 5.5 inches.
Depends on who you ask... (Score:2)
Some people game on their phones, others don't (need good performance).
Others do productivity, others don't.
Some are paranoid, others are not.
Others want their phone to last for a long time, than others want to replace it as soon as the next HYPEPHONE is out.
Some care about replacing parts, others don't.
And so on... For everybody there's something on the market. Everybody has different criteria.
Small phone (Score:2)
I prefer not to buy a phone too often. When I buy one, the main criteria I look for is size. I like small phones. I recently upgraded from a Galaxy A40 to a Galaxy S10e. Unfortunately there's a size creep up over time.
My list isn't big in size, but big in hopium... (Score:2)
Things I want:
- Unlockable bootloader to allow custom ROMs to extend the support life of the device (only a few manufacturers offer more than 2-3 years of support).
- Full Linux support by all the phone's component manufacturers so that Linux phones - via custom ROMs installed onto Android phones (and eventually pre-installed) - could become a reality rather than ultra-niche (and often underpowered/overpriced).
- Easy-to-replace batteries (don't have to be user-removable, but that would be a bonus).
- No came
Vertical Integration rules (Score:2)
Think about it. Tesla has proven how disadvantaged your company, your product and co-dependent your CX unless you vertically integrate.
Partnerships can destabilize. To wit: Taiwan subject to the CHN-effect. Mexico subject to border disputes such as refusing to land deported MX citizens which Trump admonishes by tariffs.
Technology: AI is the darling of the moment but phone mfgrs are dependent upon Gemini, ChatGPT and rolling your own not easy as Apple just proved embarrassingly. But AAPL are on the right tra
F150 (Score:2)
When you buy an F150, you have millions of choices of equipment if you want to pay some extra to get one built instead of off the lot.
The phones should be sufficiently modularized that you can order exactly what you want. You don't want a camera? No prob. You don't need 5 cameras with 100 megapixels, no prob. You don't need a fingerprint scanner, ok....
Thanks for all the fish and thoughtful responses (Score:2)
As the instigator I felt obligated to read the entire thing... At least that puts me in a position to issue a global "Thanks". Lots of interesting ideas in the discussion though I didn't find as much new data as I'd hoped. Your mileage hopefully differed?
Now I wonder if the key points could be abstracted for some kind of useful poll? However I don't think I could do it...
Maybe something about the paradox of choice? For some of the criteria I didn't feel like there were many viable options, where for other c
for me: (Score:2)
it's not one thing but a combo
-Fast enough. iphone 14 pro max is/was fast enough
-Solid camera. I upgraded 14->16 pro max specifically for the camera
-all-day battery. iphone 14-16 also have this handled.
-integrations. and this is the iPhone trap for me, airdrop, imessage, facetime. I know there are alternatives but nothing has worked quite like facetime for us and I live-or-die on imessage. These are mostly seamless and simple.
-USB-C, so iphone 14 had to go...
-wireless charging
-durability
No bloat,
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I was at a public safety vendor mobile device conference, and at one point the techies on a discussion panel asked us who wanted Linux devices. Pretty much every hand went up.
Then they asked us who would BUY them; all the hands went down.
We were just as disappointed as the vendor techs, but there was little we could do as there were too many required apps only certified and supported on Windows.
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Better of the two jokes, but not really a topic for humor?
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One thing that can help with Android is buying a phone that you can install a LTS operating system like Lineage OS (and perhaps donate a little bit to the project as well.) This way, it will keep updates going for a long time.