With apple’s recycled event, I’ve come to say I’m sick of phones.
Phones are already “perfected”. They can call. Run apps.
We really need to focus on efficiency. E.g, lowering price, increasing battery life, improving software
But nooo. Add a bunch of extremely minor features with a 50% faster chip so you can watch ads at 1080p instead of 720p. I don’t care! Give me a phone that’ll last me 5 years and has a battery life that lasts a week. I don’t need this crap every year. Why do we live in a situation where people think they need to buy a new phone yearly?!
I say a phone should get at minimum 5 years of software support.
I support your rant.
They should be like good desktop PCs that you can keep for a decade and upgrade / replace parts in easily.
My 2nd smartphone, over 10 years ago, was IP67 waterproof rated yet still had a removable battery and microSD card slot and headphone jack. They can do all of those things at once, despite what they say now about having to remove those features to make it water resistant.
I still have that phone, and it still works but runs android 2.3
Why do we live in a place where you need to buy a new phone yearly?!
We don’t… Maybe stop falling victim to FOMO and needing the newest thing that isn’t much better than what you already have?
This is more an issue of your own mindset (and somewhat of a common one with Apple users in general in my experience) than with the tech. I’ve had 4 smartphones since smartphones were a thing, and I do have a desire to have the fastest, most powerful hardware. There just isn’t enough difference in hardware to justify upgrading every time something new comes out, so I only actually get something new when my old thing literally stops functioning.
I have a 3 year old pixel and probably won’t upgrade to any new phone soon. I’m talking about companies making it so people feel like they need to do so.
So don’t buy a new phone every year. It’s like anyone makes you. I have a phone that’s five years old and still works just fine.
I’m exaggerating here, but a lot of phones make it hard to replace the degrading battery. I’m in support of the replaceable battery mandate the EU is passing.
My phone is five years old (XS Max) and on its original battery. Lasts all day still somehow. I love it. I’m only upgrading it this year because I could use more storage space (256GB fills up fast with how many photos I take!)
iPhones will last you 5 years easily. They’re too expensive though, because they’re status symbols for morons.
They cost about the same as any other top-tier phone… and they’re top-tier phones.
(Typing this from my five year old iPhone that still runs like a dream lawl)
Except that they run iOS which is just a bit better than a dumb phone for me. And good luck replacing any parts. Not like it’s easy with most other devices, but at least you’re not blocked by software from doing that.
Why do we live in a place where you need to buy a new phone yearly?!
…we don’t? Most of my family only gets a new phone when their old one breaks.
I’m a huge phone hater as well. People I know irl are shocked to know I don’t run flagship phones despite being a tech person. Sorry I don’t want to shell over a grand for features I won’t use.
All I care about is screen res, good panel, good battery life.
I tried going to a brand that wasn’t top tier to save money once. The phone literally struggled to run snapchat. Crapped out and was replaced under warranty. Tried a not top tier Samsung, but anything below flagship has a lower res and it honestly bothered me. So I’m back to flagship Samsung mostly for screen res. I honestly don’t know where to go from here.
“Why do we live in a place where you need to buy a new phone yearly?!”
Cause’ that’s how large corporations work today and that’s how they can maintain the business. Do you think they care that you have a phone that lasts 5 years? No, they want you to buy more and more, That’s why they make phones that degrade quickly and release new models every year.
Even five years is shockingly low for me given how long we used to have the same stuff when I was a kid, like TVs and kitchen stuff. I still have the same knife from my first apartment (1996) and even then that knife was a decade old because it was a hand-me-down. But as soon as software gets involved everything suddenly gets super obsolescent 😭
Did you really just compare a smartphone to a knife?
And to TVs, cars, record players, speakers, lamps, microwave ovens
@PraiseTheSoup @Sandra They are (should be) just tools to do a job. Having said that I went to the Edinburgh Festival with some of my family this year, and noticed that they could, for example, book tickets for a show much faster than I could on my nearly seven year old phone. When not seeing it in comparison with others, though, I do not usually think of mine as slow.
The worry with older phones is the lack of security updates. One of the bugs in market capitalism is that supporting older devices eats into the profit. Unlike the old days where there were third-party TV repair shops.
@Sandra @PraiseTheSoup @rant An excellent point - although most of the security bugs seem to be in the bits which have been added to ‘add value’ and which I try to avoid.
Be the change you want to see in the world. Keep your current handset as long as you can. Next time a friend mentions they’re buying a new phone, say “really?” and ask them why. Mention that the last photo they sent you looked great, their current camera is fine. Ask them if they really need the extra storage, or are they just hoarding because they can? If they’re adamant, just straight-up ask if you can have their old handset.
If/when you buy a new one, skip Apple and Samsung and pick a respectable mid-range or economy handset from a company like Fairphone (8 years guaranteed support) or Nokia (5 years), or go down the route of buying new of used with an aftermarket OS like Graphene or Lineage and, again, be sure to tell your friends and family that it’s possible and a great experience.
I feel like phones got good enough a really long time ago. I still sometimes pull out my motox 2013, it’s just fine. Just a bit small.
Daily driver full Linux on a phone is the next step imo. Once that’s good, we’re done with the need for new phones. (Really, most people don’t need a new computer for like 10 years either)
… you’re reading my mind ! 😁
And make it easier to install your choice of operating system.
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What phones are you buying that fall apart in one year? I’ve had my current phone (a OnePlus) for 4 years now, and it still works like new.
Those in europe could consider the fairphone 5 It will have software support for at least the next eight probably ten years and the battery is easily replaceable.
