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.
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.
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.
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.
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?
“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.
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
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)
