After having had a capable smartphone since 2010, I find it very hard to get excited about a new phone, regardless of the company. In fact I would have to say I dread having to get a new phone. I was perfectly happy with my 8se and my Pixel 3. Both unfortunately fell to their untimely deaths. Now I have these giant finger stretching hand cramping leviathans that I DESPERATELY wish were produced in a small(er) form factor.
"Planned obsolescence tends to work best when a producer has at least an oligopoly. Before introducing a planned obsolescence, the producer has to know that the customer is at least somewhat likely to buy a replacement from them in the form of brand loyalty. In these cases of planned obsolescence, there is an information asymmetry between the producer, who knows how long the product was designed to last, and the customer, who does not. When a market becomes more competitive, product lifespans tend to increase."
As much as I agree that individual releases are lackluster and uninspiring usually I just can't agree with a 13yo phone being very capable today. The benefits that are compounded after 3 or 4 releases is usually worth the switch. However I do firmly believe these devices should last at least that long.
Not to mention most people are ecstatic to have their washing machine, refrigerator, water heater, or even their cars for so long and usually it isn't without compromises. Just about any appliance lasting that long is considered good luck.
Computational devices are even harder to continue using for so long and usually not because they break but because they become inadequate as processing power follows Moore's law. I would guess most people use their laptops for about 5 years before feeling like they have to upgrade because it feels slow but I remember the laptop I had 13 years ago and the thought of still using that now fills me with dread.
If you want a small phone, then look for rugged ones. There are a lot of options with screen sizes all the way down to sub 4". Finding one with android 12 or 13 might take some work, but they are out there.
That's why I use Z Fold now. Small phone width when folded, big ass screen when you're lounging and have the other hand free to use the phone. I can't even use the regular slab phone now because I'm used to the narrow cover screen.
People say that the phone is thick when folded but I found out that it made the phone easier to hold due to its thickness. I'm also the kind of guy who uses a phone for the long term, my previous phone was a ROG Phone 2 that I used for four years. I decided to upgrade because most of my work now is done on my phone while I'm out and about and having a larger screen to review some documents has been a lifesaver for me.
Cmon dude, have you not been in any of the threads that remotely concern Apple? Lemmy absolutely seethes at the notion that anyone might actually prefer Apple products.
And before you call me a fan boy, I'm literally typing this on a Samsung phone while playing games on my windows PC. you don't have to be an Apple obsessed fan boy to find the circle jerk annoying
I am a PC/Android user, always have been.
I am a hard apple hater, I've tried to keep up with the new devices though, and I've also repaired them in the past.
I hate apple mostly due to just not liking to be locked on my device (lack of customization but that has been getting better AFAIK), the fact that the phone feels boring, the overpricing, the not friendly right to repair, the stupid lightning ports (Thanks EU), the "elitist" feeling...
But god damn are these new SOCs making me reconsider...
I was already very pleasantly surprised with the Mac computers recently. I think apple silicon is just waaaay ahead at the moment. If competition doesn't catch up somehow soon, I think apple's monopoly will only grow.
Also, AMD over Nvidia. Not saying it's better, but I'll always go team red. Just like Apple, I hate nvidia's business practices.
Don’t get me wrong I don’t mind a good Apple bash for time to time, just saying this feels like Reddit of old. But yeah their fucking silicone is fucking crazy, who would’ve imagined a decade ago being like I prefer Apple for the hardware.
The M1 Mac book is my daily over Linux now. It's a wonderful machine, it's only concession is gaming can be a pain/not worth it. I like the "hobby" of it, but I know it's not for every one.
I personally like a lot of things Apple has done but I don't like how they do things and the level of control they try to maintain on my device (read: their customer's device)
I have seen a lot of hate along those lines, with people easily admitting that Apple silicon is good in a lot of ways
Both iPhone 15 models were good iterative updates in my opinion. Nothing groundbreaking, sure, but Apple finally adopting both USB-C and AV1 is great to see and the programmable action button on the pro models is a nice addition as well.
I mean yeah, adopting USB-C is great (even though they only did it because of the backlash in the EU), but...
"While the new standard iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Plus are equipped with a USB-C port, data transfer over a cable remains limited to USB 2.0 speeds of up to 480 Mbps, which is equal to the Lightning port on previous iPhones."
Only the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max support USB 3 data transfer speeds of up to 10 Gbps over a cable. (Cable/adapter sold separately.)
So the speeds are still being throttled.
Plus, both the iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Plus are at a 60Hz refresh rate. Idk if I'd consider these "good iterative updates" tbh.
They're not throttling, it's just a really shitty USB controller (what they were using with lightning). Still sad imo but ultimately who the hell is even using the USB port on their phone to transfer data?
Fair point. Them not at least using USB 3 across the line up is silly and I don't really see what they gain from doing it apart from maybe saving a cent in production.
But on the other hand I don't think it matters either. The vast majority of people probably don't plug their phone in for anything but charging and the few people that record large video files on their phone will probably get a pro model either.
So yeah USB 2 speeds are silly and I don't want to defend a trillion dollar company for saving a cent on production but I don't think it matters either.
I can do way more useful things on Android than I can on iPhone, things you'd have to jailbreak the iPhone for. There's a reason iPhones are popular with grandmas, teens, and others who just want a phone that does phone things easily, and there's also a reason they are not that popular with hardcore nerds who like to fuck around with their devices. It's a phone that targets a specific type of person. There's nothing wrong with that. People see "usability" differently. Some people see it as "ease of use". Others care more about what is possible to do with it. It's just like the Windows/Linux thing.
Honestly, Apple's not doing too shabby. Could they have better consumer policies? Yeah, definitely. They seem to be getting a lot better though; enough so that I'm genuinely tempted to switch to an iPhone the next time I get a new phone (probably won't be for several years, but yanno).
The big thing that's holding me back is that you still have to jump through hoops to side-load apps. Given the state of the Google Play store, I can forgive Apple for being extremely strict about what can or can't go on the app store; however, I would like a way to side-load apps without having to do the weird song and dance currently associated with it.
Apple, you don't have to have an open app store like Google, you just have to let me install unapproved apps via my PC and I'll be happy.
I will never understand people who buy apple products. I have used apple, android and pinephone and settled on android as its cheap and gets all the basic functions like calls, music and gaming work without any issues.
They work consistently, with very little direct maintenance, and have excellent in-person support. You don't have to figure out if it's a hardware or software problem.
Tbh I never had an issue with any of the phones except Pinephone but thats in early stages so its expected. May be its just baby boomers who get "issues " with their phone. I never had any of my friends complain about phone issues.
It's easier for the non tech savy person to keep in a working state, Android depending on the OEM and Windows come with a lot of bullshit that the average person don't know how to uninstall and avoiding accumulation of bloatware, even simple things like unchecking a checkbox on an instalation wizard are a mystery for most people.
Apple restrictive environment ends up removing a lot of footguns.
And despite some apple fanatics not caring about any of the announcements, they'll most likely still end up buying the latest apple product the second they have the time and money.