This post is mainly a complain about Samsung phones, but it applies to almost every phone released lately. It's been among popular knowledge that Samsung phones are usually the best when it comes to features that are actually useful, but what if they are not? What would happen if we didn't have them? Let's debate!
Lets start with the microSD card. This is one of the must useful features for many of us, and certainly for me. Since today phones come a small 64gb internal storage which is enough for many, having the option to increase it by 256gb by just buying a separate card is very convenient. Whoa... stop right there. Ever wondered why today phones come with a low internal capacity? It's because of microSD! Let's compare phones without microSD to those who rely solely on internal space and see the difference:
Let's talk about the second feature: "Wireless" Charging. This is mostly a complain for Samsung, as every other manufacturer doesn't produce their in-house wireless chargers. And that's right, wireless charging is not really wireless. You still need to connect your cable, and you still need to physically place the phone in a specific part of the carger for it to work. It's also very slow. Even what Samsung calls "Fast Wireless Charging" is pretty damn slow, slower than any regular 5v 2a charger and about half as fast as regular Fast Charging. It's still more convenient than plugging your phone every time, and I use it every day. But how does exactly adding this extra feature make your phone worse, when you can still use your charger? Well, let me first explain there are many speeds for cable charging. Most phones these days come with Fast Charge 3.0 or 4.0, while Samsung comes with a 2.0 charger, which is worse. You might say: "That's because they wanted to stick with a safe, proven way of charging to prevent the Note 7 fiasco from ever happening again". But you'd be wrong. That's only one of the reasons. The REAL REASON is they don't want to stop you from buying one of their Wireless Chargers. From preventing you from getting faster charge via cable, they're closing the gap between wired and Wireless Charging. That way, you buy more of their chargers. They did the same thing last year with Samsung Galaxy S7 not being able to get superior USB-C just so they could sell more of their old Gear VR models that didn't support it.
Lastly, the most controversial one: Headphone jack. This is one of the most loved and most convenient features ever to have in a phone. This "ancient technology" has helped us survive through the format wars, and makes music available for everyone, everywhere. To make things clear, I would buy a phone with a headphone jack over one with a bigger battery 10/10 times. But what if every phone in the planet didn't come with a headphone jack? Wouldn't companies be forced to produce better, highest quality, equally accessible, more convenient wireless audio for all of us. Imagine what kind of loseless amazing wireless audio we would have today if phones didn't include a headphone jack 10 years ago. Would headphone jack removal push the wireless future ahead, even if it's worse today? Wouldn't it promote the developement of real wireless charging for all of our devices (charging from 5-10 meters away)? I'll let you guys answer those questions. Let the debate begin!
Lets start with the microSD card. This is one of the must useful features for many of us, and certainly for me. Since today phones come a small 64gb internal storage which is enough for many, having the option to increase it by 256gb by just buying a separate card is very convenient. Whoa... stop right there. Ever wondered why today phones come with a low internal capacity? It's because of microSD! Let's compare phones without microSD to those who rely solely on internal space and see the difference:
- Samsung Galaxy S8 (can get microSD): 64gb (128gb for non available Asian version).
- LG G6 (can get microSD): Up to 64gb (in some places, only 32gb is available).
- HTC 10 (can get microSD): Up to 64gb (in some places, only 32gb is available).
- Apple iPhone 7 (can't get microSD): Up to 256gb.
- Google Pixel (can't get microSD): Up to 128gb.
- OnePlus 3T (can't get microSD): 128gb.
Let's talk about the second feature: "Wireless" Charging. This is mostly a complain for Samsung, as every other manufacturer doesn't produce their in-house wireless chargers. And that's right, wireless charging is not really wireless. You still need to connect your cable, and you still need to physically place the phone in a specific part of the carger for it to work. It's also very slow. Even what Samsung calls "Fast Wireless Charging" is pretty damn slow, slower than any regular 5v 2a charger and about half as fast as regular Fast Charging. It's still more convenient than plugging your phone every time, and I use it every day. But how does exactly adding this extra feature make your phone worse, when you can still use your charger? Well, let me first explain there are many speeds for cable charging. Most phones these days come with Fast Charge 3.0 or 4.0, while Samsung comes with a 2.0 charger, which is worse. You might say: "That's because they wanted to stick with a safe, proven way of charging to prevent the Note 7 fiasco from ever happening again". But you'd be wrong. That's only one of the reasons. The REAL REASON is they don't want to stop you from buying one of their Wireless Chargers. From preventing you from getting faster charge via cable, they're closing the gap between wired and Wireless Charging. That way, you buy more of their chargers. They did the same thing last year with Samsung Galaxy S7 not being able to get superior USB-C just so they could sell more of their old Gear VR models that didn't support it.
Lastly, the most controversial one: Headphone jack. This is one of the most loved and most convenient features ever to have in a phone. This "ancient technology" has helped us survive through the format wars, and makes music available for everyone, everywhere. To make things clear, I would buy a phone with a headphone jack over one with a bigger battery 10/10 times. But what if every phone in the planet didn't come with a headphone jack? Wouldn't companies be forced to produce better, highest quality, equally accessible, more convenient wireless audio for all of us. Imagine what kind of loseless amazing wireless audio we would have today if phones didn't include a headphone jack 10 years ago. Would headphone jack removal push the wireless future ahead, even if it's worse today? Wouldn't it promote the developement of real wireless charging for all of our devices (charging from 5-10 meters away)? I'll let you guys answer those questions. Let the debate begin!