Smartphone interest is dying.

[dov1978]

Oops! wait I'll call them to rename the Phone as " MicroPhonia" doesn't sound cool.? or suggest new name..Haha!

One thing I do know is that under no circumstances is it to be referred to as a "phone". It's a next generation, foldable, pocketable, PC in your pocket with telephony included. Quite catchy huh?

 

[Morty2264]

Hopefully. It seems the opposite is true now, with everyone trying to imitate Samapple (yes, I just created that word. Lol). No one is really trying to set themselves apart anymore.

Love that new word! Haha. I agree with you, though: looks like everyone is trying to imitate the iPhone X's notch...

 

[Mooncatt]

Love that new word! Haha.

I got the idea from photography discussions. People act like Nikon and Canon are the only brands out there, so I call them either Nikanons or Canikons when referring to both. Personally I'm a wannabe Pentaxian,I just don't have one yet.

 

[Morty2264]

I got the idea from photography discussions. People act like Nikon and Canon are the only brands out there, so I call them either Nikanons or Canikons when referring to both. Personally I'm a wannabe Pentaxian,I just don't have one yet.

Very good analogy! Haha.

 

[Mooncatt]

Now this is how you stand out!

https://www.engadget.com/2018/02/22/cat-s61-smartphone-bullitt-thermal-camera/

I don't need FLIR or laser measuring, but I'm tempted to get this just for being so unique. I'd likely keep my V20 if I did get it (assuming it worked with Verizon in the first place), but I'd strongly consider giving up some of its features for what the CAT phone offers. Audio is likely going to be good enough, and I can get a third party camera app with manual controls. Will be interesting to see how long that battery lasts with normal usage (guessing that FLIR would eat it a fair bit).

 

[L0n3N1nja]

12 years ago I was a big PC nerd and got into building computers. About 6 years ago I began to get into phones and mobile, now I find myself more interested in camera tech.

I'm a tech enthusiast, but the particular tech I'm interested in changes as I age and my interests change.

 

[Morty2264]

12 years ago I was a big PC nerd and got into building computers. About 6 years ago I began to get into phones and mobile, now I find myself more interested in camera tech.

I'm a tech enthusiast, but the particular tech I'm interested in changes as I age and my interests change.

You move on to a new tech gadget every handful of years - that's awesome!

 

[Tsepz_GP]

I'm still loving the Smartphone Industry, still a hardcore enthusiast since the days of the Nokia 7650, Ngage and Sony Ericsson P800.

The times have definitely changed, and smartphones are more of the same these days, but my enthusiasm still continues.

I am a Galaxy Note man, and loving my Note8 and all it brings. I will be getting the Galaxy Note9 end of this year and surely enough the Galaxy Note10 next year.

For me, I remember a time when it was just cool to have your smartphone connect to the Internet and load a WAP Page, LOL. I may sound old but I only just turned 28 and have been using smartphones since I was 16, before that I used to play around with my parent's smartphones, and so my appreciation for today's tech is due to me remembering how it was to use my Dad's Nokia 7650, exploring the possibilities of a smartphone that could sort of be like a computer in your pocket.

I remember getting my 1st smartphone in 2006, the Nokia N80, and finally having the freedom to thoroughly explore my own smartphone, load it up with software and see how far I could take it in terms of Convergence. Thanks to websites like My-Symbian Forums, Howard Forums, iPmart, All About Symbian etc etc... there was so much to explore and learn. Handling Email on my phone, trying to load MySpace and Facebook on the Web Browser via 3G and trying WiFi for the first time, trying Google Maps, playing 3D games like Asphalt and Brothers In Arms, trying to Multitask with just 20MB RAM to play with, using ZIP Tools to open zip files that I stored @ the phone, Torrent managers, using my phone as a Mobile Hotshot with Joikuspot, using different themes to change icons (who remembers Babi's Nokia Themes???) , playing AVI movies on my phone with DivX Player, opening PDF and Excel sheets with QuickOffice etc etc... lol good times

So everytime I pick up my latest smartphone e.g. my Note8, I think of how far things have come, how my phone has 6GB RAM meaning I can run as many apps and games as I want without a hiccup of closure, a huge 6.3inch 2K display, 2 Rear Cameras with optical Zoom that are both Optically Stabilised, a 3300mah battery, can charge in less than 2hours, allows me to load ANY website at lightning speed, allows me to navigate anywhere I want and can even tell me about the traffic, allows me to use a Pen to accurately input signatures and translate anything I am reading in real-time, allows me to watch any series, movie or video in full on 4K@60fps (can even handle 4K@120FPS) , can handle 4 Email boxes, 1 of them being my work Exchange Email, along with all the Work calendar entries that get put in, cancelled, rescheduled, postponed etc etc etc... all with such simplicity, just keeps getting me excited about this industry. In the space of 12years, features that seemed like a far-fetched dream are no a reality.

If you told me I'd have a phone with all the above and it wouldn't be anything more than 8.5mm thick and could last a full day of heavy usage on a charge , back in 2006, I would have laughed at you, yet here we are. The beauty of technology, there are very few things that have evolved this quickly in human history.

 

[anon(10181084)]

Personally, even though I drool at benchmark bscores and screen/audio quality of all the latest devices, I do not like frequent upgrading of devices that do the job and perform well. Back in 2012, when I got injured and learned that I had to be in bed for 2 months, I got my first Android device (Galaxy Tab 2 7.0 WiFi) in order to keep myself entertained. Soon enough, that thing turned into a digital obsession. Even though it could do so much back then, it had a few shortcomings. I of course wasn't going to replace it after less than a year simply because of lack of Ethernet drivers. I do not have wifi at home (long story...) , which meant that it had to be taken to an internet cafe to get apps. I rooted it (my mom wasn't too happy about me doing that before the tab was a year old). Reverse tethering (my favorite Android hack of all time) unleashed me into being able to download anything I wanted at any time, by simply plugging it into a computer and running some connectivity software. BOOM! No need to spend extra cash on an Ethernet-enabled tablet, thus no upgrade! A few months later, I found that my tablet was downclocking itself to 646MHz shortly after boot, when all the installed stuff had to load. Of course, many people would trash a device at this stage. Not me! I put CyanogenMod 10.1.3 and the tab became a speed demon that could run a HUGE amount of apps without running low on RAM or slowing down. I continued to use the tab until July 2017, when I upgraded to a Tab S3. As for phones, the story is different. Back in 2016, I maxed out. (and went over) my SMS quota so much when texting my mom from school, that my father gave me his backup phone (the weak Lenovo A369i) for use with whatsapp. That phone was pretty slow and I had to put 500MB of swap memory to get around the 512MB RAM limitation that was annoying me. After a while, it just became too weak for me and my father gavee his Alcatel Idol X+. That phone was my first "truly powerful" Android device, and I used it to play many demanding games that my old devices could only dream of running. Sadly, the 3G modem got slow after a few days of running a hidden network acceleration setting, which really ruined my 2G/3G data experience... I used the phone until the issues piled up. By the time I caved in to my parents urging me all December to hunt for a new phone, the Idol X+ was on its last leg (worn down battery, occasion charging issues, five-hour charge time, laggy app menu, crazy heating during gaming, slow app opening, freezing, spontaneous reboots and app crashes etc...). I finally quit being stubborn and agreed to get a new phone. Long story short, I only replace devices when I see a need to. If a device's life can be extended for a few more months (overclocking, etc...) then I do that. Once a device is inadequate for use or unreliable, then I replace it.

 

[Coraya]

I'm still loving the Smartphone Industry, still a hardcore enthusiast since the days of the Nokia 7650, Ngage and Sony Ericsson P800.

The times have definitely changed, and smartphones are more of the same these days, but my enthusiasm still continues.

I am a Galaxy Note man, and loving my Note8 and all it brings. I will be getting the Galaxy Note9 end of this year and surely enough the Galaxy Note10 next year.

For me, I remember a time when it was just cool to have your smartphone connect to the Internet and load a WAP Page, LOL. I may sound old but I only just turned 28 and have been using smartphones since I was 16, before that I used to play around with my parent's smartphones, and so my appreciation for today's tech is due to me remembering how it was to use my Dad's Nokia 7650, exploring the possibilities of a smartphone that could sort of be like a computer in your pocket.

I remember getting my 1st smartphone in 2006, the Nokia N80, and finally having the freedom to thoroughly explore my own smartphone, load it up with software and see how far I could take it in terms of Convergence. Thanks to websites like My-Symbian Forums, Howard Forums, iPmart, All About Symbian etc etc... there was so much to explore and learn. Handling Email on my phone, trying to load MySpace and Facebook on the Web Browser via 3G and trying WiFi for the first time, trying Google Maps, playing 3D games like Asphalt and Brothers In Arms, trying to Multitask with just 20MB RAM to play with, using ZIP Tools to open zip files that I stored @ the phone, Torrent managers, using my phone as a Mobile Hotshot with Joikuspot, using different themes to change icons (who remembers Babi's Nokia Themes???) , playing AVI movies on my phone with DivX Player, opening PDF and Excel sheets with QuickOffice etc etc... lol good times

So everytime I pick up my latest smartphone e.g. my Note8, I think of how far things have come, how my phone has 6GB RAM meaning I can run as many apps and games as I want without a hiccup of closure, a huge 6.3inch 2K display, 2 Rear Cameras with optical Zoom that are both Optically Stabilised, a 3300mah battery, can charge in less than 2hours, allows me to load ANY website at lightning speed, allows me to navigate anywhere I want and can even tell me about the traffic, allows me to use a Pen to accurately input signatures and translate anything I am reading in real-time, allows me to watch any series, movie or video in full on 4K@60fps (can even handle 4K@120FPS) , can handle 4 Email boxes, 1 of them being my work Exchange Email, along with all the Work calendar entries that get put in, cancelled, rescheduled, postponed etc etc etc... all with such simplicity, just keeps getting me excited about this industry. In the space of 12years, features that seemed like a far-fetched dream are no a reality.

If you told me I'd have a phone with all the above and it wouldn't be anything more than 8.5mm thick and could last a full day of heavy usage on a charge , back in 2006, I would have laughed at you, yet here we are. The beauty of technology, there are very few things that have evolved this quickly in human history.

I also just turned 28. My first phone ever was the Nextel i730. Had to connect to the internet to send a text. I didn't have my first smartphone until I was 19 or 20. It my Blackberry 8330 that I bought for an excellent deal on eBay for $115 when they were usually selling for $150+. I got really lucky. A few days later before I went to work, I was staring out my window looking out for the mailman. They didn't show up on time so I drove around the corner, found them, showed my license and got my package. That was the beginning. But that excitement is gone now. I haven't had a different experience between smartphones since then. Lollipop to Nougat feel the same to me.

The phones are also pretty much the same. It doesn't seem like they can do much more. Foldable phones? Awesome! That'll get me curious, but is it back to the same old OS experience?

I almost want to go backwards. My Blackberry was great lol

 

[mwake4goten]

I've always been an android fella, and an audiophile. I first went with the Sony phones (Xperia Pro) as it had good sound (and a physical keyboard which I grew to love)

Then two years later I tried to upgrade but keyboard phones were being phased out and ended up with HTC one M8 which also had audiophile grade soind (and an IR blaster which I grew to love).

Then two years later I upgraded again to HTC10 but HTC stopped making phones with IR blasters but was happy with the HTC 10 as it has really great audiophile grade sound. This is my current phone. But as I approach my two year mark again I see now 3.5m jacks are being phased out... I'm all for innovation but sometimes I just think silly decisions are made regarding innovation.


Instead of getting rid of features for the sake of smaller phones why not let us have chunkier phones that would allow more features, like IR blasters, 3.5mm jacks, keyboards etc...I don't need my phone to feel like a credit card!

 

[Morty2264]

I've always been an android fella, and an audiophile. I first went with the Sony phones (Xperia Pro) as it had good sound (and a physical keyboard which I grew to love)

Then two years later I tried to upgrade but keyboard phones were being phased out and ended up with HTC one M8 which also had audiophile grade soind (and an IR blaster which I grew to love).

Then two years later I upgraded again to HTC10 but HTC stopped making phones with IR blasters but was happy with the HTC 10 as it has really great audiophile grade sound. This is my current phone. But as I approach my two year mark again I see now 3.5m jacks are being phased out... I'm all for innovation but sometimes I just think silly decisions are made regarding innovation.


Instead of getting rid of features for the sake of smaller phones why not let us have chunkier phones that would allow more features, like IR blasters, 3.5mm jacks, keyboards etc...I don't need my phone to feel like a credit card!

I definitely agree with you, especially about the headphone jack. My Honor 8 is still quite small and light-feeling; and yet it has a headphone jack... So I don't understand. Why make phones smaller or "lighter" if it means sacrificing needed features like headphone jacks?

And I agree: I love lightweight phones but I'd take one that was a little heavier if it meant it'd still have the features I wanted.

 

[Mooncatt]

Speaking of headphone jacks, would it kill case manufactures to make one where the jack cutout is more than 0.1mm bigger than the jack itself? I need to replace my 3.5mm to RCA cable in my car, or get a small extension because the jacket on the 3.5mm plug is too large to fit through a case cutout.

 

[anon(10181084)]

I've always been an android fella, and an audiophile. I first went with the Sony phones (Xperia Pro) as it had good sound (and a physical keyboard which I grew to love)

Then two years later I tried to upgrade but keyboard phones were being phased out and ended up with HTC one M8 which also had audiophile grade soind (and an IR blaster which I grew to love).

Then two years later I upgraded again to HTC10 but HTC stopped making phones with IR blasters but was happy with the HTC 10 as it has really great audiophile grade sound. This is my current phone. But as I approach my two year mark again I see now 3.5m jacks are being phased out... I'm all for innovation but sometimes I just think silly decisions are made regarding innovation.


Instead of getting rid of features for the sake of smaller phones why not let us have chunkier phones that would allow more features, like IR blasters, 3.5mm jacks, keyboards etc...I don't need my phone to feel like a credit card!

Yes! Totally agree with you! It is pretty stupid to make phones small and sacrifice features. Also, if phones are too light, they are easier to drop...

 

[Morty2264]

Speaking of headphone jacks, would it kill case manufactures to make one where the jack cutout is more than 0.1mm bigger than the jack itself? I need to replace my 3.5mm to RCA cable in my car, or get a small extension because the jacket on the 3.5mm plug is too large to fit through a case cutout.

Excellent point... I too have noticed this with some of my cases. Snug fits with phones and cables kind of freaks me out.

 

[Tsepz_GP]

I also just turned 28. My first phone ever was the Nextel i730. Had to connect to the internet to send a text. I didn't have my first smartphone until I was 19 or 20. It my Blackberry 8330 that I bought for an excellent deal on eBay for $115 when they were usually selling for $150+. I got really lucky. A few days later before I went to work, I was staring out my window looking out for the mailman. They didn't show up on time so I drove around the corner, found them, showed my license and got my package. That was the beginning. But that excitement is gone now. I haven't had a different experience between smartphones since then. Lollipop to Nougat feel the same to me.

The phones are also pretty much the same. It doesn't seem like they can do much more. Foldable phones? Awesome! That'll get me curious, but is it back to the same old OS experience?

I almost want to go backwards. My Blackberry was great lol

Lol, I often findyield watching old reviews of devices like Nokia E90, remembering how amazing those devices were at the time, they sparked something in us

 

[the_boon]

You are probably right! Who knows what manufacturers will come up with to try and set themselves apart from the competition!

All they seem to be able to come up with is slapping more lenses on a phone and a notch.

Smartphone innovation is stagnating

I can 100% relate to the OP on this matter. Nowadays every phone is a glass on glass sandwich, most with a notch, and the same repetitive cycle year after year with a slightly better CPU, RAM and cameras. The form factor is the same slab. Yawn.

I'm typing this on my KEY2, one of the only phones lately to stand apart from the all-glass trend.

 

[techblogger911]

I don't see huge advancements to be honest, the gpu goes from 200 to 300 to 600 to god knows what, same goes for the cpu and the camera. When people say tech is advancing then I don't understand what exactly they mean.

 

[PAC757]

I personally think, well my opinion anyway, that smartphone technology has come so far in the past couple of years that what else can be done to make the "next big advancement" that would be such a difference between what is being manufactured today. Also I understand costs of making higher end components and higher resolution screens are higher than what has been manufactured in the past, but, even taking inflation into consideration, phone prices seem to exceed value to cost. Especially now with almost every manufacturer putting out new phones on average ever 10 months or so. Example I bought a new Samsung Galaxy Note 8, full price from AT&T 9 months ago, it now has a resale value approximately 55% - 60% of its value after 9 months and that was before the Note 9 was announced. Without a doubt that resale value is probably already dropping as the used phone market of Note 8's will start to flood the used phone market.

 

[anon(62000)]

The next "race" is shaping up to be who can cram the most storage into a smartphone. I'm all for it.