That’s not why 99% of people buy an Android phone. They buy it because it’s the only alternative to iPhones, and they start at significantly cheaper prices than iPhones.
The people that buy Android phones for their “openness” are the extreme minority.
You aren’t wrong. Only minor quibble is that a reason many of us use android is that it’s been more open. Apple treats its customers like shit, and locking their hardware and software down like android is about to move even further toward, is all part of that overall contempt apple shows for customers. I would guess that if apple didn’t lock their ecosystem so tight, Google may not have planned to make this change. They’ve probably been talking for years about how they can do it if apple gets away with it. They finally decided it was going to be worth pissing off a segment of users. Fucking assholes.
Yeah, it was cheaper and there’s a much wider selection in different styles of phones running Android than just a one single type for Apple phones.
Like the glass back panel is an absolute non-negotiable for me and that already excludes iPhones.
Other aspect is price, iPhones are usually the most expensive choice and they don’t have any features that justify that price tag in my eyes. So once again when choosing a new phone, iPhone is at the bottom of the list.
Then come all the useless additions, for me. Like an additional 5th camera lens or making it even thinner.
Single camera a decade ago was already good enough for me and phones have always been thin and light enough.
No point to upgrade those anymore.
Make phones more durable, easily repairable, longer battery life. Previously gaming performance was a good addition, but nowadays most phones are powerful enough for simple games.
Last time i chose Blackview 9000, nearly a 1cm thick and 400+ gram behemoth of a phone. Battery lasting 2 days with full daily usage. Aluminum frame and using hex screws rather than adhesive. While the operating system isn’t that open or good, mandatory ads after some update, the phone itself is solid.
I agree with you but just wanted to give you some up to date info:
iPhones aren’t the most expensive, folding phones are, though iPhones charge the most per feature/upgrade
all phones have different gimmicks, iPhones are the best at video, Pixels the best at still shots, while the xiaomi 17 ultra is the best all-around camera (seriously amazing)
cutting edge phones also have silicon carbon batteries with 7k+mah (Xiaomi 17 Ultra)
top of the line phones for the past few years can play full steam games natively today using Game Native or Game Hub (thanks to Valve funding Fex), they are far more powerful than ‘simple games’, insanely so
Agree on all repairability things and your general sentiment, I just felt you had some outdated info 😁
Completely fair, i totally forgot that the foldable phone class exists as well beyond the flagship class.
I wouldn’t really classify camera as different gimmicks as those are all just different variations of the same gimmick.
Which has been one of the most useless features most modern phones try to catch attention. Phone cameras have been good enough for almost a decade.
No point to upgrade those anymore just to jam another camera in the phone and jack up the price.
Though the improved battery life is a rather good point and welcome one. Hopefully that one gets improved more instead of another few mm of the thickness which is completely negated by trying to stuff in few more cameras with a huge bump to fit those cameras in.
Yeah i do agree with the gaming aspect as well, main reason i moved away from specific gaming oriented phones. Most phones are good enough for it nowadays.
I’d agree to disagree about the camera though, while my S7 took great photos at the time, my Pixel 7 takes much much better photos, I wouldn’t want to switch back, the S7 wouldn’t keep up today.
Same with, and especially with video, after taking videos on my sisters iPhone on a recent Canada trip, the difference is unmistakable, almost enough to consider a purchase (although I bought a DJI Pocket 3 instead for videos now)…
I find if you’re looking to capture the moment well, ‘good enough from ten years ago’ doesn’t cut it. If you only need your camera for scanning qr codes then that’s one thing, but if you want great pictures or videos of a holiday or event the camera upgrades really make a difference. Not year on year mind you, but between upgrades its significant.
The jam in another useless camera gimmick was annoying but that fad is mostly over now.
Honestly thicker phones with silicon carbide batteries could have tablet levels of capacity, that would be amazing, they seem to use it for unnecessary thinness at the moment though.
Completely fair. I do lean towards the extreme end of barely taking any pictures. Usually a handful per year, mostly to convey some basic information and my previous Red magic 3 from 2019 was already beyond good enough for it. Some even older Huawei laying in my cupboard was already good enough for my needs.
Though yeah fair, as many people still consider it a useful feature it should be one of many different options, just not the main sales pitch for majority of the phone brands.
That’s not why 99% of people buy an Android phone. They buy it because it’s the only alternative to iPhones, and they start at significantly cheaper prices than iPhones.
The people that buy Android phones for their “openness” are the extreme minority.
The fact that android wasn’t closed like apple’s ecosystem was the exact reason I rejected apple for android.
You aren’t wrong. Only minor quibble is that a reason many of us use android is that it’s been more open. Apple treats its customers like shit, and locking their hardware and software down like android is about to move even further toward, is all part of that overall contempt apple shows for customers. I would guess that if apple didn’t lock their ecosystem so tight, Google may not have planned to make this change. They’ve probably been talking for years about how they can do it if apple gets away with it. They finally decided it was going to be worth pissing off a segment of users. Fucking assholes.
Yeah, it was cheaper and there’s a much wider selection in different styles of phones running Android than just a one single type for Apple phones.
Like the glass back panel is an absolute non-negotiable for me and that already excludes iPhones.
Other aspect is price, iPhones are usually the most expensive choice and they don’t have any features that justify that price tag in my eyes. So once again when choosing a new phone, iPhone is at the bottom of the list.
Then come all the useless additions, for me. Like an additional 5th camera lens or making it even thinner.
Single camera a decade ago was already good enough for me and phones have always been thin and light enough. No point to upgrade those anymore.
Make phones more durable, easily repairable, longer battery life. Previously gaming performance was a good addition, but nowadays most phones are powerful enough for simple games.
Last time i chose Blackview 9000, nearly a 1cm thick and 400+ gram behemoth of a phone. Battery lasting 2 days with full daily usage. Aluminum frame and using hex screws rather than adhesive. While the operating system isn’t that open or good, mandatory ads after some update, the phone itself is solid.
I agree with you but just wanted to give you some up to date info:
Agree on all repairability things and your general sentiment, I just felt you had some outdated info 😁
Completely fair, i totally forgot that the foldable phone class exists as well beyond the flagship class.
I wouldn’t really classify camera as different gimmicks as those are all just different variations of the same gimmick. Which has been one of the most useless features most modern phones try to catch attention. Phone cameras have been good enough for almost a decade.
No point to upgrade those anymore just to jam another camera in the phone and jack up the price.
Though the improved battery life is a rather good point and welcome one. Hopefully that one gets improved more instead of another few mm of the thickness which is completely negated by trying to stuff in few more cameras with a huge bump to fit those cameras in.
Yeah i do agree with the gaming aspect as well, main reason i moved away from specific gaming oriented phones. Most phones are good enough for it nowadays.
Aye fair
I’d agree to disagree about the camera though, while my S7 took great photos at the time, my Pixel 7 takes much much better photos, I wouldn’t want to switch back, the S7 wouldn’t keep up today.
Same with, and especially with video, after taking videos on my sisters iPhone on a recent Canada trip, the difference is unmistakable, almost enough to consider a purchase (although I bought a DJI Pocket 3 instead for videos now)…
I find if you’re looking to capture the moment well, ‘good enough from ten years ago’ doesn’t cut it. If you only need your camera for scanning qr codes then that’s one thing, but if you want great pictures or videos of a holiday or event the camera upgrades really make a difference. Not year on year mind you, but between upgrades its significant.
The jam in another useless camera gimmick was annoying but that fad is mostly over now.
Honestly thicker phones with silicon carbide batteries could have tablet levels of capacity, that would be amazing, they seem to use it for unnecessary thinness at the moment though.
Completely fair. I do lean towards the extreme end of barely taking any pictures. Usually a handful per year, mostly to convey some basic information and my previous Red magic 3 from 2019 was already beyond good enough for it. Some even older Huawei laying in my cupboard was already good enough for my needs.
Though yeah fair, as many people still consider it a useful feature it should be one of many different options, just not the main sales pitch for majority of the phone brands.