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Xiaomi unveils concept phone with near bezel-less display

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Re: Xiaomi unveils concept phone with near bezel-less display

#161

Post by izacus »

khedoros1 wrote: post #149
izacus wrote: post #140

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yep, my Xperia Z5compact is the only device I've found that comes close, but even this one has some frustratingly annoying software bugs, camera issues and lack of updates :/

I said in another comment that I'm looking at an XC. Z3C is older than I want to go, and the common opinion about the Z5C seems to be that it was 2 steps forward and 1.5 backward. I'm encouraged by a lot of the community's work on Sony phones, and how Sony seems to embrace unlockable bootloaders. It gives me hope that I could provide support for my phone even after Sony abandons it.

Sadly, due to late and lacking sales of Z5c in USA, the modding community is pretty dead. Also bootloader unlock breaks camera due to DRM so that's out :/

Re: Xiaomi unveils concept phone with near bezel-less display

#162

Post by khedoros1 »

tdkl wrote: post #155
khedoros1 wrote: post #149

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I said in another comment that I'm looking at an XC. Z3C is older than I want to go, and the common opinion about the Z5C seems to be that it was 2 steps forward and 1.5 backward. I'm encouraged by a lot of the community's work on Sony phones, and how Sony seems to embrace unlockable bootloaders. It gives me hope that I could provide support for my phone even after Sony abandons it.

Unlocking the bootloader means loosing the DRM keys forever which results in worse camera. Also binaries are the issue for custom ROM support - as usual for Android.

You're preaching to the choir. If I had a better option, I'd go for it, but I really want a phone with a screen smaller than 5" to be the next one I buy. A few years ago, I went from a Galaxy Nexus (4.65") to a Nexus 5 (4.95", and sharp edges), and the thing I wanted most at the time was the internals from the new phone in the chassis of the old one.

These look like my options:

- Go for the comfortable-sized Sony and eventually degrade the phone to keep up with security updates.

- Go for the Sony and eventually take the chance that someone exploits an unpatched security hole.

- Go for something like an S7 or Pixel that are a few mm larger than the Nexus 5, paying more for a device with worse size but (hopefully) better support.

I'm in a tiny minority, interested in an increasingly-niche category of hardware.

Re: Xiaomi unveils concept phone with near bezel-less display

#163

Post by geofft »

justinhj wrote: post #60
LeifCarrotson wrote: post #48

Things I don't particularly care about in a phone: - Bezel size - Weight - Thickness - Manufacturer-specific apps and skins - Screen resolution beyond that of my eyes - Fastest possible processor Things I care about in a phone: - Ability to make calls - Battery life - Replaceable battery - Fits in my pocket - Expandable storage - Durable - Decent camera - Inexpensive - Gets security updates And what do the latest pho…

Sounds like you'd be fine with a flip phone from 10 years ago and a small high quality camera. You don't seem to be the target audience for the latest smartphones.

I ran with a flip phone for a while. I found the following downsides:

- No built-in mobile hotspot functionality, and no 4G/LTE

- No ability to use messaging systems other than SMS (Google Hangouts, Slack, etc.) except for maybe a few whitelisted ones

- No mobile maps

None of these would have been a dealbreaker 10 years ago, since no phones supported mobile hotspots or 4G or LTE, people either used SMS or some IM system that your phone did support (e.g., AIM - although AIM also had a pretty good SMS bridge, back in the day), and nobody expected you to have maps on your phone. Today all of those expectations are different.

Re: Xiaomi unveils concept phone with near bezel-less display

#164

Post by geofft »

GFischer wrote: post #118
Leynos wrote: post #97

Earlier quoted context omitted.

About 4 years ago, Sony Ericsson made an Android 2.3 phone called the Xperia Ray. It had a 3.7" 960x480 screen. I used it for 2 years (and again for another year after I broke the Huawei P6 I replaced it with). By the end of that time, it was really past its useable life. Not on account of build quality, battery life, or screen realestate. In all those respects it was fantastic, and still perfectly functional as a fe…

Quite a lot of people have asked me about a small but powerful Android phone, and there are none! It's incredible, but all companies go in the same direction. In the very few instances when they do innovate, they go in really odd directions (curve displays, in-built projectors), but they don't address basic stuff like size or physical keyboard.

I switched to iOS for this reason - the iPhone 5/SE form factor is smaller than every Android currently on the market (and running a relatively recent version of Android).

My SE is 124 mm x 57 mm x 7.6 mm. My previous phone, a Moto E, was 125 mm x 65 mm x 12.3 mm. The Xperia X Compact mentioned in another comment is 129 mm x 65 mm x 9.5 mm.

Re: Xiaomi unveils concept phone with near bezel-less display

#165

Post by khedoros1 »

izacus wrote: post #161
khedoros1 wrote: post #149

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I said in another comment that I'm looking at an XC. Z3C is older than I want to go, and the common opinion about the Z5C seems to be that it was 2 steps forward and 1.5 backward. I'm encouraged by a lot of the community's work on Sony phones, and how Sony seems to embrace unlockable bootloaders. It gives me hope that I could provide support for my phone even after Sony abandons it.

Sadly, due to late and lacking sales of Z5c in USA, the modding community is pretty dead. Also bootloader unlock breaks camera due to DRM so that's out :/

Yeah...I saw that they didn't have an official Cyanogenmod for it, while the Z3c does. I'll admit that my impressions of the Sony modding community probably date mostly from the Z3 era.

It seems like the camera just loses some low-light noise reduction functionality, right?

Re: Xiaomi unveils concept phone with near bezel-less display

#166

Post by geofft »

aembleton wrote: post #53
LeifCarrotson wrote: post #48

Things I don't particularly care about in a phone: - Bezel size - Weight - Thickness - Manufacturer-specific apps and skins - Screen resolution beyond that of my eyes - Fastest possible processor Things I care about in a phone: - Ability to make calls - Battery life - Replaceable battery - Fits in my pocket - Expandable storage - Durable - Decent camera - Inexpensive - Gets security updates And what do the latest pho…

With Android there is such a huge choice of different phones that you can find one close to the one you'd like. Many people would like a thin high resolution display and don't care about many of the things you care about. They can buy different phones to you. Personally, I agree with your requirements and as a result have settled for the 2GB version of the Moto G (3rd gen) http://www.gsmarena.com/motorola_moto_g_(3rd…

> With Android there is such a huge choice of different phones that you can find one close to the one you'd like.

Except that that variety seems to be disappearing. The smallest Androids on the market are larger than the iPhone 5 / SE. The only Android currently on the market with a keyboard is the BlackBerry Priv, which is pretty high-end (and awkwardly sized). There are very few phones with removable batteries. And so forth.

Re: Xiaomi unveils concept phone with near bezel-less display

#167

Post by tdkl »

khedoros1 wrote: post #162
tdkl wrote: post #155

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Unlocking the bootloader means loosing the DRM keys forever which results in worse camera. Also binaries are the issue for custom ROM support - as usual for Android.

You're preaching to the choir. If I had a better option, I'd go for it, but I really want a phone with a screen smaller than 5" to be the next one I buy. A few years ago, I went from a Galaxy Nexus (4.65") to a Nexus 5 (4.95", and sharp edges), and the thing I wanted most at the time was the internals from the new phone in the chassis of the old one. These look like my options: - Go for the comfortable-sized Sony and…

Yeah, I really liked the Z3C too as it was the only Android phone that wasn't big and I came from iPhone 5S. Now I bit the bullet, sold the Z3C and ordered a Xiaomi 3S (unlockable, supported monthly with security releases), so 5" phone again it is.

Too bad the SE didn't spark any competition in this area.

Re: Xiaomi unveils concept phone with near bezel-less display

#168

Post by geofft »

evo_9 wrote: post #75
LeifCarrotson wrote: post #48

Things I don't particularly care about in a phone: - Bezel size - Weight - Thickness - Manufacturer-specific apps and skins - Screen resolution beyond that of my eyes - Fastest possible processor Things I care about in a phone: - Ability to make calls - Battery life - Replaceable battery - Fits in my pocket - Expandable storage - Durable - Decent camera - Inexpensive - Gets security updates And what do the latest pho…

Your personal needs are vastly different from the actual market; otherwise what you desire would be more aligned with what manufacturers are making. It's easy to think manufacturers ignore what the market wants but this is rarely the case. The phones being offered are more or less what people are asking for.

Kind of. Manufacturers make what the market wants, weighted by price. It's harder to justify a high margin on a smaller phone. A phone without a replaceable battery, or one that gets damaged more easily, brings in revenue.

Re: Xiaomi unveils concept phone with near bezel-less display

#169

Post by slacka »

As long as the touch sensor is extents past the display, the bezel can be a very useful feature for touch-screen based devices. Having swipes that begin off screen for OS-level commands like pulling down the notification bar or switching apps is a very intuitive and logical gesture. Without a bezel, you have to go back to needing off-screen buttons for these actions.

Re: Xiaomi unveils concept phone with near bezel-less display

#170

Post by Laforet »

mey wrote: post #146
pjmlp wrote: post #66

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Google is no better for their own phones with their 2 year update window. And good luck if a manufacturer decides to breach contract, e.g. TI, they won't enforce the updates.

This honestly in general has me leery of Android as an ecosystem in general. I also don't like iOS's approach in other realms either. So it's essentially stuck between a rock and a hard place.

In general avoid obscure models, more popular hardware generally have much better community support and development. Having an unlockable bootloader is a bonus but not essential in all cases.
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