So, many big phone makers tried to meet the smartphone transition and pulled out. It sucks.
Palm LG Nokia RIM (BB) Microsoft Amazon Obi Worldphone
I know BB still makes phones but it is no longer a dominant arm of their business.
LG is getting out of the mobile phone business
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Re: LG is getting out of the mobile phone business
#542Earlier quoted context omitted.
Outside of US, carrier bundling is rarely seen, people buy phones and carrier plans often prepaid separately.
The US is a pretty large market, plus carrier bundling is quite common in Europe too. You are usually free to choose a non-bundled phone as well, but I have no ideas what the numbers are. Within the bundled packages, my impression is that Samsung is very dominant as well among the Android phones.
China and India are the two largest smartphone markets in the world, and I am thinking in these big markets carrier bundling isn't a thing at all.
Re: LG is getting out of the mobile phone business
#543Earlier quoted context omitted.
Sony phones too seem to be quite underappreciated. The Xperia X line came with amazing built-in noise-cancellation, which only required a special purpose made $20 NC31E earphone with a 5-pole connector. The performance of this combo to my surprise was amazing! It matched WH-1000XM4 and Bose QC20 in home-office environments. Not having to carry around yet another earphone that needs charging was radical. Sadly, the wh…
Often it is not just about the products. Sony as a company has shown so many times what their perspective on customers is (installing root kits on customer devices, the whole PS3 + Linux debacle, etc.), that I try to avoid Sony products as much as I can.
This. I bought a Sony smart TV because it had much, much better picture than competition at the same price level. In the first firmware update they added SambaTV. Now it's best to just keep it disconnected.
Re: LG is getting out of the mobile phone business
#544I never understood why Samsung phones were constantly receiving praise by tech reviewers while LG got crapped on. Samsung always wanted to do things their way -- different (shitty) UI, Samsung versions of all the core Google apps (but worse), reorganizing preferences for no reason, the stupid bottom button placement, non-remappable Bixby button, aggressively killing apps for power management and breaking widgets, etc…
For the most part I like the Samsung software. At least the bits that I do use. DeX in particular is a nice option to have. I had a Pixel 2 and replaced it with an S20. I actually prefer the Samsung software over Google's customized Android. I may be the minority online but given the relative sales figures I suspect people like me may be more common than you think.
Re: LG is getting out of the mobile phone business
#545I never understood why Samsung phones were constantly receiving praise by tech reviewers while LG got crapped on. Samsung always wanted to do things their way -- different (shitty) UI, Samsung versions of all the core Google apps (but worse), reorganizing preferences for no reason, the stupid bottom button placement, non-remappable Bixby button, aggressively killing apps for power management and breaking widgets, etc…
I disagree with your take on the Samsung. While it's not perfect, it's the best (and sometimes only) option for most people who want an top end Android phone. Google sells it's phones in only a handful of countries, same with Oneplus, LG and Sony and all of them have their own compromises. So in many parts of the world, its either Samsung or a Chinese manufacturer like Xiaomi.
I find Samsung apps to be much better than their Google counterparts. Samsung Health, Internet, Calculator and Notes are examples. Besides, they fit the UI really well along with the menus and other things. And whatever annoyances you've experienced can be tweaked since the UI is highly customisable (bar none).
In terms of long-term support, Samsung also provides 3 years of upgrades and 4 years of security updates. That's the best from any company bar Apple and it extends to their midrange devices too.
Re: LG is getting out of the mobile phone business
#546I never understood why Samsung phones were constantly receiving praise by tech reviewers while LG got crapped on. Samsung always wanted to do things their way -- different (shitty) UI, Samsung versions of all the core Google apps (but worse), reorganizing preferences for no reason, the stupid bottom button placement, non-remappable Bixby button, aggressively killing apps for power management and breaking widgets, etc…
I don't like Samsung's UI compared to LG, but in terms of hardware quality I've had bad luck with LG, with two phones (LG Nexus 4, LG G3) bootlooping before they reached two years. Never had that issue with Samsung (S5, S7).
I switched to Motorola since, the UI is quite close to the Pixel and the price range is reasonable.
Re: LG is getting out of the mobile phone business
#547The mobile phone ecosystem is sick, and I don't see it getting better. The fact that there is not a third choice is maddening. Even in the worst parts of the Microsoft era we had Apple as the underdog. Apple products had issues, but Apple die-hards at least could rest easy knowing that they were buying into a company who stood for something. In the mobile space the underdog is Google; a company who sees dealing with…
> The fact that there is not a third choice is maddening.
Actually, there is: https://puri.sm/products/librem-5. It's expensive though, since it does not benefit from economies of scale and targeted ads.
Re: LG is getting out of the mobile phone business
#548Earlier quoted context omitted.
It is a legit concern of mine. I've been asked for phone recommendations from family as well, but they only focus on the main brands with a strong preference for Apple as the status symbol and Samsung as the slightly less pricey option for people who want a phone they can do a bit more with (which is to say they see Samsung as the phone I like because it isn't locked down). Even after explaining there is more to Andr…
Most non-technical people I know opt for iPhones because they know they can use them for 5-6 years with 1-2 battery swaps (that costs 30 EUR where I live). And for display quality. I keep hearing this adage of "iPhone as a status symbol" and I have legitimately never in my life seen it. Only ever saw people on the internet talking about it. An anecdotal data point for you, if it's useful.
I used my $80 Android phone for four years. (Blu R1 hd). You you paid more for battery swaps than my phone.
Re: LG is getting out of the mobile phone business
#549I never understood why Samsung phones were constantly receiving praise by tech reviewers while LG got crapped on. Samsung always wanted to do things their way -- different (shitty) UI, Samsung versions of all the core Google apps (but worse), reorganizing preferences for no reason, the stupid bottom button placement, non-remappable Bixby button, aggressively killing apps for power management and breaking widgets, etc…
Because at large people don't select their phone based on what you mention. What does matter I believe is marketing. I think most importantly is Samsung's image presence vs LG. Can't remember the last time I've seen a TV advert for LG. Or a billboard in the city center, or youtube hype from influencers, etc. While Samsung is everywhere. Second is the cool factor. LG has none while Samsung have this as a priority. Fro…
This doesn't answer OP's question. Tech reviewers have extended access to phones to see if they live up to the hype.
Re: LG is getting out of the mobile phone business
#550Earlier quoted context omitted.
Recently I wanted to try out a new launcher on my phone. I've installed 3-4 different launchers and they all had a huge privacy policy page about the large amount of data they would exfiltrate from the phone. So your experience definitely doesn't come as a surprise.
All of you complaining about trafic caused by launcers and privacy concern should just try an open source launcher from fDroid. I settled for Lawnchair2. It does it job well enough.
Thanks for the suggestion. I usually roll with the default LineageOS Trebuchet launcher. However the last time I upgraded there wasn't a large enough warning that installing the micro gapps would overwrite the Trebuchet launcher, and also make it unavailable for switching.
I'll give your suggestion a try, takes less time than reinstalling LineageOS :)