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Nokia launches DIY repairable budget Android phone

theguardian.com

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Re: Nokia launches DIY repairable budget Android phone

#821

Post by paulmd »

noisem4ker wrote: post #815
paulmd wrote: post #459

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes, EU needs to step in and deal with the software lifespan problems on Android just as they have with ports and repairability on Apple. It is obvious that this is a market failure leading to negative social outcomes (e-waste) and phone vendors clearly are not going to deal with it on their own. This really should be from date-of-purchase and not date-of-launch as well. Otherwise you're leaving refurbished phones ou…

Work in progress. "EU wants to enforce 5 years of security and 3 years of OS updates for all phones" https://www.androidauthority.com/eu-smartphone-updates-rules...

That actually makes me really happy to hear tbh. Unpopular take but the support story scared me away from android for my second smartphone (and I buy for 5+ years), it just was a real mess with my cheapo Moto G Falcon, say what you want about iOS lockdowns (as a nerd/dev I think there are logical ideas there taken to sometimes-unpopular conclusions around eg app sandboxing, app store root-of-trust freedom vs permissioning social enforceability, etc) but $50 for a battery replacement plus a couple otterbox cases for 5+ years of ownership (with my 8+) has been a very reasonable overall package.

I don't mind "bundling" service into the initial purchase if that guarantees it'll be there and I also get a premium phone with walk-in service with first-party repair staff and parts (not at+t store or w/e either) etc. I've shifted to (lower-end/refurb) apple devices for a few things and I know the TCO involved and I find it favorable overall given the expected longevity and service levels and device quality.

But there needs to be more than one "gets 5+ years of solid support" option on the market so that shitty point A doesn't lead to a lock-in on shitty point B. At the end of the day competition is what keeps the ecosystems relatively honest and having options if Apple does a dick move is always welcome too.

Re: Nokia launches DIY repairable budget Android phone

#822

Post by rejectfinite »

astrange wrote: post #727
toastal wrote: post #657

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Headphone jack and OLED display are my only two musts on a new smart phone. Wireless earbuds are scam solution by the problem created by removing the jack. But I really can't go back to IPS on any display in my life where the experience and color matter.

Wired earbuds are obnoxious for phone use cases because the cables get tangled up and cause telephonics - that's when walking/running/touching the cable causes it to send unintended sound into your ears. For desktop use cases they have the problem that you have to take them off to get up.

But wireless sucks too. Would rather user high quality cabled headphones. No batterylife to care about, better audio.

Re: Nokia launches DIY repairable budget Android phone

#823

Post by Al-Khwarizmi »

gbear605 wrote: post #817
wartijn_ wrote: post #793

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There is a huge gab between high and low and devices. Some manufacturers will want to sell - and many consumers will buy- a few models that are more expensive than $150 but less than $1000.

Maybe I’m missing the hyperbole, but almost all iPhones and Google Pixels fit into that gap. The base iPhone 14 is $799, the iPhone SE is $429, and there are older model iPhones in between. Even the base iPhone 14 Pro is $999, technically in the range. A Pixel 7 is $599, a Pixel 7 Pro is $899, and a Pixel 6a is $449. There’s perhaps a gap in the $150-$400 range, but used phones can definitely be found there, and I wo…

I don't know if the US market is very different, but in Spain I'd say like 80% of the phones people buy fit into that gap...

Below $150 you only have the cheapest models by brands like Xiaomi, and over $1000 you only have the flagships.

There are plenty of models in the middle, not only Pixels but also a plethora of offerings from Oppo, Samsung, Xiaomi, Vivo, Honor, Poco, etc. Name any [X,X+100] interval in that range and there are phones of that price. Last week I went with my mother to buy one for her, she settled for the Oppo Reno 8 (about $500) but there was the Lite version at about $100 less, the Pro version at about $100 more, and then other lineups from the same brand (Find X5 in Lite/normal/Pro versions, etc., and many, many others we didn't even look at); and that's within a single brand.

So your parent comment doesn't make much sense to me even if it's hyperbolic. Maybe the available offer is really different in the US, here there are definitely plenty of models of all prices. A different story is that all brands tend to make the same decisions and follow trends (e.g. ditch the headphone jack, make screens larger, etc.) so everything is sameish and even if there are hundreds of models to choose from, it's possible to not find a model that fits one's needs. I myself imported my phone (Pixel 6 Pro) from Australia because no brands other than Apple or Samsung seem to sell 512 GB storage models here...

Re: Nokia launches DIY repairable budget Android phone

#825

Post by philistine »

_trackno5 wrote: post #816
noisy_boy wrote: post #751

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They basically need four models to pretty much cover all the bases: 1. Budget: - Basic processor/camera/space with 6 inch screen - Basic processor/camera/space with 4.5 inch screen 2. Flagship - High-end processor/camera/space with 6 inch screen - High-end processor/camera/space with 4.5 inch screen

While I enjoy smaller phones, it makes no sense to have high end smaller phones. It doesn’t sell. Just look at Apple’s sales and their cancellation of the mini. I’d love it to be the opposite so I didn’t have to hold on to my iphone 12 mini, but it’s just how things are. Most people don’t like smaller phones and would be a waste of resources to make high end ones.

We've been seeing reports for a while that the iPhone 14 Plus is selling softly. It might not be the mini's fault; perhaps Apple simply cannot get four models to sell like it wants to.

Re: Nokia launches DIY repairable budget Android phone

#826

Post by Sammi »

grishka wrote: post #704
dataflow wrote: post #685

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> while offering just three years of security updates, after which you basically have to throw the thing away Nope, you don't. It's just that somehow techies seem to have gotten this meme into their heads that an unpatched life isn't worth living. Can't update my phone within 1 microsecond of a patch being released? I guess I might as well just die. Much safer than risking the > The repairability sounds nice, but it…

I build Android apps for a living. Let me tell you, the majority of users are on "outdated" OS versions. You have to support 5-7 years of Android releases to cover a substantial part of the Android user base. The app I'm currently working on requires a minimum version of 6.0 — this came out in 2015. I still test my apps on a Nexus 5. Many people would buy a phone that will never receive a single update. The software…

Tell your management that usage of v6.0 is as good as gone, and you are wasting resources in doing any work to keep support for it: https://gs.statcounter.com/android-version-market-share/mobi...

I you look at that data then you can see that the oldest version with any significant usage is v8.1. But even that is quite low, and you might do quite well in not supporting anything older than v9.0.

Re: Nokia launches DIY repairable budget Android phone

#827

Post by chagaif »

rokweom wrote: post #799

My 100$ phone from 2017 - Xiaomi Redmi 4X - had the same level of repairability: just unclip the back cover and you have access to internals. Replacing the battery was a matter of unscrewing the battery connector. How exactly is this new?

It's the marketing, people don't know they can fix it, now they know. The guide will help, you would still have the guarantee when it you replace parts. But the main thing is awareness

Re: Nokia launches DIY repairable budget Android phone

#828

Post by ClumsyPilot »

cptskippy wrote: post #662
doubled112 wrote: post #618

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I laughed out loud when the Ryzen 7 1700X (8c/16t @ 3.4GHz) in my main desktop didn't meet the minimum system requirements. It's just 5 years old now, and I have a funny feeling it'll be more than powerful enough for a while yet.

I was in the same boat with the base 1700. It likely just needs a TPM module. My ASRock Fatality (sp) motherboard had a port for a module. https://www.tomshardware.com/news/where-to-buy-tpm-2.0-for-w... Win11's line in the sand requirements aren't nearly as "bad" as Vista/XP/ME in terms of disruption. Honestly I wish they'd gone a step further and required ECC support.

> was in the same boat with the base 1700. It likely just needs a TPM module.

Oh dear, why is Microsoft upgrade assistant and documentation so misleading? I just got a new CPU!

Re: Nokia launches DIY repairable budget Android phone

#829

Post by ClumsyPilot »

t43562 wrote: post #767
ryandrake wrote: post #593

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You are absolutely right and it is shameful what consumers simply accept for software support periods! I try to buy things that I hope/expect to work for 10, maybe 20 years. Appliances, cars, tvs, and electronics including phones. Yet software support for all these things lasts a mere 3-5 years if that. I have an iPad1 original that still works great! But software support ended a year after I bought it—over a decade…

The companies just do what people want - new phones, more capabilities. People will pay up for new physical gadget but not support, so the money is only coming from making new models. The number of old models gets bigger all the time but the number of people updating the software cannot because they have to be paid for by the sales of the new models.

> People will pay up for new physical gadget but not support

I have a windows license I paid for like 10 years ago, I upgraded windows 7 to 8 to 10 and now to 11 for free.

Re: Nokia launches DIY repairable budget Android phone

#830

Post by lolinder »

jorvi wrote: post #697
lolinder wrote: post #465

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Screens yes, battery no. Or at least changing batteries used to be mainstream. Anyone born before the year 2000 should not be at all intimidated by changing a battery. I can't speak for Gen Z, it's possible they've lost that skill.

Replacing the battery used to be just popping off the back cover, sliding out the battery then sliding in a new one. These days it’s a perilous task that requires multiple spudgers and picks, a screen heater, finger acrobatics to make sure you don’t slash or rip any fragile cables, and then you have to wrestle the battery from its adhesive coffin.

Right, but Nokia supposedly fixed that with this phone.
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