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US smartphone shipments fall sharply, but Android more than iPhone

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Re: US smartphone shipments fall sharply, but Android more than iPhone

#461

Post by saltcured »

6581 wrote: post #201
mydriasis wrote: post #43

Earlier quoted context omitted.

... This is a _fascinating_ idea. I have a Pixel 4a right now, can I install this stuff on there and just switch to a dumb phone entirely for... phone purposes? It looks [0] like this shouldn't be too tough... [0] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PgNWaORMM9I

>I have a Pixel 4a right now, can I install this stuff on there GrapheneOS is available for the 4a.

To be clear, there is no need to replace the stock firmware unless you are taking a hard ideological stance. You can install F-Droid on most any Android phone, then install OSMAnd+ from F-Droid over WiFi, download some maps, and then turn off the networks to use it offline as a GPS-only device.

Replacing the firmware with something de-googled would make it more certain that don't login with a Google account during initial phone setup nor send any telemetry during that period before you go offline, or if you go back online eventually for map updates etc.

Also, if you're going to use it offline as just a "GPS tool", you might not care about other issues like getting firmware updates. It won't be subject to attack if you're offline and not browsing the internet...

Re: US smartphone shipments fall sharply, but Android more than iPhone

#462

Post by Etheryte »

cjsplat wrote: post #449
GeekyBear wrote: post #252

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Android isn't _that_ bad From a support after the sale perspective? Yes it is. The $399 2016 iPhone SE is still getting security updates today. The original Google Pixel is also from 2016 but stopped getting any sort of updates at the end of 2019. If you want a basic phone that will be supported as long as possible after the sale, the support length per dollar spent proposition of the SE models is pretty unbeatable…

That 2016 phone couldn't be protected from Spectre family attacks without a ridiculous performance penalty. What is the point in "security updates" for a CPU that can't be made secure?

This misses the point completely. Regular security issues happen often, in 2023 alone we've already had 809 CVEs in Android [0]. Saying we should overlook addressing those because sometimes a CPU level security issue comes along is absurd. Spectre and other similar families of attacks are comparatively rare enough that they have names not numbers, that should say enough.

[0] https://www.cvedetails.com/vulnerability-list/vendor_id-1224...

Re: US smartphone shipments fall sharply, but Android more than iPhone

#463

Post by sportslife »

lockhouse wrote: post #259
hospitalJail wrote: post #256

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Samsung is the Apple of android. Big marketing budget, mid performance at best.

What’s mid performance about an iPhone?

The cameras: once you take a 10x zoom on a trip, it's hard to imagine not having.

Re: US smartphone shipments fall sharply, but Android more than iPhone

#464

Post by alibert »

OO000oo wrote: post #306
tyfon wrote: post #258

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I kind of went the other way, I have had androids since 2010ish, then tried an iphone at the beginning of corona since my old sony phone couldn't run teams properly. Had it for 2 years and hated it so much I went back to android. I couldn't even install a separate browser like firefox that was not just a skin and the ad-block on safari drove me crazy. It only prevented items from being displayed but not the network r…

Yeah, I don't see how Apple can claim to prioritize privacy when they won't even allow real ad blocking.

Ads blocking on Safari browser is complete since iOS 15 when Apple allowed custom extensions to be added to the browser.

Nowadays, ads blocker use a mix of Content blockers rules (1) and an Safari extension (2) to block ads.

[1] https://developer.apple.com/documentation/safariservices/cre...

[2] https://developer.apple.com/documentation/safariservices/saf...

Re: US smartphone shipments fall sharply, but Android more than iPhone

#465

Post by delecti »

ghaff wrote: post #390
barbecue_sauce wrote: post #377

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Nike is high status?

Probably to at least some degree among kids. No one else cares. Just like no one else cares about green bubbles vs. blue bubbles. But some people feel a need to convince themselves that no one would buy an Apple product for any reason but status.

Certainly not every Apple user cares about the status of it, but certainly far more users that care about the status of their devices are Apple users.

Re: US smartphone shipments fall sharply, but Android more than iPhone

#466

Post by Loveaway »

zh3 wrote: post #316
lolinder wrote: post #278

The link should really be to the original report [0]. This 55% is iPhone's share of phone shipments in Q2, not the number of users of the respective phones at any given time. In other words, fewer people are buying smartphones than were before, but Apple saw less of a hit to their numbers than everyone else did. Contrary to existing comments here, this stat doesn't appear to indicate that people are switching from An…

I'm constantly amazed by how people spend so much of their income on Apple products; it's almost like their lives are ruled by the status they feel an iPhone brings (and the consequential sacrificial purchasing). It likely varies by area and average income, here it's almost an inverse correlation - the less-well off kids at school tend to have parents on iPhones and the comfortable parents are on whatever works for t…

No mate, people value themselves and get the best thing they can have. Smartphones are so essential now and used 24/7, don't cheap out on it. You don't cheap out on food either. Nothing to do with status. Not all about Apple either, there are nice premium Android phones as well. What are you doing, saving for a golden tombstone?

Re: US smartphone shipments fall sharply, but Android more than iPhone

#467

Post by catiopatio »

lynndotpy wrote: post #391
sb057 wrote: post #223

I'm part of this statistic. I've been an Android user my entire adult life, but it really has been a constant downward spiral over these past several years. My previous three phones from LG, Motorola, and Xiaomi all had major software bugs that were never fixed, the biggest being just incredibly poor network connectivity (across multiple carriers, mind you) resulting in at least several calls just not connecting to m…

I'm part of this statistic too, in a different way. Android worked perfectly for me, but the OS was increasingly dumbed down and Androids consistently threw out features I loved. (Headphone jack, expandable storage, full rectangular screens). Androids threw away their market differentiation just to become bad iPhone clones. When I found myself needing a new phone, I had little reason not to consider an iPhone. I boug…

When the choice is between Apple and Google, why do you resent giving money to Apple?

Re: US smartphone shipments fall sharply, but Android more than iPhone

#468

Post by saltcured »

wcoenen wrote: post #104
tomjen3 wrote: post #92

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Its annoying as hell, because iMessage isn't really useful when most of the people I write to don't have an iPhone. 100% I blame Google though, they need to get their ass together and make their own. It needs to work with everbody who already have a google account and they need to commit to it for 10 year minimum. Then it is reasonable for Apple to create a system so they can talk together.

> It needs to work with everbody who already have a google account and they need to commit to it for 10 year minimum This already exists. 10 years ago, Google Hangouts was separated from Google+. It is currently accessible through the Gmail web interface, Gmail app, and "Chat" app. https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.google.and...

Crazily, they also have something that looks just like it inside the either the Docs or Drive app, but it doesn't have the same chat history as the one under GMail!

I dismissed a notification with photos from my wife and then had a hard time figuring out where that conversation was, because it seemed like it would be chat but wasn't.

Re: US smartphone shipments fall sharply, but Android more than iPhone

#469

Post by zh3 »

Aerroon wrote: post #413
TylerE wrote: post #353

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You’re amazed that people pay a premium price for very premium products that they interact with constantly? Do you also question why people buy quality shoes or mattresses?

> Do you also question why people buy quality shoes or mattresses? I do. I am 99% convinced that the majority of first world people waste way too much money on shoes that aren't any better or worse than cheaper options. Shoes don't really get all that much better than they were previously, but somehow they always change and the cost always goes up.

Agreed - a lot of so-called quality shoes aren't and as for the mattress wars...

It's pretty frustraing, because even stuff that used to be dependable quality seems to get outcompeted by people buying stuff they replace (or would like to, if they could afford the monthly payments) as soon as the next model comes out. And so, the reliable, dependable company slumps (i.e. company making shoes that last for years), is bought-out by a hedge fund, quality goes to hell as they feed off its reputation.

So many people people say they want to buy quality, actually they want to buy is status (Rolex, Apple, Burberry, ...).

Re: US smartphone shipments fall sharply, but Android more than iPhone

#470

Post by acchow »

zh3 wrote: post #316
lolinder wrote: post #278

The link should really be to the original report [0]. This 55% is iPhone's share of phone shipments in Q2, not the number of users of the respective phones at any given time. In other words, fewer people are buying smartphones than were before, but Apple saw less of a hit to their numbers than everyone else did. Contrary to existing comments here, this stat doesn't appear to indicate that people are switching from An…

I'm constantly amazed by how people spend so much of their income on Apple products; it's almost like their lives are ruled by the status they feel an iPhone brings (and the consequential sacrificial purchasing). It likely varies by area and average income, here it's almost an inverse correlation - the less-well off kids at school tend to have parents on iPhones and the comfortable parents are on whatever works for t…

It is not the status.

Americans love to consume. They think their consumption brings them happiness. One of their most delightful purchases is a new phone.

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