US smartphone shipments fall sharply, but Android more than iPhone • Hacker News Board

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

#511

Post by phpisthebest » Fri, Jul 28, 2023, 9:57 PM UTC

kube-system wrote: post #433

phpisthebest wrote: post #418

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>>lack of OEM support what does this even mean in this context? >bloatware, OEM specific UIs The problem here is calling in "ecosystem of Android", it is mainly Andriod vs Samsung. You are either in the Samsung Ecosystem (i.e Samsung UI) or in the Andriod world, Most of the other vendors, the few there are, run close to stock Andriod these days. Then of-course there is Pixel's Pure Android. Not really all that confus…

> >>lack of OEM support > what does this even mean in this context? The OEM doesn't have a store in the mall that will help an elderly family member with it. The OEM stops publishing updates after the phone leaves the shelf. etc. > Most of the other vendors, the few there are, run close to stock Andriod these days. Which is a gigantic pain in the butt when you're trying to talk your mother through the settings menu o…

>>Phones are mass market devices that children, elderly, disabled, and uneducated people use.

I really really despise this narrative in modern society where by everyone must lower their standards, expectations, or limit themselves so we can cater to the lowest common denominator of society.

This is like saying we need to limit the speed on highways to 20 because some people can not figure out how to drive at 70...

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

#512

Post by TylerE » Fri, Jul 28, 2023, 9:57 PM UTC

Aerroon wrote: post #482

TylerE wrote: post #416

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Shoes haven't changed? Do you wear nothing but Chuck Taylors? As someone with a multitude of foot issues, my options have exploded in the last couple decades.

I haven't found any shoes that address my foot issues. Even if I did I'm sure they would cost 5x the price of regular shoes and would provide almost no improvement. Are there some kind of objective metrics on how modern shoes are better than shoes from 10 years ago? Are they objectively more durable? Is the shape somehow better for your feet? Because I haven't felt any of it. For me it's just like other clothing: cha…

Get some diabetic shoes with custom made orthotics. Will probably cost about $200. Will be life changing. Like walking on a pillow. It's about 3x the thickness of a normal insole, amd will be custom modeled to get weight off of whatever you need releived.

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

#513

Post by opan » Fri, Jul 28, 2023, 9:59 PM UTC

hn_throwaway_99 wrote: post #443

JohnFen wrote: post #402

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> expect to use it for 5+ years. I seriously doubt that there are any Androids out there that could get even close to that. Every Android phone I've had has lasted that long or longer. If I got less than 5 years out of any smartphone, I'd consider it faulty.

You must have gone without security or other OS updates then, which I would consider a deal breaker with a phone. Google only recently extended the Pixel OS support timeline to be on par with Android.

If you only buy devices with LineageOS support, you can continue to get updates for a very long time. I would not want to be at the mercy of the manufacturer for the software.

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

#514

Post by TheCleric » Fri, Jul 28, 2023, 9:59 PM UTC

meroes wrote: post #487

zh3 wrote: post #316

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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…

I’ve switched back and forth. Just had worse experience overall on android. Maybe I’ll try them in another few years. For a low budget I went through 3 androids and settled on a used iPhone which was waaay more stable.

Yeah I tend to switch back and forth just about every cycle. Currently on Pixel 6. May swap to iPhone after September.

When I'm on iPhone I miss the customizability of Android. When I'm on Android I miss the ease of use of the iPhone. Which is probably oxymoronic. Lol

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

#515

Post by rappr » Fri, Jul 28, 2023, 10:02 PM UTC

sofixa wrote: post #414

goosedragons wrote: post #372

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Don't have to go back that far. iPhone 14 Pro is the first iPhone with always on display. Although I guess Android wasn't first with that either.

Ah true, I remember colleagues being in awe of it, me checking what the hell they're talking about, and being surprised this is a new feature.

[dead]

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

#516

Post by sangnoir » Fri, Jul 28, 2023, 10:03 PM UTC

Loveaway wrote: post #466

zh3 wrote: post #316

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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?

> No mate, people value themselves and get the best thing they can have.

Not everyone is this embedded in consumerism. Most of us have our proclivities & things we are biased towards (clothing, cars, travel, house, hobbies), but most people don't splurge on everything.

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

#517

Post by petsfed » Fri, Jul 28, 2023, 10:03 PM UTC

starttoaster wrote: post #497

zh3 wrote: post #316

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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…

> and the comfortable parents are on whatever works for them So, not necessarily Androids, but whatever they happen to choose? I'm not sure what we're observing, that people just use whatever phone they prefer? Honestly, iPhones aren't a heck of a lot more expensive than a flagship Pixel phone, especially not for a multi-year tech investment. The "iPhones are expensive" propaganda is underinformed. Apple computers on…

>The "iPhones are expensive" propaganda is underinformed. Apple computers on the other hand are way more expensive than the equivalent hardware in the PC ecosystem, however they also hold their value quite well for resale whereas I've found it quite difficult to offload old gaming PCs in the past.

I think you're perceiving the same thing in both cases, but interpreting the data wrong re: PC hardware.

I just looked, the cheapest unlocked smart phone that Best Buy carries is $60. Yes, its pretty much garbage. But if you need to have a smart phone, and not much else, compare $60 to the cheapest iPhone ($430). So it goes with computers too. The floor on not Apple is quite a ways lower than the floor on Apple, even as the ceilings are pretty comparable. And what Apple is optimizing for is very different from what the average high-end PC manufacturer is optimizing for. When you do an oranges-to-oranges comparison of Macbooks and equivalent laptops, their prices end up pretty comparable.

Saying "iPhones are expensive" is very much akin to saying "the Mercedes G-Class is expensive". Its under-informed (as you say) only because a lot of people get iPhones (and Mercedes G-Classes) as status symbols, not for the innate capabilities.

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

#518

Post by hn_throwaway_99 » Fri, Jul 28, 2023, 10:04 PM UTC

jjav wrote: post #481

JohnFen wrote: post #457

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes, I don't care about getting updates. If they're important to you, that's fair. But the phones don't suddenly stop working without updates. They're still perfectly fine.

> Yes, I don't care about getting updates. If they're important to you, that's fair. Hardware devices with embedded software couldn't get updates (or was a difficult job so didn't happen) until somewhat recently. It is unfortunate that the ability to do updates is used as a crutch to ship faulty software that then needs updates. A phone shouldn't ever need an update in its lifetime if it was properly built in the fir…

Well, yeah, and I'd like a pony. The main issue is security updates. I'm guessing you weren't accessing things like a banking app with highly sensitive financial data on your 2005 Motorola.

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

#519

Post by 2muchcoffeeman » Fri, Jul 28, 2023, 10:05 PM UTC

JohnFen wrote: post #457

hn_throwaway_99 wrote: post #443

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You must have gone without security or other OS updates then, which I would consider a deal breaker with a phone. Google only recently extended the Pixel OS support timeline to be on par with Android.

Yes, I don't care about getting updates. If they're important to you, that's fair. But the phones don't suddenly stop working without updates. They're still perfectly fine.

Is not like flagship Android phones are cheap. They cost just as much as iPhones with much worse support.

I agree if you are happy non flagship Android phones. Those are a bargain.

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

#520

Post by ghaff » Fri, Jul 28, 2023, 10:05 PM UTC

phpisthebest wrote: post #511

kube-system wrote: post #433

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> >>lack of OEM support > what does this even mean in this context? The OEM doesn't have a store in the mall that will help an elderly family member with it. The OEM stops publishing updates after the phone leaves the shelf. etc. > Most of the other vendors, the few there are, run close to stock Andriod these days. Which is a gigantic pain in the butt when you're trying to talk your mother through the settings menu o…

>>Phones are mass market devices that children, elderly, disabled, and uneducated people use. I really really despise this narrative in modern society where by everyone must lower their standards, expectations, or limit themselves so we can cater to the lowest common denominator of society. This is like saying we need to limit the speed on highways to 20 because some people can not figure out how to drive at 70...

So buy your PinePhone or whatever and let the vast majority of users have something that’s simple and reasonably standardized. I can certainly use a general purpose computer but I don’t want my phone to be complicated.