Earlier quoted context omitted.
Free to do so? Yes. Is it a giant pain in the ass? Also yes. Especially with regards to warranty. it’s funny that cheap noname Chinese phones have no problems with selling it directly in every EU country.
Do you have a more specific example? Xiaomi's site, Mi.com, for instance doesn't seem to cover every EU or European country (e.g., Bulgaria, Croatia, Norway, Switzerland, etc.). Are you referring to OPPO or OnePlus as a "cheap no name Chinese phone"? They account for about 10% of the global sales (as does Xiaomi).
US smartphone shipments fall sharply, but Android more than iPhone
771–780 of 796 posts
Re: US smartphone shipments fall sharply, but Android more than iPhone
#772Why have phone manufacturers forsaken the likes of us?
Re: US smartphone shipments fall sharply, but Android more than iPhone
#773Earlier quoted context omitted.
To avoid having to use crappy UIs and apps from random OEMs. And to get updates directly from Google. I never wanted "Google compatible" phone like an IBM compatible PC. Just like the Wintel ecosystem, Android fragmented into chaos. Pixels are the only way to get a Google phone now without all the third party bloat and crapware.
> To avoid having to use crappy UIs and apps from random OEMs. And to get updates directly from Google. And three years of platform updates with very low resale value. At the time when I got my last pixel it was also three years of security updates . Add to that that the average consumer won't buy at release date. Quite pathetic (compared to Apple).
At this point though, I'm mostly still on Pixels because I dislike Apple more than Google.
Re: US smartphone shipments fall sharply, but Android more than iPhone
#774Earlier quoted context omitted.
What are these x86 laptops that are the same size and price range of an Air or MBP that outperform the M2s in processing power that doesn't involve GPU? Almost all the benchmarks out there of similarly sized laptops have the M2s (and previously had the M1s) topping the charts in single and multi threaded workloads.
It looks like the Razer Blade 16, with a i9-13950HX can beat the fastest MacBook Pro and is cheaper than that model. I didn't mention size and don't know how they compare. Size comparisons are largely related to processing per Watt because others need bigger heat pipes and fans than the Macs. I'm basically an Apple guy and don't pay tons of attention to all the alternatives, I just recognize the Apple products are no…
Definitely wins on GPU though.
Re: US smartphone shipments fall sharply, but Android more than iPhone
#775Earlier quoted context omitted.
Ah yes, android is perfectly secure as long as you install an aftermarket os, and then don’t install google services or any android application which uses google services (all of them). Or you could just use the brand that gives 6-7 years of OS updates and 10+ years of security updates out of the box…
I would 100% use iOS if I preferred to keep a stock OS and needed those apps. I just don't need that in a phone and am totally fine with the limitations of a degoogled device. I don't recommend that for most people. I was simply responding to a question of what device to consider with regards to privacy/security. I even tried to include caveats that it isn't right for everyone and had real tradeoffs.
Now you say you don't recommend that for most people?
Which is it?
Re: US smartphone shipments fall sharply, but Android more than iPhone
#776Earlier quoted context omitted.
> I doubt many people in developed countries care that much about the fact that you use an apple device or not Girls absolutely covet iphones like sacred cows. some go as far as to not date guys who use android. its weird but I've seen it myself.
From my world experience, this is a pure Americanism. And Americans broadly seem to care a more about status than the other 95% of the worlds population.
"Quierro un iphone!!"
its definitely not an american only thing
Re: US smartphone shipments fall sharply, but Android more than iPhone
#777Earlier quoted context omitted.
It looks like the Razer Blade 16, with a i9-13950HX can beat the fastest MacBook Pro and is cheaper than that model. I didn't mention size and don't know how they compare. Size comparisons are largely related to processing per Watt because others need bigger heat pipes and fans than the Macs. I'm basically an Apple guy and don't pay tons of attention to all the alternatives, I just recognize the Apple products are no…
Doesn’t look like it is cheaper or faster: https://appleinsider.com/inside/16-inch-macbook-pro/vs/razer... Definitely wins on GPU though.
That article also compares models with more expensive add-ons, a lot of that higher Razer price is probably from the 4090. The Blade 16 price starts at $2,699 (i9-13950HX, 16GB RAM, 1TB SSD, GeForce RTX 4060, 16" 240Hz QHD+). For an MBP with an M2 Max, the 14-inch starts at $3,099 and the 16-inch at $3,499. Those Macs have 32GB RAM and Razer charges +$600 for that much but the Blade has RAM slots, you can buy another 16GB for ~$50. Razer also charges a lot for an upgraded SSD (and absurd +$1,600 for 2TB instead of 1TB) but that is also replaceable at a much more affordable price. There's also a second M2 slot available so you can add storage without replacing the original drive.
Edit: the SSD upgrade cost is so high because they make you get other upgrades with it (a 4090 and 32GB RAM).
[0] https://browser.geekbench.com/mac-benchmarks
[1] https://browser.geekbench.com/search?utf8=&q=Razer+Blade+16+...
Re: US smartphone shipments fall sharply, but Android more than iPhone
#778Earlier quoted context omitted.
People forget, but Apple faced a massive backlash in 2012 when it replaced the 30 pin connector with Lightning. People called it a ploy to make money on cables. Tons of e-waste. USB C devices started shipping in 2015, so one can see why they didn't want to put themselves through that again. Adopting USB C in fall 2023 iPhones is smart, because by now everyone has USB C cables already to charge their iPads, Macs, and…
They are only adopting USB-C because the EU is forcing them to, and they still are intentionally limiting features on cables that don't meet their standards (ie paying a license to Apple.)
Re: US smartphone shipments fall sharply, but Android more than iPhone
#779Earlier quoted context omitted.
>> This 55% is iPhone's share of phone shipments in Q2, not the number of users of the respective phones at any given time. That's generally what a "market share" number measures: the share of sales during a period of times. The number of users of devices would be the "installed base."
>That's generally what a "market share" number measures: the share of sales during a period of times. We don't measure Browser Market Share as number of downloads during a period of times. Nor do we measure OS market share as number of license sold during a quarter. The reason why Market Share, or share of sales during a period of times were used for commodity, repeatable sales. Because knowing you have 50% of Ketchu…
Ask any mobile phone industry analyst, or a product manager (or product marketing manager) at a mobile phone OEM, or a sales manager at a telco, for the definition of mobile phone market share and they will tell you "the share of sales during a period of time."
>> The same goes with Apple and Android, when you talk about market share
This is 100% not true. Ask anyone in the industry and they will agree that it represents sales, not installed base.
As a point of reference, I used to work at Google, in Android specifically. Previous to that, I spent 10 years in the mobile industry, much of it briefing industry analysts & journalists.
Re: US smartphone shipments fall sharply, but Android more than iPhone
#780Earlier quoted context omitted.
> To avoid having to use crappy UIs and apps from random OEMs. And to get updates directly from Google. And three years of platform updates with very low resale value. At the time when I got my last pixel it was also three years of security updates . Add to that that the average consumer won't buy at release date. Quite pathetic (compared to Apple).
Yeah, it's terrible compared to Apple. I tried an iPhone for a few months but just didn't like it :/