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US Smartphone Shipments Decline 19% in Q3 2023 as More Americans Delay Upgrade

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Re: US Smartphone Shipments Decline 19% in Q3 2023 as More Americans Delay Upgrade

#51

Post by dmurray »

xnorswap wrote: post #23

I just "upgraded" my phone and for the first time my new phone is worse than my old one. I only upgraded because I noticed my old phone (Huawei P20 pro) was no longer getting android updates and I was concerned for the security of it. My new phone (pixel 8) feels worse in almost every regard. I can't even customise the home screen as much ( Literally cannot remove a link to Chrome and other google apps ). Given it's…

I had two P20s, probably my favourite phone I owned. Both died from water damage after about a year, which never happened to me with any other phone - not sure if I got unlucky or they have a particular design flaw here.

Re: US Smartphone Shipments Decline 19% in Q3 2023 as More Americans Delay Upgrade

#52

Post by cabirum »

izacus wrote: post #33

Note the negative tone about having our phones actually work longer, last longer and be usable longer without draining our money just to keep the threadmill rolling. Imagine how pissed the car industry must be now since most people drive cars for 10-15 years instead of replacing them once per few years like iPhones.

That is what EVs are for. Replace the battery every few years and replace your car whenever a new incompatible plug standard comes out.

Re: US Smartphone Shipments Decline 19% in Q3 2023 as More Americans Delay Upgrade

#53

Post by datameta »

xnorswap wrote: post #23

I just "upgraded" my phone and for the first time my new phone is worse than my old one. I only upgraded because I noticed my old phone (Huawei P20 pro) was no longer getting android updates and I was concerned for the security of it. My new phone (pixel 8) feels worse in almost every regard. I can't even customise the home screen as much ( Literally cannot remove a link to Chrome and other google apps ). Given it's…

I was in a similar boat. My Galaxy S9+ was in its 5th year when I learned about the security update stoppage. I went for a midrange Pixel 6a that approximates the flagship of 2018. I'm not sure if this is due to getting used to the Samsung UX style after 9 years, but I find some choices Google made to be less intuitive or smooth, though I've gotten used to it. The only thing I maaay look for in my next phone which I don't currently haven't yet had is a 120hz refresh rate - but I might not want the extra power draw. So I'm satisfied. The extra battery life is a huge QoL improvement.

Re: US Smartphone Shipments Decline 19% in Q3 2023 as More Americans Delay Upgrade

#54

Post by pbmonster »

VancouverMan wrote: post #14

I know a number of people, myself included, who have been waiting for the return of decent mid-range phones before getting a new one. Right now, there are very few options for people who want a reasonably sized phone, offering reasonably good performance, at a reasonably low cost, with reasonably good durability, with reasonably long software support, from a reasonably trustworthy manufacturer.

> want a reasonably sized phone

I think that's the biggest problem. If you accept >6" screens, you'll find a phone that hits most of those criteria. But if you want a smaller phone?

iPhone 13 mini from 2021 or Pixel 4a from 2020. And I still would call those large, one-handing those screens is uncomfortable even with large hands.

You want an actual small phone, around 5", like the early iPhones? Fucking XZ2 Compact from early 2018. At least Linage still supports it...

Re: US Smartphone Shipments Decline 19% in Q3 2023 as More Americans Delay Upgrade

#55

Post by jampekka »

foobarian wrote: post #15
hospitalJail wrote: post #4

This is why I continue to be bullish on Apple. Apple is the only company that has been able to turn a smartphone into 'Nike Jordans'. They had people waiting outside at midnight, they have people buying the phone for the logo, they have people buying the phone for the location of the cameras. In the short term, I only see Apple as the company that does well during this next bumpy economy. Everyone else is selling pho…

You have it backwards IMO, the only reason Apple is able to achieve this effect is because their phones are heads and shoulders above the rest in hardware quality and integration. Build it (well) and they will come

Apple's main thing is that their devices and systems are appliances. They restrict what can be done to the most common tasks so those tasks can be polished. Tasks that they don't support are often more or less impossible to do.

And that's probably what most people want, or think they want.

Re: US Smartphone Shipments Decline 19% in Q3 2023 as More Americans Delay Upgrade

#56

Post by Ajay-p »

beretguy wrote: post #8

I bought refurbished iPhone SE 2nd gen from eBay for ~$130 in July 2023. Looks brand new. I use Chargie to extend battery life and a magnetic charging port adapter to eliminate charging port wear. When battery will wear out I’ll replace it with the one from iFixit. Let’s see for how long I can make this device last. https://chargie.org/

I switched to wireless charging last year because I too feared wear and degradation of the charging port.

Re: US Smartphone Shipments Decline 19% in Q3 2023 as More Americans Delay Upgrade

#57

Post by elzbardico »

My 12 Pro Max is basically the first phone that I don't feel compelled to upgrade even almost 3 years later. Besides the performance and the good enough camera, it also has proven remarkably resistant to the inevitable falls from a pocket/table with no broken glass so far.

I will wait for the next wave of edge-based AI applications that would take advantage of update Apple CPUs to upgrade. Probably in 12 to 24 months.

Re: US Smartphone Shipments Decline 19% in Q3 2023 as More Americans Delay Upgrade

#58

Post by lttlrck »

flextheruler wrote: post #10

I just got the newest iPhone and I am struggling to notice any difference in capabilities from my old one. I know they exist on paper but when actually using the device it’s hard to tell. It feels like it’s been this way for a while. I have friends that have very old smartphones, like 3 or 5 years, but they don’t mind. If this was 10 years ago their smartphones would be practically unusable from a lack of processing…

Most advertising for iPhone 15 seems call out that it's made of titanium... there is nothing else of note.

I have one and I do love it but the only innovations I'm interested in going forward are:

- get rid of the camera hump, make it a true slab (even if that means smaller/fewer cameras) - engineer away Dynamic Island.

Then it's really done with this form-factor, and I'll be waiting for holographic projection out of my watch.

Re: US Smartphone Shipments Decline 19% in Q3 2023 as More Americans Delay Upgrade

#60

Post by esturk »

onlyrealcuzzo wrote: post #12
hospitalJail wrote: post #4

This is why I continue to be bullish on Apple. Apple is the only company that has been able to turn a smartphone into 'Nike Jordans'. They had people waiting outside at midnight, they have people buying the phone for the logo, they have people buying the phone for the location of the cameras. In the short term, I only see Apple as the company that does well during this next bumpy economy. Everyone else is selling pho…

Apple's Mac business is doing poorly and the iPhone business is not doing particularly well. It's one of the biggest losers in this upgrade cycle delay, with Nest/Pixel being the only manufacturer growing. Being bullish on excess capitalism during a slow down doesn't seem like a no-brainer play to me. But to each their own. Realistically, I'm just not sure how much growth Apple has left unless India becomes a giganti…

Did you even read the article?

First thing, Apple is the smallest loser in this upgrade cycle. Being only downed 11% compared to downed 37% for Google.

Second, the only manufacturer growing is Motorola. Not Pixel/Next.

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