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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

#151

Post by mey »

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…

This doesn't absolve Pixel phones from having a horrible launcher, but Nova launcher has been a savior.

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

#152

Post by anthomtb »

aNoob7000 wrote: post #2

I'm one of those individuals. My iPhone 12 Pro is working well. I can't see a reason to upgrade to the 15 Pro. My eyesight is going down the drain with age, so the only thing that might make me jump is getting a phone with a bigger screen.

I have an iPhone 12 and still can't bring myself to upgrade to a 14 or 15.

I spend a decent amount of time in the backcountry and the satellite communication feature would at least bring some peace of mind, but even that is not enough to justify the cost of upgrading.

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

#153

Post by expertentipp »

AdmiralAsshat wrote: post #73

It's hard to feel positive about upgrading my phone when every new phone seems to remove things I want while adding stuff I don't care about. My S10e is a reasonable size in my pocket. It has a headphone jack. It has an SD card slot. Any new Samsung phone I buy will be missing these things, and I'll be forced to pay hundreds of dollars extra to increase the on-board storage that will still be far less than the 512GB…

I loved my s10e, although the camera glass (or rather plastic) cracked during the first months from basically placing the phone on flat surfaces. Otherwise the form factor, dimensions, audio jack port, photos quality were excellent.

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

#154

Post by SantalBlush »

asimpleusecase wrote: post #136

If Apple with get their act together on an AI agent that lives on the IPhone and gives you privacy but can really do stuff - but that capacity would only work on new hardware - everyone would upgrade and Apple would be work 4 Trillion

I don't want an AI agent, I want simplicity. My phone should make my life less complicated. It seems like every new feature achieves the opposite.

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

#155

Post by chx »

parl_match wrote: post #124
AdmiralAsshat wrote: post #73

It's hard to feel positive about upgrading my phone when every new phone seems to remove things I want while adding stuff I don't care about. My S10e is a reasonable size in my pocket. It has a headphone jack. It has an SD card slot. Any new Samsung phone I buy will be missing these things, and I'll be forced to pay hundreds of dollars extra to increase the on-board storage that will still be far less than the 512GB…

I have an iPhone 13 mini, the last <5" flagship phone you can buy. I'm not particularly tied to the iPhone ecosystem, but when this dies, I don't know what I'm going to do.

The smallest current vaguely mainstream phone IMO is the Asus Zenfone 10 at 146.5 x 68.1 x 9.4 mm. The iPhone 13 mini is 131.5 x 64.2 x 7.65mm. Then you have weird stuff: https://www.gsmarena.com/results.php3?nYearMin=2022&fDisplay... so perhaps by the time your phone dies the Cubot Pocket 4 or 5 will be your answer. Here's the Pocket 3: https://www.gsmarena.com/cubot_pocket_3-12314.php

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

#156

Post by seti0Cha »

scarface_74 wrote: post #72
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…

How is anything a status symbol that is owned by 60% of the population in the US? You can get an iPhone for $20 a month or less from either Apple or the carrier. Heck even the low cost MVNOs are offering a “free iPhone”.

Cosmetic changes like different colors and materials make it possible to distinguish who has the latest model and who has last year's as well as between the base and the pro models. It may seem pretty subtle, but status signaling is often subtle at the high end.

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

#157

Post by blackbear_ »

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.

A few months ago I was looking exactly for that and I settled on the Pixel 7a (with GraoheneOS, clearly). I am very happy with it!

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

#158

Post by blackbear_ »

the-anarchist wrote: post #96
raisedbyninjas wrote: post #49

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The last couple of times I upgraded, bloat in maps navigation was reason enough to upgrade to a faster phone. I don't want a sluggish UI while driving. Hoping Google doesn't cram much more ads or junk into the maps app or Waze.

Try OsmAnd, it's great!

Actually, map rendering in OsmAnd embarrassingly slow, even on mosern-ish phones. Try organic maps instead

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

#159

Post by pyrophane »

> "Improved durability with stronger build quality, less impressive upgrades among new smartphone releases, and an uncertain macroeconomic environment have all contributed to the malaise we are seeing in the US smartphone market."

Seems about right. The value prop for phone upgrades hasn't felt great for a while. Prices are higher but what was the last killer new smartphone feature? Feels like we are waiting for some new technology to make phones exciting again (or change the category in a big way).

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

#160

Post by vasdae »

AdmiralAsshat wrote: post #73

It's hard to feel positive about upgrading my phone when every new phone seems to remove things I want while adding stuff I don't care about. My S10e is a reasonable size in my pocket. It has a headphone jack. It has an SD card slot. Any new Samsung phone I buy will be missing these things, and I'll be forced to pay hundreds of dollars extra to increase the on-board storage that will still be far less than the 512GB…

Still with SD cards and headphone jacks? The world has moved on, my man.
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