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Best Smartphones That Still Have a Headphone Jack

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Re: Best Smartphones That Still Have a Headphone Jack

#201

Post by sydd »

IkmoIkmo wrote: post #187
tablethnuser wrote: post #20

I've been using the budget Moto G+ line for the past four years. I can upgrade my phone every year around Black Friday and get the latest model for sub $200. The older phones still work well and get handed down to my less tech savvy family members. I'm not really sure what people are paying for when they get those $800+ beasts for phones. When I use a friend's I can tell they are higher quality; either they feel more…

Great points, although I would want to add a bit of nuance from my personal experience. One thing that often gets overlooked in pricing is depreciation. Flagship models tend to keep their value quite well, whereas budget models depreciate to next to nothing. Take the iPhone X, launched 2 years ago, used it's around $570 today, versus the $999 it launched at. Meanwhile, a $300 phone tends to drop down to $100 on the 2…

you forgot to take into account that most phones are replaced because they break - usually their display gets smashed. In this case budget phones come ahead too:

Let's say you drop your phone after 2 years of use.

If you got an iPhone X you need to spend around $300 on a screen replacement or sell if for $200.

If you got a 2 year old $300 phone you just buy a new for $300 (or do the replacement for $150.)

But anyway I really dont see a reason why someone would get a $500+ phone. I has better hardware (which most people wont make use of) and better design/bragging rights. What can do a $1000 phone better? A better camera (for most should not matter, instagram/facebook compresses your fancy images to shitty JPGs), a faster CPU/RAM (nowadays its barely noticeable unless you play stuff like Fortnite on your phone)

Re: Best Smartphones That Still Have a Headphone Jack

#202

Post by JohnFen »

TheCapn wrote: post #191
JohnFen wrote: post #162

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's hard to make a recommendation without knowing your needs. However, if the Pixel 1 makes you happy, then I'm likely to recommend that you just get another Pixel.

It was more of a question to see your rational honestly. If you're saying the only quality feature of the Pixel 3a is the camera I wanted to see what you valued in smartphones to make that comment. For me: ease of use/configuration. I don't want Samsung bloat, I'd prefer to buy direct from manufacturer to avoid mobile carrier shit. I don't want to deal with rooting and have been happy with Google's smartphone offer s…

> I wanted to see what you valued in smartphones to make that comment.

Ah, I see -- then you should have asked that! For anything, what I recommend is not tightly correlated to what I would use myself, because the best solution is very context-dependent. In order to recommend something, I need to know what the requirements are.

In any case, I say that about the Pixel because the camera is really the only significant feature of the Pixels that comes close to justifying the asking price.

My existing (6 year old) smartphone only has another couple of years in it, though, so I've been giving a lot of thought about how to replace it. I've looked hard at the offerings on the market currently, and to be honest, there isn't a single one that appeals to me at all (there are a couple, such as the PinePhone, that look interesting but aren't in production yet).

I've spent a year developing a prototype of a home-built smartphone that does meet my needs, but I've recently decided against going that route at all. Instead, I'm just building a pocket computer (running plain old Linux) and will use a feature phone for my communication needs. Not having to use Android is hugely attractive to me.

Re: Best Smartphones That Still Have a Headphone Jack

#203

Post by Kiro »

tablethnuser wrote: post #20

I've been using the budget Moto G+ line for the past four years. I can upgrade my phone every year around Black Friday and get the latest model for sub $200. The older phones still work well and get handed down to my less tech savvy family members. I'm not really sure what people are paying for when they get those $800+ beasts for phones. When I use a friend's I can tell they are higher quality; either they feel more…

I always buy budget Android phones the problem for me is the longevity. They simply start having lots of issues (both hardware and software) very fast. I haven't had a phone that has lasted more than a year.

Re: Best Smartphones That Still Have a Headphone Jack

#204

Post by JohnFen »

baddox wrote: post #192
JohnFen wrote: post #119

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I’ve been through the obsolescence of[...] The difference is that those things had replacements available that were at least adequate.

If adequate replacements really aren't available, that could be an indication that the people desiring such replacements truly are in a small minority, and that the market is functioning as it ought to.

It may be, but that's beside the point.

Re: Best Smartphones That Still Have a Headphone Jack

#205

Post by robocat »

IkmoIkmo wrote: post #187
tablethnuser wrote: post #20

I've been using the budget Moto G+ line for the past four years. I can upgrade my phone every year around Black Friday and get the latest model for sub $200. The older phones still work well and get handed down to my less tech savvy family members. I'm not really sure what people are paying for when they get those $800+ beasts for phones. When I use a friend's I can tell they are higher quality; either they feel more…

Great points, although I would want to add a bit of nuance from my personal experience. One thing that often gets overlooked in pricing is depreciation. Flagship models tend to keep their value quite well, whereas budget models depreciate to next to nothing. Take the iPhone X, launched 2 years ago, used it's around $570 today, versus the $999 it launched at. Meanwhile, a $300 phone tends to drop down to $100 on the 2…

That analysis ignores the costs of breakage, theft, care plan, or insurance excess.

To get the best money for a second hand phone, you also need a good case (which is another sunken cost).

It can make sense, but pay attention to to other costs, because they add up.

I also do what the GP does: buy mid-range Android phones (Nokia at present, used to buy Moto), and give them to family and friends after a few years.

On topic: Nokia phones have a phone jack and have Android One (2 years version update, 3 years security, plus many more years of secure browsing).

Re: Best Smartphones That Still Have a Headphone Jack

#206

Post by winternett »

chrisseaton wrote: post #179
winternett wrote: post #23

I got a Nokia 7.1 for around $300 and it has the headphone jack and a Micro SD slot, another feature that phone makers are getting rid of... Phone memory is terrible these days, I have a huge collection of Mp3s and wav files I don't want to give up, despite bluetooth stuttering at times in my car. Putting low onboard memory on modern phones should be a crime when USB sticks with 128GB plus are selling for $15... They…

> They do that to boost streaming and data charges... Which phone manufacturers make any money from streaming and data charges?

Not manufacturers specifically... Carriers are the ones who usually buy the phones form MFRs then sell to customers... So Carriers are the ones that lobby for phone storage to stay low and manufacturers follow along.

Re: Best Smartphones That Still Have a Headphone Jack

#207

Post by DennisAleynikov »

chrisseaton wrote: post #174
magduf wrote: post #95

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Because people don't want to fuck around with a stupid dongle to have a feature that the phone should have had in the first place. Dongles get lost, and you also can't charge the phone and use the dongle at the same time. Maybe you don't think it's a big deal, but when the asking price of the device is $1k, any little annoyance like that is a legitimate deal-breaker: for that much money, it should have everything, in…

> for that much money, it should have everything That’s how you end up with Homer cars. Get rid of the legacy junk and streamline on useful features I say.

The galaxy s10 is not a homercar. Its a good tool

The iPhone 7 and newer are just designed like Eva from wall-e because "fuck compatibility, buy proprietary wireless to solve everything"

Legacy junk is the stuttering, disconnects, game audio latency and shit that bluetooth still is to this day. Analog audio has no such problems! Using bluetooth only makes the wire longer by using radio frequency but you spend more energy maintaining and error correcting this much worse connection.

Yes you could use lightning headphones but how cucked is that? Buying headphones specially for the port that only exists on your phone?

Re: Best Smartphones That Still Have a Headphone Jack

#208

Post by TAForObvReasons »

IkmoIkmo wrote: post #187
tablethnuser wrote: post #20

I've been using the budget Moto G+ line for the past four years. I can upgrade my phone every year around Black Friday and get the latest model for sub $200. The older phones still work well and get handed down to my less tech savvy family members. I'm not really sure what people are paying for when they get those $800+ beasts for phones. When I use a friend's I can tell they are higher quality; either they feel more…

Great points, although I would want to add a bit of nuance from my personal experience. One thing that often gets overlooked in pricing is depreciation. Flagship models tend to keep their value quite well, whereas budget models depreciate to next to nothing. Take the iPhone X, launched 2 years ago, used it's around $570 today, versus the $999 it launched at. Meanwhile, a $300 phone tends to drop down to $100 on the 2…

That calculation is contingent on the endpoint in both cases being "selling the old phone". I tend to hold onto all of my old phones and computers (still have 10+ year old MacBook Pros and iPhones going back to 3GS), so the residual value is $0 in both cases.

Re: Best Smartphones That Still Have a Headphone Jack

#209

Post by astine »

Kerrick wrote: post #154
magduf wrote: post #95

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Because people don't want to fuck around with a stupid dongle to have a feature that the phone should have had in the first place. Dongles get lost, and you also can't charge the phone and use the dongle at the same time. Maybe you don't think it's a big deal, but when the asking price of the device is $1k, any little annoyance like that is a legitimate deal-breaker: for that much money, it should have everything, in…

I have pretty much never charged my phone and used it at the same time. The cord is too short, and cords that are long enough are unwieldy. Plus, the cord sticks out right where my hand wants to hold the phone. Is this something people actually do in any situation except low-power emergencies?

I do this all the time, especially while driving. I plug an aux cord into my phone to listen to podcasts or audiobooks and plug the usb connection into power supply in my car. I wouldn't be able to do a long road trip if I had to switch between these.

Re: Best Smartphones That Still Have a Headphone Jack

#210

Post by bscphil »

SECProto wrote: post #161
ebiester wrote: post #32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My apple phones have consistently been good for 3-4 years, making the yearly outlay similar. The differences aren't in the CPU features but rather the screen and camera features. The high end apple phone from two years ago still has a better screen than the budget android today and the camera is probably better as well - perhaps equal at worst. No, I don't have a headphone jack (and yes, it is annoying) but it isn't…

> My apple phones have consistently been good for 3-4 years, making the yearly outlay similar. That depends a lot. The sum total of every smartphone I've owned since 2012 (4 phones, ~$1100 Canadian before tax) is comparable to the cost of a single current generation iPhone.

That's a good way of looking at it. In my case, the total is $600 (US) across three phones since 2011, thanks to Google's discounting of off-contract phones on the Play store for Google Fi customers. I've been consistently happy with these phones, and they're flexible in areas that I think would frustrate me if I tried to use an Apple device.
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