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Unless my phone can be a PC, I don't want to keep paying for extra performance

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Re: Unless my phone can be a PC, I don't want to keep paying for extra performance

#341

Post by elzbardico »

I've been feeling the same for quite some time, not only with phones, but also with tablets. I frankly don't need more power in my mobile devices.

I actually feel almost the same for my computers, and the only reason I bought a maxed out M3 Max Macbook was to future proof my self for a very long time.

But I feel this way more acutely with mobile devices. I see no reason at all to upgrade from my fourth gen ipad pro, from my pro max 12 iphone. There's no conceivable use case for me with those devices that require more computing power.

Re: Unless my phone can be a PC, I don't want to keep paying for extra performance

#342

Post by david-gpu »

EVa5I7bHFq9mnYK wrote: post #318
david-gpu wrote: post #268

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Phones perform thermal throttling before getting too hot. The question thus becomes: how does it perform after one hour?

Not great) Tried replacing my laptop with a Samsung phone+monitor combination on a trip, didn't really work out. Phones are not built for continuous load.

Yeah, I used to work on what was eventually sold as the Meta Quest VR headset and we all knew that thermal throttling would be a major sticking point.

Thankfully my job was all about reducing rendering latency to prevent people from getting nauseous, so thermal throttling was outside of my scope.

Re: Unless my phone can be a PC, I don't want to keep paying for extra performance

#343

Post by pjmlp »

atoav wrote: post #171

What astounds most ist that we have now ~16 years of Android and there is still no all around decent keyboard for power users. It seems like everybody has accepted to use Android just as a consumer OS. When I started using Unexpected Keyboard the realization that I can just shift + arrow select text and ctrl + x cut it hit me like a bag of bricks. This is such a simple thing, but the existing story for marking and ed…

I just use whatever the tablet has (Samsung, Huawei, Xiommi) they are good enough, given how tablets overtook netbook's market share.

And for other activities, the stylus, as a proper tablet.

Although I do agree, input reckognition on Android is still way behind the kind of apps that are available on iPadOS, but that is mostly app developer's issue, not Android itself.

Re: Unless my phone can be a PC, I don't want to keep paying for extra performance

#344

Post by hilbert42 »

david-gpu wrote: post #281
jakub_g wrote: post #204

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Whoever I talk to those says "smartphones are damn too big", and yet no manufacturer produces reasonably-sized phones anymore, because it apparently "they wouldn't sell" / "market size too small". If this is too difficult, than your use case is orders of magnitude more difficult. Unfortunately everyone tries to sell to the same generic user, with very little actual space for differentiation targeting niches.

People say want smaller phones that fit in their pockets -- myself included. But are they willing to accept the much lower battery life, the smaller text on the screen, and the reduced real estate on the screen? The smaller iPhones didn't sell well.

My solution is simple, I carry two phones a tiny dumb/feature phone for just phone calls and a smartphone for internet access.

No one can phone me on my smartphone as it uses a data-only SIM so it's difficult for Google and others to make sense of the data they steal from me (even then they only receive data garbage for reasons I won't bother to mention here).

It's hardly less convenient as the dumb phone is small enough to fit in my shirt pocket whereas the smartphone is in a trousers pocket.

Re: Unless my phone can be a PC, I don't want to keep paying for extra performance

#345

Post by elzbardico »

hannofcart wrote: post #277
david-gpu wrote: post #264

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There is also security updates, as well as the wear and tear on a physical device that is constantly exposed to scratches, dust, and whatnot. I would like to use them for four or five years with a battery replacement at the midpoint.

I immediately put a transparent case around my device as soon as I get it and put a screen guard on it as well. My wife mocks me saying that it totally kills the device's looks but considering how integral having a functioning phone at all times is to... well, existing (and accessing any Govt. service in my country), I take the hit in aesthetics for extra durability. As a result, all my phones end up looking pristine…

Modern phones are really resistant. I have an almost 5 years phone that I never used a case or a screen guard with it and have been fine with this decision.

Modern devices are already massive, putting a case on then make them even bigger, and in my opnion more prone for falling from your hands.

And I have the extra-advantage of being able to easily locate my phone on family gatherings as I am usually the only one who doesn't have a case. :-)

Re: Unless my phone can be a PC, I don't want to keep paying for extra performance

#346

Post by CharlieDigital »

spiffyk wrote: post #330
CharlieDigital wrote: post #317

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> apps will keep up with the performance development and in a blink of an eye Web apps gang here. I don't know about the rest of you folks, but I rarely install an app unless I have to or there is no other option. The few apps that do get installed aren't all that taxing.

I almost never install an app unless absolutely required to either, but you talk as if web apps weren't some of the worst offenders in the matter of performance wasted.

There's practically a limit. JavaScript is a fairly limited as are DOM and CSS. This isn't like 3D graphics.

Re: Unless my phone can be a PC, I don't want to keep paying for extra performance

#347

Post by elzbardico »

hannofcart wrote: post #258

The only thing forcing most of us to upgrade every 3 years is the fact that most phones now come with their batteries are either soldered on (in the lower end versions) or come with connectors (most often I think) but replacement requires prying open the case and specialized tools/knowledge. Honestly, today's phones are an overkill for most mobile computing tasks except for a very small niche of users who might run v…

Replaced my kid's phone batteries in a generic shop a couple months ago. Yes, it is not as convenient as just replacing a battery in my old nokia phones but on the other side, I wouldn't like to have an ugly battery cover just because of the convenience of replacing the battery myself every 3 or 4 years.

It is not like we live in the early 2000s where the heavy road warriors had to have a spare battery on their backpacks because the phones would be dead after a coast-to-coast flight.

Re: Unless my phone can be a PC, I don't want to keep paying for extra performance

#348

Post by KeplerBoy »

coldtea wrote: post #340
KeplerBoy wrote: post #326

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They absolutely did. Back in the early 2000 everyone in my friend group would tell their parents that they needed a powerful PC for schoolwork and that's how they got gaming PCs.

Yes, so still: it's not like kids ever wanted computers for schoolwork in general . Saying they wanted computers for schoolwork, is another matter.

Sure, that's true.

Growing up without access to a proper computer still seems weird to me. How do we expect kids to build computing literacy?

Re: Unless my phone can be a PC, I don't want to keep paying for extra performance

#349

Post by makeitdouble »

FollowingTheDao wrote: post #333
chvid wrote: post #270

As phones look today and as how they are used, I think we have reached peak usability at around iPhone X. Afterwards - the additional computing, camera, network, form factor that have come with iPhone up to 16 - have provided very little additional end-user value. So unless phone makers want to be in the situation where end-users are less and less willing to pay for and upgrade to a new phone, they have to figure out…

Poverty/Minimalism bragging coming up... I am currently using a Moto G Play 2024 I bought new for $120. I have zero complaints. People pay too much for phones mostly out of novelty and image. When my laptop (2017 Dell XPS 13, Fedora 41, $200 at a pawn shop) dies I will buy a Samsung and use Dex, because that as well is more than most people need. Also, the reason Apple is not doing this is that it will obviously eat…

The Moto G Play is massive (6"5, 185g) while low resolution (720 pix wide), coming with 4Gb or RAM while the camera is 50M.

I held on to a Pixel 4a for way too long, and it was struggling to deal with the its 12M camera with 6Mb or RAM on android 13, getting 3s of shutter lag pretty often.

Multi-tasking was also a drag, having two windows would freeze often enough I stopped doing it, which was a pain for paperwork. I can't imagine how it goes with even less.

I'd assume the best strategy would be to first root it to move to a lighter OS ?

I'm glad it works for you, but the Moto G sounds like a seriously compromised package in this day and age. The TFA going with a Pixel 8 sounds a lot more sensible to me.

Re: Unless my phone can be a PC, I don't want to keep paying for extra performance

#350

Post by elzbardico »

hilbert42 wrote: post #102

I find it highly annoying that these rather powerful handheld smartphone computers don't have decent port access for use with instrumentation, etc. A huge range of features comes to mind from Geiger counters, oscilloscopes, sound level measurement, light intensity, etc , etc. The potential to expand the smartphone capability is enormous yet no manufacturer has tackled it. Why not? Why aren't there multiple USB ports?…

For any professional interesting sensor use you'd want something that is certified by a trusted third-party. The costs from this easily would overcome any savings you did in hardware.

And also a lot of professional equipment providers are going sort of this way, building portable devices around a OEM android phone.

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