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

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

#351

Post by HacklesRaised » Mon, Dec 09, 2024, 1:01 PM UTC

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.

Strange that the developer sphere of the W3 industry is not dominated by, you know, W3.

Perhaps if they weren't gluing together unaudited components, with a programming language designed to obsolete the blink tag, using the most expensive laptop on the planet they'd be less profligate with a users resources.

Things are no better in the game industry and the days of Avie requiring engineers to develop on hardware more representative of users machines are long gone.

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

#352

Post by orf » Mon, Dec 09, 2024, 1:02 PM UTC

hilbert42 wrote: post #332

orf wrote: post #289

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You asked: > How can you say that, where are your figures/stats/evidence? I responded with: > just look outside in the real world? That’s totally relevant to you asking why no mass-market phones support increasingly niche features that ~0% of the population need or want, and you expanding on this by saying “me and one other person I know want this”…

Read my reply to david-gpu. I can't make it any clearer, sorry I don't speak Klingon.

> The point I put forward is what I and a small select section of the market wants as features

Or

> “Because the population of people that would actually use that functionality rounds to approximately 0."

> How can you say that, where are your figures/stats/evidence?

Pick one

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

#353

Post by spiffyk » Mon, Dec 09, 2024, 1:05 PM UTC

CharlieDigital wrote: post #346

spiffyk wrote: post #330

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

These limits are not immutable, web standards grow by the day, keeping up with the performance development as much as the apps themselves. There's already WebGPU, so 3D graphics already is a thing on the web. Also, case in point, the built-in CSS filter effects get pretty taxing on not-too-old mobile hardware, as I've lamented yesterday [1].

[1]: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=42350309

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

#354

Post by hilbert42 » Mon, Dec 09, 2024, 1:13 PM UTC

boomskats wrote: post #238

hilbert42 wrote: post #225

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"There are a _ton_ of scopes and stuff that sit in the prosumer space that leverage your phone" Models off phones with these features integrated please? Where can I find them on, say, GSMArena.com?

I'm not quite sure what you're asking for. Phones that support Bluetooth LE?

Read my other replies, eg the one to david-gpu where I mention Fairphone options.

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

#355

Post by makeitdouble » Mon, Dec 09, 2024, 1:18 PM UTC

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…

I replace my batteries myself and relatively frequently, but still need a new phone every 3 to 4 years because things just change enough.

There's a myriad of small reasons, my last one was because my main payment app was taking 4s to create a damn QRCode while the casher and I stare at the blank page, and also for how hard it was to just answer calls from the notification screen as the phone was struggling at just multi-tasking.

And that was on top of the expending shutter lag and and many newer OS functionalities just not properly working.

And it's not the phone's fault per se, the most critical apps are really crappy. But there's also no incentives for them to be efficient, and they'll keep being crappier and crappier, and I'll probably need another phone in 4 or 5 years either way.

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

#356

Post by FollowingTheDao » Mon, Dec 09, 2024, 1:24 PM UTC

makeitdouble wrote: post #349

FollowingTheDao wrote: post #333

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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…

> I'm glad it works for you, but the Moto G sounds like a seriously compromised package in this day and age.

Well, my bank account is compromised as well. :)

But seriously, I use maps, podcasts, music, browsing, light social media. What I am saying is I use my phone like most people do,not like most people here on HN. ANd it costs 10% of what the base model iPhone 16 costs, which I tried and that new gimmicky camera button is the worst.

The one issue I have is no HDMI out, which is lame, but I do not need it much. Oh, and root is a pain adn there are no ROMS out for it either. Yes, it would be great with teh pure Pixel ROM but Moto's ROM is not that far off.

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

#357

Post by Narishma » Mon, Dec 09, 2024, 1:27 PM UTC

codedokode wrote: post #172

lisp2240 wrote: post #169

A smartphone is an appliance like a washing machine or a blender. It should just work. I will gladly pay extra for appliances that perform well. I will gladly pay extra for appliances that require no maintenance and can’t be broken. If I want something unreliable I can program or hack, I will go to a real PC.

A smartphone is first of all a data collection and ad distribution device.

So just like a modern washing machine or blender then.

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

#358

Post by wkat4242 » Mon, Dec 09, 2024, 1:32 PM UTC

I use DeX all the time. It's a great PC substitute. It's got some quirks but I'm overall really happy with it.

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

#359

Post by wkat4242 » Mon, Dec 09, 2024, 1:36 PM UTC

boomskats wrote: post #193

rjh29 wrote: post #187

Earlier quoted context omitted.

All high end Samsung phones can do this as well (DEX).

Not the ones that compete with the aforementioned Razr, unfortunately.

The latest Z Fold6 can do DeX but its a bit hidden, not official.

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

#360

Post by Fluorescence » Mon, Dec 09, 2024, 1:37 PM UTC

herbst wrote: post #269

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…

Battery replacement can be done in specialized shops on almost any phone for a fair price. My bigger issue is usually that the phones get so heavily outdated that banking apps stop working. And it's based on pure luck if the modding community build something great for my phone so I at least could use it as server, cam, or whatever. Also the charging slots breaking / turning unreliable which most wouldn't repair on a…

Do they ever work as well?

I fear it's not just about 3rd battery quality but the software driver side where calibration needs to redone for a new battery. If this is locked because of "security" or just inferior then oops, replacements never match first party.