Anyone Else Bored With Mobile Devices?

[poofyhairguy]

For a couple of years there, from say 2009-2013, mobile devices were pretty exciting. Each new generation was a major leap from the past ones, and phones were improving in ways that were easily understandable to users (dual core vs one, 720p screen vs 1080p, LTE vs not, etc.). Plus we got new exciting form factors (10 inch tablets, 5 inch phones, phablets, etc.) that kept the market going at a brisk pace.

Then in the last two years it seems mobile has stopped being so exciting. Phone form factors (and IMHO usable performance) kinda plateaued around the LG G2. Instead of cool new features flagships have stayed similar but are built with (fragile) "premium" materials. The price of a quality smartphone dropped which is a good thing, but with that went away a lot of the differentiation of the Android market (things like a Galaxy Camera) as everyone tries to fight for the same piece of the pie. Meanwhile iPhones grew and began to look more and more like Android phones (replaceable keyboards, widgets, etc.). The early days when there were many flagship phone PLATFORMS, let alone OEMs, with different concepts on how mobile should work are all gone. Two remain, and they look more like each other every day.

We have had innovation OUTSIDE of the core phone experience since 2013- VR, wearables, etc.- but most of this is hype towards a future when a killer app is made for each platform instead of the current practical day-to-day use. Actual innovation on mobile has slowed and when it does come the benefit to the ordinary user is questionable (like Force Touch, dual cameras, etc.). Real "must-have-it" innovation probably stopped with the fingerprint reader in the 5s or the waterproofing of the Galaxy S4 Active, and since then there isn't much to really force an upgrade.

Anyone else just not as excited about mobile technology anymore or is it just me?

I am in the market for a phone this year and I am not that excited about the process- it will be which comprise I can live with the easiest (unless we get a Nexus 5P which I doubt). Made me reminisce about how excited I was to get the 3GS, the Galaxy S4 or even my Nexus 7.

 

[sweenish]

http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=2461800&highlight=over+smartphones

 

[poofyhairguy]

http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=2461800&highlight=over+smartphones

Touche.

I am not just talking about smartphones though. Everything mobile is boring. Tablets? The iPad Pro is boring. Watches? The new Moto 360 is boring. Even the VR headsets, as the Gear VR is still lacking and Cardboard is kinda a joke.

Is there anything on the horizon in this entire market sector that is exciting that I am missing?

Seems like the fun in technology switched back to real PCs that can run real VR headsets, or can play new console games.

 

[Yuriman]

Moto X 2013. That's when I stopped lusting after new devices. I swapped phones like people swap shirts before that, and kept up with news every day.

It really started around 2004 for me, with the HP iPAQ.

 

[Artdeco]

Like in the linked thread, yeah, me too.

I enjoy having a computer in my pocket with always on internet, but don't see a clear path to anything I really want or need. Not saying it won't happen, just don't think there's anything near term I care about. My iP6s+ is nearly perfect, tried to go back to a 6s, but can't stand the battery life, and I like the bigger screen and keyboard.

I'd like an LTE iPad Pro, but already have a current gen retina MacBook, just can't justify a thousand dollar toy with no clear reason. My carrier allows tethering for free, so a couple button pushes and I'm good with the super thin MacBook.

I have a Gear VR, not impressed, not impressed with the current state of VR in general. I do think VR will be massive, just not till the tech catches up in a few years.

 

[Red Storm]

It's not just you, but, for me I think it's because of our newborn. Ever since he was born I just haven't been as interested in mobile tech as I used to be. I'm actually content just using my employer provided 6 Plus, which would be have been unthinkable not too long ago!

I look at new and upcoming devices and I just don't care as much. It's gonna take a huge revolution in mobile device design to light that fire in me again I think. Folding displays and such.

 

[Yuriman]

I don't think any change in form factor will be significant to me. What was really exciting, I think, was getting the internet, and a decent camera, and navigation, in my pocket.

 

[Eeqmcsq]

Anyone else just not as excited about mobile technology anymore or is it just me?

Not just you. I've been bored with both PCs and mobile tech. Both platforms have matured and are "good enough" for many people.

In the case of mobile tech, the rectangular touch screen slab for phones and tablets are what people are used to and expect nowadays. Companies don't want to introduce a different design and interface and challenge that inertia.

 

[deputc26]

Also kinda bored with mobile now, 2008-2013 was truly exciting though. Now I spend more time tracking VR and electric/autonomous cars.

 

[RockinZ28]

Yea I completely am. Zero Fs given these days. Use tablet in bathroom pretty much exclusively. Doubt I'll buy another one again.

Use my Note II cause it's rooted and does everything I want. Just needs a better display and camera. Don't even use the Note 4 anymore because lack of root, and it's really a pos other than the display. Sold Note 5 I got subsidized for cash.

Once the 6p hits ~$350, may get that and be done.

 

[s44]

You just came to this realization now?

 

[pcslookout]

Yes

 

[Graze]

I feel like this with every piece of technology/gadget for me.
We must all be getting old and jaded!

 

[Kaido]

My smartphone is an iPhone 5S, which is three generations behind now. Feel no need to upgrade. Verizon in my area is pretty good, too...clear calls, rarely drop calls, decent mobile speeds on 4G. Bonus, it's small enough to actually fit in my pocket easily! Not much interest in smartwatches for me either...I had a Jawbone fitness tracker for awhile, but haven't worn it in ages.

I have a Chromebook as my primary computer. Outside of PC gaming & video editing, it does everything I want in a computer. When the combination of quad-core i5 chips, 8 gigs of RAM, and SSD boot drives came out & became commonplace, I think we kind of hit a plateau where, generally, people were happy with the performance of their computer. Stable, booted fast, zippy to use, no longer a hassle. Our family computer hasn't been upgraded in a good five years now...no need.

After going through HTPC's, modded Xboxes, etc., I've finally settled down on a Roku 3 for my TV. $99 hockey puck where I just download the streaming apps I want for Netflix, Youtube, etc.

VR is about the only thing I've been excited about, but content is lacking. I got my Gear VR about a month ago & have already played all of the good stuff. It's going to be a few years before (1) we get Retina-quality displays (no pixels) in the headsets, and (2) there's enough content to make the investment really worthwhile.

Other than that, technology isn't super relevant in my personal life anymore. My iPhone, Chromebook, and Roku devices pretty much maintain themselves. Even with home networking...I used to have a PFsense rig, a giant Gigabit switch, hotspots, and recently switched over to a beefy 1300Mbps wireless router with wireless range extender (which, shockingly, actually works!). No more Ethernet at my house...I can pull 50 megs down off my cable even off my range extender.

I have a jumbo tablet in my kitchen (HP Slate 17, the newer version is the 18.4" Samsung Galaxy View if you're interested in something like this). It has Evernote for my recipes, plus Spotify, Pandora, Netflix, and Youtube for background entertainment. I use it for planning sessions with the family at the dinner table too, because it has a battery & is wireless - synced calendars, birthday list, that sort of thing.

Pretty much, I think technology has caught up to the point where it's all about consumption and/or putting it to use actually doing things. I used to be completely immersed in hardware...back when I was single, I had like seven computers running just in my bedroom. Linux servers, a Counter-strike server, workstation, all kinds of stuff. It was loads of fun (not to mention educational), but the hardware landscape has shifted quite a bit over the years.

I still do IT work professionally, so my nerd itch still gets scratched, but at home...meh. Even for family...I've managed to convince most of them to switch to iPhones, so I don't have to field Android questions all the time, and for Christmas I switched nearly all of them over to Chromebooks (thank you Black Friday specials!), which pretty much completely eliminated tech support calls.

TL;DR - I think tech has gotten good enough/fast enough, so it's all about consumption (music, movies, games, etc.) & using them for productivity now. There will always be niches that need more (gaming, DCC, science crunching, etc.), but for home use...yeah, it's gotten a little boring. I can't think of anything in a new iPhone that would really entice me to upgrade, you know?

 

[sweenish]

Just two behind.

There is no iPhone 7 yet.

 

[soulcougher73]

They've reached the stage of desktop PC did a whlie ago. Even cheap end low ones are good enough and the advances arent worth the price premiums.

 

[poofyhairguy]

Pretty much, I think technology has caught up to the point where it's all about consumption and/or putting it to use actually doing things. I used to be completely immersed in hardware...back when I was single, I had like seven computers running just in my bedroom. Linux servers, a Counter-strike server, workstation, all kinds of stuff. It was loads of fun (not to mention educational), but the hardware landscape has shifted quite a bit over the years.

Lol, I guess I can't relate there. I still have a room full of "pcs" being things like servers or being "desktops" (hackintosh and Windows). The moment I got bored with mobile (sometime early 2015) I came back to the "real" computer fold and played with PC parts again. Last year I upgraded my hackintosh desktop, I build a G3258 HTPC to play around with overclocking a cheap chip like old days, and I really upgraded my gaming PC while tripling my Steam library. I still see technology as my main hobby and I won't let the boring mobile market push me away from that hobby.

One thing that I can admit though is that I am getting old in that I keep rehashing the same technology instead of pushing into new fields like I did when I was younger. When mobile got boring I went backwards into PCs instead of forward like deputc26 by getting into new "exciting" technology of self driving cars and VR. Not all of that is a lack of interest on my part though, a lot of it that sort of new technology is at a different price scale. I would like to play with an Oculus, but not at the early adopter price tag. I would also like a self driving car, but I can't afford a Tesla. My most expensive HTPC ever (my primary hobby) was around $500, which can't even buy an Oculus headset.

TL;DR - I think tech has gotten good enough/fast enough, so it's all about consumption (music, movies, games, etc.) & using them for productivity now. There will always be niches that need more (gaming, DCC, science crunching, etc.), but for home use...yeah, it's gotten a little boring.

I can see that, at some point good enough is good enough. Funny you mention "home use," because I feel my last shot for staying excited with new technology is getting more into home automation this year. Rewatching Back to the Future 2 last year made me realize I am not far enough along on that as I would like to be by now. I didn't want to get burned as a early adopter, but the Echo is starting to form a central point to work from in that market. I am almost trying to talk myself into getting excited about it so I have something new to study and do.

I can't think of anything in a new iPhone that would really entice me to upgrade, you know?

I know exactly what will get me to buy an iPhone this year: give the 5 inch model OIS and a higher PPI screen, or shrink the bezel so I can tolerate the plus model.

But none of that is revolutionary, it is just filling in the gaps that Apple (maybe purposefully) left in their product line.

I will never forget in 2011 when I got my Galaxy S2 I was so excited about it, but I was more exciting about the phone I knew would replace it. I basically called spec-per-spec what the Galaxy S4 would replace it would have because it was obvious what the next big thing was and I was EXCITED to get there because it wasn't just punches the OEM pulled.

I don't think mobile can get back to that time, and I think it will take matured augmented reality technology to create the kind of enthusiasm overall that drove the smartphone revolution.

 

[Strk]

Bored with? I'm not sure I would go that far, but it's not changing as rapidly as it used to so it is more of a 'that's nice' than really wanting to find out anything about everything.

 

[Cakefish]

As I'm a huge photography enthusiast smartphones have never been more exciting to me! This year's phone cameras are going to be amazing.

 

[desura]

I feel like innovation has slowed, but I'm really enjoying the glut of smartphones and the cheap prices they fetch for now. Just a few years ago it would cost you $500 for a decent phone. Now you can pick up that same old model for $150.

 

[Crono]

No, and OP is welcome to send me all his mobile devices.

 

[Zaap]

The one upside is I stay satisfied with what I have longer. I still don't see any compelling reason yet to replace my Note 4. I feel by the time there's something that excites me enough to prefer it over the Note 4, it likely won't be another 3 or 4 months before I feel like "man, this thing is outdated already, now I want something else." I'm hardly the biggest 'must have shiny new thing' type of person already, I keep things probably longer than the average tech geek anyhow, but still, that feeling of everything is obsolete in mobile the second it's released isn't there anymore.

That said, I find the rush to strip out features and make phones out of scratchable/fingerprint magnet/needlessly fragile materials under the guise of 'premium' to be beyond boring.

When someone wants to get back to actually innovating and adding new killer features that I didn't know I needed until someone came up with it, It'll get exciting again. Until then, trying to convince me that removing features I DID need is exciting and new- that's not doing it.

LG at least tried some new things with the V10. Hopefully they'll keep trying new things and keeping some excitement going.

 

[poofyhairguy]

No, and OP is welcome to send me all his mobile devices.

My mobile devices would bore you too.

 

[Oyeve]

My lgv10 hasn't bored me yet. Taking great pics and video.

 

[Raduque]

I'm with poofy hairs. The early days of mobile, Android especially, were fascinating. iPhone, the start of the app-centric smartphone experience. The Galaxy S Vibrant was amazing, the mods, the software, the customizations! Then I got a myTouch 3G Slide, dat hardware keyboard. Galaxy S II, so damn fast! Note II, the stylus was a breakthrough.

Now its just, oh another Galaxy, another LG G, another iPhone. I use a Droid Turbo 2 now, and it's a great phone that works exactly as I expect it to, it's just nothing special. Nothing about it is exciting, or truly interesting. I'll probably keep it till it dies.