Anyone else "over" smartphones?

[spdfreak]

Yep, even my ancient Nokia 822 is more than adequate for anything I do. I keep thinking I need to get a new phone but then I ask what that new phone will do that I can't do with this phone and it's not much. If the integration with car systems requires a new phone (say to use phone based GPS on the car's screen) I might be tempted. But, that would probably require a new car too!

 

[Ravynmagi]

I have an iPhone 6S Plus and Note 4 and just had to talk myself out of upgrading to a Note 5 (because I want to wait for the S7 Plus). So obviously I'm not over anything yet. But I agree, the magic and excitement isn't the same as it used to be and for most folks the cheap mid range phones are plenty.

For me, I'm just not feeling fully satisfied. But I don't think I ever will. I'll always be craving that extra something more uber.

My iPhone is a great phone, I love how fast it is, how beautiful the hardware feels, and how well my apps run. But iOS bores the hell out of me. I really wish I could make iOS mine, not just a screen full of auto arranging icons and a wall paper.

Galaxy phones are fun. I love what Android lets me do with my phone, actually make it feel like mine. But having a Samsung (or LG, Sony, HTC, etc) is also frustrating, because it seems like I'm always 6 months to a year behind the latest version of Android. And if I have a carrier phone that's been out a few months, it's uncertain if I'll ever see a new Android. For your average user, this isn't that big of a deal, for me this is the stuff that nightmares are made of.

I want a Nexus phone. But not these Nexus phones. I LOVE my Nexus 5. This may be the best Nexus phone in my opinion. And the thing I love the most about it is it's made of plastic. I'm not fan of the cheap shiny plastic phones like my Galaxy S2, but LG and (and ASUS with the Nexus 7s) made a really nice soft touch plastic phone that feels very good in the hand, grips well, and doesn't show any scratches. My 2 and a half year old Nexus 5 is still in better shape than my 6 month old Note 4.

I spent too much time trying to get over how ugly the Nexus 6P looks that now I feel like I might as well try to wait for the next Nexus.

I have a Lumia Icon with Windows 10 Mobile on it. It sleeps comfortably in a drawer. I've given up on Microsoft phones (again).

 

[ChronoReverse]

I spent too much time trying to get over how ugly the Nexus 6P looks that now I feel like I might as well try to wait for the next Nexus.

It seemed ugly in the leaked images but in-person it's a nice looking phone both to me and everyone who's seen mine.



I'd say that I'm not quite "over" smartphones in that I feel there's still neat things that can be done but we're definitely long past the point where phones can do things that make you go "wow". It's reached the point of incremental updates a couple years ago.

 

[Midwayman]

I'm not over them, but I can't say I feel the burning need to upgrade every 2 years like I used to. I mostly want better battery life, IP67 of better cert, and better cameras.

Screens have reached physical limits of how big they can me and how much useful resolution they can provide. SOCs are more than powerful enough for 99% of tasks.

Only thing that might change is if they integrate desktop and mobile OS like microsoft is trying to do. That way my phone is my computer.

 

[sweenish]

MS isn't trying, they did it.

It can be done better, but they're done trying. Now they're refining. An important distinction.

 

[midwestfisherman]

Not over it at all. It's a tool and a good tool. It does what I need it to do when I need to do it. Of course I've never looked to a smartphone as something that needs to be trendy or that I need the latest and greatest to impress. Like I said above, it's a tool and that's as far as it goes for me.

 

[Midwayman]

MS isn't trying, they did it.

It can be done better, but they're done trying. Now they're refining. An important distinction.

Can you run win10 desktop apps on your phone? Not sure how much of the issue is hardware, and how much it just getting devs to write apps that run well on both platforms. Certainly SOCs are starting to encroach on the PC performance envelop. I wouldn't quite call it a solved problem in the sense I'm thinking of just yet. Android and Apple have quite a bit of catching up to do in that regard anyways.

 

[sweenish]

There are some universal apps in the store right now.

They run on x86, x64, and ARM. Baconit is one example.

EDIT: Been using Chromer since it was recommended. So far, I'm torn. It's a better reactive browser than Flynx, but I enjoy being able to queue up a couple bubbles and then dive in. It's just a workflow adjustment that I'll probably get over in a week or two. All in all, it makes browsing from other apps much nicer.

 

[GoodEnough]

You will like this
http://www.theverge.com/2016/1/25/10828208/welcome-to-the-divergence-vinyl-turntables-film-cameras

 

[poofyhairguy]

Been using Chromer since it was recommended. So far, I'm torn. It's a better reactive browser than Flynx, but I enjoy being able to queue up a couple bubbles and then dive in. It's just a workflow adjustment that I'll probably get over in a week or two. All in all, it makes browsing from other apps much nicer.

Glad you like it. It and Clipboard Actions are essential installs for me, like they should be part of the OS.

 

[RampantAndroid]

Can you run win10 desktop apps on your phone? Not sure how much of the issue is hardware, and how much it just getting devs to write apps that run well on both platforms. Certainly SOCs are starting to encroach on the PC performance envelop. I wouldn't quite call it a solved problem in the sense I'm thinking of just yet. Android and Apple have quite a bit of catching up to do in that regard anyways.

The universal apps work - but desktop apps (if you mean stuff like Win32 apps) won't so easily be made to work on phones, given desktop is pretty much exclusively x86/AMD64 (forgetting Itanium for the moment) and phones are still mostly ARM. And I don't think ARM has enough power to emulate x86 any time in the near future. Certainly not in a phone...

 

[Fingolfin269]

Yeah I've basically been at the over/bored stage for awhile. These have just become part of our daily lives now and any improvements seem to be minor at this point.

Hoping to find the 'what's next?' gadget sooner than later.

 

[Excelsior]

Improvements indeed seem incremental, and I personally just want something that works well, relatively quickly, with decent battery life. I have that in my Z3 Compact so I'm just not bothered about new stuff. There are better areas to spend ones money on.