5 ms·

Exactly, only 3.3 years ago. :) I still use a beat-up 6 with a wonderful patina and have no interest in upgrading. For me the 6 seemed to be the point where ev

by arstin 9y ago

Exactly, only 3.3 years ago. :) I still use a beat-up 6 with a wonderful patina and have no interest in upgrading. For me the 6 seemed to be the point where everything was "good enough". Until there's a big advance in what phones are and can do (a bit more than the iPhone X ha), I'd rather just repair what's there.

StringyBob 9y ago
I still use a 6, and have a replacement OEM battery on the shelf in front of me. I'll get apple to do it instead, just as long as they don't upgrade my phone to ios 11 at the same time... I don't want a slower OS just to gain the ability of it telling me one reason why it might be slow. Also - good to see confirmation id this comment I made recently: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=15832402 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=15832402
dalyons 9y ago
Counterpoint; I upgraded from a 6 to an X - the screen and the camera are really truly so much better. The X has mostly replaced my mirrorless DLSR in a way the 6 couldn’t come close to.
- frostburg 9y ago
  I don't want to be glib here, but I think that the fact that you refer to your camera as a mirrorless DSLR (dslRs by definition have mirrors) is part of the reason why you can replace it with a somewhat better phone sensor. There is nothing wrong with doing that, but it's possible because you have limited needs.
  - girvo 9y ago
    So because of communication error, you can dismiss your parent commenter as having “limited” needs? Seems a bit needlessly smug, don’t you think? I also shoot with a EVIL system, specifically Fujifilm’s X system, and while my friends iPhone X I borrowed for a week won’t replace it entirely, it’s on a completely new level for smartphone photography and for the bulk of my photos it really can replace my camera! Glibly saying “oh but it’s not a real camera and will never replace it” is missing the forest for the trees. Not only can it replace it in a lot of circumstances, it’s also an excellent addition to! Using the amazing screen with my cameras built in wifi makes processing and uploading images out in the field super simple.
    - 2muchcoffeeman 9y ago
      Maybe this just goes to show how many people buy gadgets they don’t really need or know how to use.
    - ekianjo 9y ago
      You wont get anything close to the bokeh provided by larger sensors. It is fine as long as you know what your tradeoffs are.
      - dpark 9y ago
        Bokeh is the quality of blur, not the quantity, and it’s determined mostly by the lens, not the sensor.
        rrauenza 9y ago
        I was about to join this debate and then ran the numbers and realized I still don't get this right. I was going to say it's about sensor size and bigger sensors have shallower DOF. Here's where I go when I need a refresher - Tony Northrup's explanations: https://petapixel.com/2014/05/27/tony-northrup-makes-corrections-replies-critics-part-3-camera-spec-debate/ https://petapixel.com/2014/05/27/tony-northrup-makes-correct... There's a lot of criticisms of his series, but they're often shallow (they don't seem to watch his whole video) and actually end up agreeing with him.
        dpark 9y ago
        I'm not saying anything about sensor size or depth of field. I'm pointing out the misuse of the term "bokeh". Bokeh is not depth of field. It's the quality of out of focus areas. You want good bokeh when you have a shallow depth of field but bokeh is itself a subjective measure of quality, not quantity. Calling depth of field "bokeh" is like calling focal length "framing". https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bokeh https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bokeh
        frostburg 9y ago
- arstin 9y ago
  Oh yeah no denying the X improves on the 6, especially screen and camera. And if I took pics regularly I’d upgrade. One of these days... What would make me personally enthusiastically pay a lot to upgrade would be a blazing fast e-ink display. Or a flexible, paper-like body that goes rigid when you’re holding it in your hand. Or a gizmo you can just keep in your wallet (maybe resting on your finger when you want to project a touch screen on your palm or on a bracelet for your arm). More imaginatively, I suspect there’s a lot of potential for a new lo-fi platform that makes a different set of trade offs than the iPhone and its imitators. But every aspect of the design and production would need to be nailed though for it to be pulled off. And it would require a bit of a reshuffling of what we expect from our “body computer”.
delhanty 9y ago
I'm still using the 3GS I bought 2nd hand 5 years ago. Only in the house as a backup phone left permanently on charge because the battery is 99% gone. Even though it's a little heavy, the curves make it feel nicer in the hand to me than any phone Apple has produced since.
cik2e 9y ago
5s here and still running iOS 8 to avoid the planned obsolescence. The phone is still blazing fast, but in the last year or so I've been out of luck with installing a majority of the apps that I've wanted.
- asendra 9y ago
  That sounds like a good experience.. /s

by arstin 9y ago

StringyBob 9y ago

I still use a 6, and have a replacement OEM battery on the shelf in front of me. I'll get apple to do it instead, just as long as they don't upgrade my phone to ios 11 at the same time... I don't want a slower OS just to gain the ability of it telling me one reason why it might be slow. Also - good to see confirmation id this comment I made recently: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=15832402 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=15832402

dalyons 9y ago

Counterpoint; I upgraded from a 6 to an X - the screen and the camera are really truly so much better. The X has mostly replaced my mirrorless DLSR in a way the 6 couldn’t come close to.

frostburg 9y ago
I don't want to be glib here, but I think that the fact that you refer to your camera as a mirrorless DSLR (dslRs by definition have mirrors) is part of the reason why you can replace it with a somewhat better phone sensor. There is nothing wrong with doing that, but it's possible because you have limited needs.
- girvo 9y ago
  So because of communication error, you can dismiss your parent commenter as having “limited” needs? Seems a bit needlessly smug, don’t you think? I also shoot with a EVIL system, specifically Fujifilm’s X system, and while my friends iPhone X I borrowed for a week won’t replace it entirely, it’s on a completely new level for smartphone photography and for the bulk of my photos it really can replace my camera! Glibly saying “oh but it’s not a real camera and will never replace it” is missing the forest for the trees. Not only can it replace it in a lot of circumstances, it’s also an excellent addition to! Using the amazing screen with my cameras built in wifi makes processing and uploading images out in the field super simple.
  - 2muchcoffeeman 9y ago
    Maybe this just goes to show how many people buy gadgets they don’t really need or know how to use.
  - ekianjo 9y ago
    You wont get anything close to the bokeh provided by larger sensors. It is fine as long as you know what your tradeoffs are.
    - dpark 9y ago
      Bokeh is the quality of blur, not the quantity, and it’s determined mostly by the lens, not the sensor.
      - rrauenza 9y ago
        I was about to join this debate and then ran the numbers and realized I still don't get this right. I was going to say it's about sensor size and bigger sensors have shallower DOF. Here's where I go when I need a refresher - Tony Northrup's explanations: https://petapixel.com/2014/05/27/tony-northrup-makes-corrections-replies-critics-part-3-camera-spec-debate/ https://petapixel.com/2014/05/27/tony-northrup-makes-correct... There's a lot of criticisms of his series, but they're often shallow (they don't seem to watch his whole video) and actually end up agreeing with him.
        dpark 9y ago
        I'm not saying anything about sensor size or depth of field. I'm pointing out the misuse of the term "bokeh". Bokeh is not depth of field. It's the quality of out of focus areas. You want good bokeh when you have a shallow depth of field but bokeh is itself a subjective measure of quality, not quantity. Calling depth of field "bokeh" is like calling focal length "framing". https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bokeh https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bokeh
        frostburg 9y ago
arstin 9y ago
Oh yeah no denying the X improves on the 6, especially screen and camera. And if I took pics regularly I’d upgrade. One of these days... What would make me personally enthusiastically pay a lot to upgrade would be a blazing fast e-ink display. Or a flexible, paper-like body that goes rigid when you’re holding it in your hand. Or a gizmo you can just keep in your wallet (maybe resting on your finger when you want to project a touch screen on your palm or on a bracelet for your arm). More imaginatively, I suspect there’s a lot of potential for a new lo-fi platform that makes a different set of trade offs than the iPhone and its imitators. But every aspect of the design and production would need to be nailed though for it to be pulled off. And it would require a bit of a reshuffling of what we expect from our “body computer”.

delhanty 9y ago

I'm still using the 3GS I bought 2nd hand 5 years ago. Only in the house as a backup phone left permanently on charge because the battery is 99% gone. Even though it's a little heavy, the curves make it feel nicer in the hand to me than any phone Apple has produced since.

cik2e 9y ago

5s here and still running iOS 8 to avoid the planned obsolescence. The phone is still blazing fast, but in the last year or so I've been out of luck with installing a majority of the apps that I've wanted.

asendra 9y ago
That sounds like a good experience.. /s