5 ms·
> switches are expensive Uh, no they aren't.
by sdinsn 7y ago
> switches are expensive
Uh, no they aren't.
- Arbalest 7y agoThe switch itself may not be, but the mechanical effects (hole in case, board space, waterproofing, design testing and as GP said, warranty) makes it expensive.
- Teever 7y agoHow come they can make a thin, power sipping high resolution OLED panel for like $100 that fits in a phone but they can't make a reliable switch that ensures privacy?
- Flockster 7y agoAnd the iPhone is coming with an mechanical switch since the first one, even in the waterproofed phones from the newer generations.
- Arbalest 7y agoThat's a business case problem. Not enough people are asking for it. It's expensive because it lowers their margin by a notable (maybe not huge) amount. No one said it couldn't be done, just that it's effort for too little payoff.
- vageli 7y agoI have no horse in this race, but switches are constantly manipulated physically, and can see more abuse and stress because of that.
- bsder 7y agoRelative to a transistor, they sure are. In addition, since switches are an electromechanical component, they also affect your mechanical case engineering which electronic components don't do. Finally, if your device is "water resistant" or somesuch, you now have an even bigger engineering headache waiting for your design team. Especially since you don't want a pushbutton, you probably want a slide switch. Switches and buttons are really expensive on electronics components from a relative cost and engineering cost standpoint.
- Johnny555 7y agoFinally, if your device is "water resistant" or somesuch, you now have an even bigger engineering headache waiting for your design team. Especially since you don't want a pushbutton, you probably want a slide switch The easy way to ensure that a switch is waterproof is to use something like a magnetic reed switch or hall effect sensor, so the switch just moves a magnet, which is sensed thorugh the plastic case. It uses more real estate than a pure switch, but requires no open holes through the case.
- vageli 7y ago> It uses more real estate than a pure switch, but requires no open holes through the case. This is at odds with the (apparent) consumer preference of smaller everything.
- bsder 7y ago> The easy way to ensure that a switch is waterproof is to use something like a magnetic reed switch or hall effect sensor, Um, using a hall effect sensor is exactly the kind of "soft switch" we're trying to avoid, no? And magnetic reed switches are big, very expensive, vibration sensitive and failure prone. Since this is security, you're going to want it to fail open and you're not going to want a switch that closes briefly if you vibrate the phone. Mechanical engineering is hard. Let's go shopping! ;)
- kazinator 7y agoLet's go shopping ... for a metallic surgical implant for our index finger so we can operate the hall-effect-based camera/mic on-off switch. :)
- Johnny555 7y agoWhat's the difference between a hall-effect sensor + transistor that the manufacturer promises is a hardware off switch and a hardware switch with inaccessible contacts that the manufacturer promises is a hardware off switch? Either way, the consumer is going to want a light or other indicator that shows when the camera is in use. Reed switches are available that are a few mm long, they aren't exactly huge.