5 ms·

I am in the same situation, and I had the same mindset as you have. Not anymore. > so effectively Apple have decided to ignore me as a customer Replace Apple

I am in the same situation, and I had the same mindset as you have. Not anymore. > so effectively Apple have decided to ignore me as a customer Replace Apple with (almost) any other recognizable brand out there and we are in the same scenario: - I recently wanted to buy some Nike sneakers because my 5-year-old model doesn't stand it anymore. Guess what? All the new models are way different than the one I have. I don't like them, they look "bad" (too modern?). Nike is ignoring me as a customer - I wanted to purchase an mp3 player. The model I wanted, of course, is not there anymore, and all the new models are just not for me - I wanted to purchase the same jeans I had purchased 2 years ago from a recognizable brand. Sorry, no sorry; that model is not available anymore. Companies are moving "forward" ignoring people like us. I guess that makes sense from an economic point of view for these companies. It's just sad for me, and I can't do much about it.

grishka 5y ago
This is most evident in the smartphone market. I want a 4" phone with a decent camera and a headphone jack. Because I still primarily use my phone as a limited communication device. I don't watch videos on my phone at all. I do take pictures with it and I do sometimes listen to music on it. My primary device is still my computer and that isn't going to change. The large screen brings me exactly zero benefits for my use cases, and it makes it very awkward to use with one hand. Yet guess what? Phones these days start at 6". And if you want to spend extra money on something of high quality, it's guaranteed to have a huge screen because you can't not want one. So much for "voting with your wallet"...
- Fredej 5y ago
  I've been you, but moved on when I got an iPhone XS from work. PC is still the main device and I don't use the phone for video. Mostly reddit, music, podcast and the occasional picture. Things I do when on the move. The missing headphone jack turned out be basically a non-issue, even though that kept me back from upgrading - the converter stays on the headphone jack at all times (I think the force to pull it out is higher than standard headphones jacks as well). It's very rare that I'm in a situation where I want to charge the phone while being connected to a headphone jack. Not sure I've experienced it yet. It sounds like something like the iPhone 12 mini would work for you if you gave it a shot. It's a bit larger (5.4") than something like the iPhone 4 (5") but it doesn't feel like a huge phone. I'm intending to replace my iPhone XS with a device of that size when its time for me to get a new phone.
  - grishka 5y ago
    I can't consider an iPhone unless I can run Android on it. The restrictive nature of iOS kills it for me. I'm currently using a Pixel 4a and it's the least shitty phone money can buy.
  - GekkePrutser 5y ago
    The iPhone 4 was not 5", it was only 3.5". The iPhone 5 had only a 4" screen, the iPhone 6 was 4.7".
    - Fredej 5y ago
      The iPhone 4 had a 3.5" screen but was 5" in physical size. iPhone 12 mini is 5.4" screen with ~5.7" physical size. So a bit larger, but not by that much. I assumed that the real issue was not the screen size but rather the physical size of the device (which is obviously tied to the screen size).
      - grishka 5y ago
        No, the screen size, regardless of the size of the entire device, is important because that's what its usability depends on. The bigger the screen the more area for you to reach when you use it with one hand. My previous phone was a Pixel 1, it had a 5" screen with large bezels on top and bottom. My current one is a Pixel 4a that has the screen cover as much of the front as technically possible. It's sometimes harder to reach the navigation bar at the bottom and the status bar at the top because they're physically in places where the Pixel 1 had bezels. (the two phones have exactly the same physical dimensions btw)
        plorkyeran 5y ago
        Yeah, even in the same physical size a larger screen is not strictly better. It's mostly better, but my thumb has not gotten longer just because the screen is bigger and things which I used to be able to reach with it are now out of reach.
- GekkePrutser 5y ago
  I'm in the same boat. My phone is mainly just lying around on my desk when I'm at home. Why poke around on a tiny screen when I have a triple-screen setup with a proper keyboard? And since early 2020 I've been at home a LOT. So I get 3-day battery life now because I simply don't use my phone. In these times a 4" phone just for outside would be nice. Once things pick up again though I wouldn't mind the bigger screen to read books on the subway to work.
GekkePrutser 5y ago
Your sneakers and jeans don't contain all your workflow, apps you purchased, files etc. You'll just be switching to a different logo on your clothing :) But I agree there's nothing we can do about it. I moved away from Apple privately too (still use it for work) and I miss it less than expected.
znpy 5y ago
I call BS on all of your reply. Microsoft keeps backward compatibility with most of the past releases of its OS. It's feasible, it's doable.
- wrboyce 5y ago
  OP didn’t mention Microsoft though. But yes, we get it: Apple bad. Well done.
Apocryphon 5y ago
> - I recently wanted to buy some Nike sneakers because my 5-year-old model doesn't stand it anymore. Guess what? All the new models are way different than the one I have. I don't like them, they look "bad" (too modern?). Nike is ignoring me as a customer That's not a great example, actually- Nike is renowned for issuing re-releases, they're making a killing catering to the sneakerhead collector market.

grishka 5y ago

This is most evident in the smartphone market. I want a 4" phone with a decent camera and a headphone jack. Because I still primarily use my phone as a limited communication device. I don't watch videos on my phone at all. I do take pictures with it and I do sometimes listen to music on it. My primary device is still my computer and that isn't going to change. The large screen brings me exactly zero benefits for my use cases, and it makes it very awkward to use with one hand. Yet guess what? Phones these days start at 6". And if you want to spend extra money on something of high quality, it's guaranteed to have a huge screen because you can't not want one. So much for "voting with your wallet"...

Fredej 5y ago
I've been you, but moved on when I got an iPhone XS from work. PC is still the main device and I don't use the phone for video. Mostly reddit, music, podcast and the occasional picture. Things I do when on the move. The missing headphone jack turned out be basically a non-issue, even though that kept me back from upgrading - the converter stays on the headphone jack at all times (I think the force to pull it out is higher than standard headphones jacks as well). It's very rare that I'm in a situation where I want to charge the phone while being connected to a headphone jack. Not sure I've experienced it yet. It sounds like something like the iPhone 12 mini would work for you if you gave it a shot. It's a bit larger (5.4") than something like the iPhone 4 (5") but it doesn't feel like a huge phone. I'm intending to replace my iPhone XS with a device of that size when its time for me to get a new phone.
- grishka 5y ago
  I can't consider an iPhone unless I can run Android on it. The restrictive nature of iOS kills it for me. I'm currently using a Pixel 4a and it's the least shitty phone money can buy.
- GekkePrutser 5y ago
  The iPhone 4 was not 5", it was only 3.5". The iPhone 5 had only a 4" screen, the iPhone 6 was 4.7".
  - Fredej 5y ago
    The iPhone 4 had a 3.5" screen but was 5" in physical size. iPhone 12 mini is 5.4" screen with ~5.7" physical size. So a bit larger, but not by that much. I assumed that the real issue was not the screen size but rather the physical size of the device (which is obviously tied to the screen size).
    - grishka 5y ago
      No, the screen size, regardless of the size of the entire device, is important because that's what its usability depends on. The bigger the screen the more area for you to reach when you use it with one hand. My previous phone was a Pixel 1, it had a 5" screen with large bezels on top and bottom. My current one is a Pixel 4a that has the screen cover as much of the front as technically possible. It's sometimes harder to reach the navigation bar at the bottom and the status bar at the top because they're physically in places where the Pixel 1 had bezels. (the two phones have exactly the same physical dimensions btw)
      - plorkyeran 5y ago
        Yeah, even in the same physical size a larger screen is not strictly better. It's mostly better, but my thumb has not gotten longer just because the screen is bigger and things which I used to be able to reach with it are now out of reach.
GekkePrutser 5y ago
I'm in the same boat. My phone is mainly just lying around on my desk when I'm at home. Why poke around on a tiny screen when I have a triple-screen setup with a proper keyboard? And since early 2020 I've been at home a LOT. So I get 3-day battery life now because I simply don't use my phone. In these times a 4" phone just for outside would be nice. Once things pick up again though I wouldn't mind the bigger screen to read books on the subway to work.

GekkePrutser 5y ago

Your sneakers and jeans don't contain all your workflow, apps you purchased, files etc. You'll just be switching to a different logo on your clothing :) But I agree there's nothing we can do about it. I moved away from Apple privately too (still use it for work) and I miss it less than expected.

znpy 5y ago

I call BS on all of your reply. Microsoft keeps backward compatibility with most of the past releases of its OS. It's feasible, it's doable.

wrboyce 5y ago
OP didn’t mention Microsoft though. But yes, we get it: Apple bad. Well done.

Apocryphon 5y ago

> - I recently wanted to buy some Nike sneakers because my 5-year-old model doesn't stand it anymore. Guess what? All the new models are way different than the one I have. I don't like them, they look "bad" (too modern?). Nike is ignoring me as a customer That's not a great example, actually- Nike is renowned for issuing re-releases, they're making a killing catering to the sneakerhead collector market.