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I switched from an iPhone to Nokia 515 two years ago and vowed never to go back. If I wrote a blog post like this it would probably just be, "Living smartphone-

I switched from an iPhone to Nokia 515 two years ago and vowed never to go back. If I wrote a blog post like this it would probably just be, "Living smartphone-free in the 2020's is like having a superpower, it's utter joy and freedom and and everyone still with a smartphone is a total sucker." Then a couple of weeks ago I felt the social pressure and lack of a good camera so I bought an iPhone 12 mini. It was awful. I returned it 48 hours later and am now back with my beloved Nokia. The grass really is greener this side of the fence.

pasdechance 5y ago
The 515 is gorgeous too
- zephyr9 5y ago
  Heck yes. Whenever I find myself saying "sorry I can't do that with my phone" and I pull out the Nokia to illustrate, people swoon over it.
bowmessage 5y ago
Out of curiosity, what was awful about the recent iPhone experience?
- zephyr9 5y ago
  My feeling is that tools should be transparent in their use, as in, when you use a hammer to hit a nail, the hammer essentially disappears. And while I think the iPhone of Steve Jobs was like this, I'm pretty sure that Apple intends the trajectory of the iPhone now to be less like a tool and more like an assistant, e.g. it should offer suggestions, preempt your actions, that it should "think for you". It makes it feel like there's a third-party (Apple/Siri) stuck in between me and other people. This feeling has probably crept up gradually enough that most people with smartphones don't notice it, but going from a dumb-phone to smartphone was like being hit with a hammer.
- rootsudo 5y ago
  iphone 12 mini also has many apps that still do not work correctly, or show proper resolution and thus apps are unusable. plus using it to type and such is really a big annoyance. the keyboard is smashed in the lower 20% of the screen.
gnicholas 5y ago
How do you deal with getting around (public transit timing, driving directions/traffic, uber/lyft) without a smartphone?
- octoberfranklin 5y ago
  Standalone GPS units still work just fine; same with public bus timetables. You might have to give up uber. It's worth it though.
- zephyr9 5y ago
  You'd be surprised how capable your brain is when you just trust it to remember directions. A couple of times when going to a place I've not been before I've drawn a little map, but you can always ask someone for directions to a specific street. It's actually a nice feeling to find your own way when there's the possibility of getting lost. Buses and trains have their times at the stops/stations, or for less trafficked routes I just check on my computer and remember when I need to go. Uber/Lyft are vile and I don't use them.
- Beltalowda 5y ago
  I just write things down on a piece of paper; or just "yolo it". It works well enough, although lack of GPS can be inconvenient at times, I find it's not a huge deal – this is how almost everyone got around up to ~10 years ago. I never used taxi services anyway; bus services are pretty good here, and I cycle. A bigger issue is that a lot of services are "smartphone-only", and can't be done with a regular computer; sometimes this makes sense, sometimes less so. I partly get around this by running Android emulator on my computer when I really can't avoid it, which works "well enough". This will only get worse in the future. I dislike telling people I don't have a smartphone; people look at you like you're some sort of freak. Recently someone told me that "I do not belong in modern society" shrug. I guess it's not inaccurate, as I dislike a lot of technology and feel it makes our lives worse in many ways (in spite of working as a programmer, but that's just for the money at this point; very hypocritical, yes). Right now I have a "true" dumb phone (or at least, as dumb as you can get), which can just call and SMS and that's it. Oh, it also has snake, of course, and curiously it also has some other games you need to "buy" for €5 or so. IIRC the EU will switch off 2G in 2024 or so, so I guess I'll have to buy a slightly less "dumb phone" by then. We'll see.
octoberfranklin 5y ago
Does your phone still actually work? You must not be in the US... that is a 3G phone and the 3G networks here are either shut off or in the process of being shut off. https://www.gsmarena.com/nokia_515-5663.php https://www.gsmarena.com/nokia_515-5663.php
- barbazoo 5y ago
  I'd be very interested in a dumb phone that works in North America.
- zephyr9 5y ago
  I'm in Australia and I think there's a law that carriers need to keep an amount of 3G coverage. So we will likely lose 4G coverage before 3G. Regulation FTW!
  - octoberfranklin 5y ago
    Government-granted spectrum monopolies... two wrongs make a right I guess.
  - angus-g 5y ago
    I think it might only be around for another couple of years -- Telstra is switching theirs off in 2024, and Optus is pretty soon too.
GoblinSlayer 5y ago
Wouldn't you get a better and cheaper camera if it's really a camera and not a phone?
- MerelyMortal 5y ago
  The best camera is the one you have with you, and I hate carrying around extra stuff in my pockets, thus I like having an all-in-one device.
- zephyr9 5y ago
  Short answer, yes, long answer, it depends. A lot of camera capabilities hinge on the physical size of the sensor, i.e. how much power it consumes to shoot and how much heat it generates. An iPhone camera sensor is tiny and so can do pretty amazing things like shoot 1080p 240fps slow-motion. Trying to do that with a 4/3" sensor is more demanding. I need slow-motion for my work.

pasdechance 5y ago

The 515 is gorgeous too

zephyr9 5y ago
Heck yes. Whenever I find myself saying "sorry I can't do that with my phone" and I pull out the Nokia to illustrate, people swoon over it.

bowmessage 5y ago

Out of curiosity, what was awful about the recent iPhone experience?

zephyr9 5y ago
My feeling is that tools should be transparent in their use, as in, when you use a hammer to hit a nail, the hammer essentially disappears. And while I think the iPhone of Steve Jobs was like this, I'm pretty sure that Apple intends the trajectory of the iPhone now to be less like a tool and more like an assistant, e.g. it should offer suggestions, preempt your actions, that it should "think for you". It makes it feel like there's a third-party (Apple/Siri) stuck in between me and other people. This feeling has probably crept up gradually enough that most people with smartphones don't notice it, but going from a dumb-phone to smartphone was like being hit with a hammer.
rootsudo 5y ago
iphone 12 mini also has many apps that still do not work correctly, or show proper resolution and thus apps are unusable. plus using it to type and such is really a big annoyance. the keyboard is smashed in the lower 20% of the screen.

gnicholas 5y ago

How do you deal with getting around (public transit timing, driving directions/traffic, uber/lyft) without a smartphone?

octoberfranklin 5y ago
Standalone GPS units still work just fine; same with public bus timetables. You might have to give up uber. It's worth it though.
zephyr9 5y ago
You'd be surprised how capable your brain is when you just trust it to remember directions. A couple of times when going to a place I've not been before I've drawn a little map, but you can always ask someone for directions to a specific street. It's actually a nice feeling to find your own way when there's the possibility of getting lost. Buses and trains have their times at the stops/stations, or for less trafficked routes I just check on my computer and remember when I need to go. Uber/Lyft are vile and I don't use them.
Beltalowda 5y ago
I just write things down on a piece of paper; or just "yolo it". It works well enough, although lack of GPS can be inconvenient at times, I find it's not a huge deal – this is how almost everyone got around up to ~10 years ago. I never used taxi services anyway; bus services are pretty good here, and I cycle. A bigger issue is that a lot of services are "smartphone-only", and can't be done with a regular computer; sometimes this makes sense, sometimes less so. I partly get around this by running Android emulator on my computer when I really can't avoid it, which works "well enough". This will only get worse in the future. I dislike telling people I don't have a smartphone; people look at you like you're some sort of freak. Recently someone told me that "I do not belong in modern society" shrug. I guess it's not inaccurate, as I dislike a lot of technology and feel it makes our lives worse in many ways (in spite of working as a programmer, but that's just for the money at this point; very hypocritical, yes). Right now I have a "true" dumb phone (or at least, as dumb as you can get), which can just call and SMS and that's it. Oh, it also has snake, of course, and curiously it also has some other games you need to "buy" for €5 or so. IIRC the EU will switch off 2G in 2024 or so, so I guess I'll have to buy a slightly less "dumb phone" by then. We'll see.

octoberfranklin 5y ago

Does your phone still actually work? You must not be in the US... that is a 3G phone and the 3G networks here are either shut off or in the process of being shut off. https://www.gsmarena.com/nokia_515-5663.php https://www.gsmarena.com/nokia_515-5663.php

barbazoo 5y ago
I'd be very interested in a dumb phone that works in North America.
zephyr9 5y ago
I'm in Australia and I think there's a law that carriers need to keep an amount of 3G coverage. So we will likely lose 4G coverage before 3G. Regulation FTW!
- octoberfranklin 5y ago
  Government-granted spectrum monopolies... two wrongs make a right I guess.
- angus-g 5y ago
  I think it might only be around for another couple of years -- Telstra is switching theirs off in 2024, and Optus is pretty soon too.

GoblinSlayer 5y ago

Wouldn't you get a better and cheaper camera if it's really a camera and not a phone?

MerelyMortal 5y ago
The best camera is the one you have with you, and I hate carrying around extra stuff in my pockets, thus I like having an all-in-one device.
zephyr9 5y ago
Short answer, yes, long answer, it depends. A lot of camera capabilities hinge on the physical size of the sensor, i.e. how much power it consumes to shoot and how much heat it generates. An iPhone camera sensor is tiny and so can do pretty amazing things like shoot 1080p 240fps slow-motion. Trying to do that with a 4/3" sensor is more demanding. I need slow-motion for my work.