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What a ridiculous notion. The device costs over a thousand fucking euros! Samsung doesn't sell it with a warning that says "this device is for early adopters an

What a ridiculous notion. The device costs over a thousand fucking euros! Samsung doesn't sell it with a warning that says "this device is for early adopters and won't be repaired should it fail due to a manufacturing defect." Any decent company would fix it, full stop.

gonzo41 5y ago
There's plenty of times in Apples history where looking cool has won out over practical concerns. People have more money than sense and will happily ignore that they could buy a rock solid (literally) feature phone for <50 dollars, if in doing the opposite they can look trendy.
- Syonyk 5y ago
  > There's plenty of times in Apples history where looking cool has won out over practical concerns. I'm not even sure "looking cool" was a factor in some of the worst ones. "Winning industrial design awards for being thinner than possible" stands out to me. In pursuit of that, they had four years worth of laptop keyboards that didn't work long term, and got rid of the most amazing feature ever for laptop charging (MagSafe), to thin things out further with USB-C. Not a bad connector, but definitely a bad charging connector compared to MagSafe for people with kids, pets, etc. I'm glad they've gone back to a laptop that seems to work, but... I've lost interest.
- scarface74 5y ago
  Apple’s history goes back over 45 years. Was it the Apple // era, Macs, iPods, iPhones, iPads, Watches, AirPods, etc? What feature phone in 2021 has anything that a modern consumer would find acceptable?
  - projektfu 5y ago
    Assuming you want a feature phone because you want something small that isn’t going to monopolize your attention, the Nokia 6300 4G probably fits the bill.
    - scarface74 5y ago
      Or a cellular Apple Watch…
- MathCodeLove 5y ago
  Suggestions for a rock solid <$50 phone? Been wanting to buy a few for hands on application testing.
  - gonzo41 5y ago
    I would stick to using an emulator if you can, but the ZTE and vivo cheapies are pretty good.
- ornornor 5y ago
  Eh yes and no. I’m a firm member of the function over form camp. I’ve had Androïd for a decade after Apple forced an update to the iPhone 3G that made it so slow you couldn’t even dial a number anymore. But a couple years ago, I bought a used iPhone 6s because I got tired of the Androïd flakiness and lack of quality in general. All my trust in google also eroded over time. I don’t regret jumping ships again. The iPhone works well, I can still block all ads (except in the YouTube app) using nextdns.io, my 6 years old iPhone still gets updates and runs well. The only thing I miss is newpipe but the trade off was worth it. The 50$ China androids you mention are riddled with spyware and provide few or no updates once the phone has been released. Then you have to deal with alternative roms if they exist which means you’re spending more time making your phone work that actually being able to use it normally. Not saying it can appeal to some but it’s not for everyone if you want something that just works and is affordable. I paid 200$ for my used iPhone 2 years ago and I’m keeping it until they stop proving iOS updates AND then new features in the new iOS would actually be useful to me. I replaced the battery myself last year (cost 10$ + the ifixit tool set for 70$ which I’ve used many times to fix other things). It’s not quite 50$ but it’s not 1000$ either. Edit: not talking about MacBooks. This is a completely different story with brain dead decisions to look good even if it fails constantly (their shitty keyboards of the last 4–5 years) or refusing to even acknowledge let alone fix serious issues (like that MacBook with the gpu desoldering itself and failing in groves while apple was saying lalalalala and ignoring the problem for YEARS. I won’t ever buy a MacBook, they’re not good value and I don’t trust Apple to make good decisions about them or own up their mistakes with them. Plus they cost multiples more than a decent used laptop or workstation on which you can run Linux and upgrade components whenever needed so it can last you 5–10 years.
hammock 5y ago
What does costing over $1000 have to do with anything? No one owes you anything. Furthermore all applicable warranties are communicated at time of purchase. Bottom line, if the risk adjusted return is not worth it, then don't buy it. You may not be an early adopter
- bmicraft 5y ago
  Samsung can not just opt out of German warranty law by printing stuff on the box. They are required to prove the customer is at fault if a fault occurs within the fist six months after purchase, but I see no proof of wrong usage by the customer here.
  - hammock 5y ago
    Sounds like something that ought to be litigated in the courts. Maybe you can write to OP and suggest he file a lawsuit
  - dfawcus 5y ago
    I believe that is a cross EU thing, since the UK got it while still a member. i.e. the reversed burden of proof during the first 6 months, where it is assumed the device is at fault, and they supplier has to prove it is not. So in this case I'd agree, I see little proof just an assertion, and would suggest they institute the process for their equivalent of a Small Claims Court case.
- maccard 5y ago
  > Furthermore all applicable warranties are communicated at time of purchase. This is in the EU, where manufacturers are required to provide a two year guarantee [0], which can't be voluntarily opted out of. [0] https://europa.eu/youreurope/citizens/consumers/shopping/guarantees-returns/faq/index_en.htm https://europa.eu/youreurope/citizens/consumers/shopping/gua...
ByteJockey 5y ago
> The device costs over a thousand fucking euros! Well yeah. Buying something early is the most expensive time to buy it. The inefficiencies haven't been worked out of the manufacturing process yet, and there's not an established wide customer base to spread the R&D over yet. Radios in the 1920s cost over 100 hours of wages for a lot of people. TVs in the 50s were stupid expensive. Computers in the early 60s were literally hundreds of thousands of dollars. And all of these things were pretty garbage compared to what you think of today. Hell, the computer from the early 60s could probably lose a math race to a seasoned abacus veteran. In exchange for the high risk and high payment, you get to play with something that might be cool, and you get bragging rights (depending on your personality type, one of these might excite you more than the other). > Any decent company would fix it, full stop. Well, probably. I'm not going to defend samsung here. They're acting pretty garbage. But the point about new tech being risky, is entirely fair. If something's still exciting, it's probably a good idea for the risk-averse to avoid it.
- JohnJamesRambo 5y ago
  > you get to play with something that might be cool, and you get bragging rights How is this remotely like the life changing effect of getting a radio or tv?
  - MathCodeLove 5y ago
    The point wasn't about how lifetaking the techology is/isn't. The point was that it's new, and therefore expensive.
    - Brian_K_White 5y ago
      The point wasn't that it was expensive. The author happily paid the expense. They claim to even be happy to suffer the annoyance of downtime and repair even though they didn't abuse the device. Those are the only 2 things an early adopter is obligated to asorb. The point was that it was all 4 together of: expensive, immature, unsupported, and not sold as unsupported. It was sold with a standard warranty like any product, yet in reality they just deny the claim no matter how valid. The expense only means that's why you care, that they take your money which did not break on them a few weeks later, and don't honor their promises.

gonzo41 5y ago

There's plenty of times in Apples history where looking cool has won out over practical concerns. People have more money than sense and will happily ignore that they could buy a rock solid (literally) feature phone for <50 dollars, if in doing the opposite they can look trendy.

Syonyk 5y ago
> There's plenty of times in Apples history where looking cool has won out over practical concerns. I'm not even sure "looking cool" was a factor in some of the worst ones. "Winning industrial design awards for being thinner than possible" stands out to me. In pursuit of that, they had four years worth of laptop keyboards that didn't work long term, and got rid of the most amazing feature ever for laptop charging (MagSafe), to thin things out further with USB-C. Not a bad connector, but definitely a bad charging connector compared to MagSafe for people with kids, pets, etc. I'm glad they've gone back to a laptop that seems to work, but... I've lost interest.
scarface74 5y ago
Apple’s history goes back over 45 years. Was it the Apple // era, Macs, iPods, iPhones, iPads, Watches, AirPods, etc? What feature phone in 2021 has anything that a modern consumer would find acceptable?
- projektfu 5y ago
  Assuming you want a feature phone because you want something small that isn’t going to monopolize your attention, the Nokia 6300 4G probably fits the bill.
  - scarface74 5y ago
    Or a cellular Apple Watch…
MathCodeLove 5y ago
Suggestions for a rock solid <$50 phone? Been wanting to buy a few for hands on application testing.
- gonzo41 5y ago
  I would stick to using an emulator if you can, but the ZTE and vivo cheapies are pretty good.
ornornor 5y ago
Eh yes and no. I’m a firm member of the function over form camp. I’ve had Androïd for a decade after Apple forced an update to the iPhone 3G that made it so slow you couldn’t even dial a number anymore. But a couple years ago, I bought a used iPhone 6s because I got tired of the Androïd flakiness and lack of quality in general. All my trust in google also eroded over time. I don’t regret jumping ships again. The iPhone works well, I can still block all ads (except in the YouTube app) using nextdns.io, my 6 years old iPhone still gets updates and runs well. The only thing I miss is newpipe but the trade off was worth it. The 50$ China androids you mention are riddled with spyware and provide few or no updates once the phone has been released. Then you have to deal with alternative roms if they exist which means you’re spending more time making your phone work that actually being able to use it normally. Not saying it can appeal to some but it’s not for everyone if you want something that just works and is affordable. I paid 200$ for my used iPhone 2 years ago and I’m keeping it until they stop proving iOS updates AND then new features in the new iOS would actually be useful to me. I replaced the battery myself last year (cost 10$ + the ifixit tool set for 70$ which I’ve used many times to fix other things). It’s not quite 50$ but it’s not 1000$ either. Edit: not talking about MacBooks. This is a completely different story with brain dead decisions to look good even if it fails constantly (their shitty keyboards of the last 4–5 years) or refusing to even acknowledge let alone fix serious issues (like that MacBook with the gpu desoldering itself and failing in groves while apple was saying lalalalala and ignoring the problem for YEARS. I won’t ever buy a MacBook, they’re not good value and I don’t trust Apple to make good decisions about them or own up their mistakes with them. Plus they cost multiples more than a decent used laptop or workstation on which you can run Linux and upgrade components whenever needed so it can last you 5–10 years.

hammock 5y ago

What does costing over $1000 have to do with anything? No one owes you anything. Furthermore all applicable warranties are communicated at time of purchase. Bottom line, if the risk adjusted return is not worth it, then don't buy it. You may not be an early adopter

bmicraft 5y ago
Samsung can not just opt out of German warranty law by printing stuff on the box. They are required to prove the customer is at fault if a fault occurs within the fist six months after purchase, but I see no proof of wrong usage by the customer here.
- hammock 5y ago
  Sounds like something that ought to be litigated in the courts. Maybe you can write to OP and suggest he file a lawsuit
- dfawcus 5y ago
  I believe that is a cross EU thing, since the UK got it while still a member. i.e. the reversed burden of proof during the first 6 months, where it is assumed the device is at fault, and they supplier has to prove it is not. So in this case I'd agree, I see little proof just an assertion, and would suggest they institute the process for their equivalent of a Small Claims Court case.
maccard 5y ago
> Furthermore all applicable warranties are communicated at time of purchase. This is in the EU, where manufacturers are required to provide a two year guarantee [0], which can't be voluntarily opted out of. [0] https://europa.eu/youreurope/citizens/consumers/shopping/guarantees-returns/faq/index_en.htm https://europa.eu/youreurope/citizens/consumers/shopping/gua...

ByteJockey 5y ago

> The device costs over a thousand fucking euros! Well yeah. Buying something early is the most expensive time to buy it. The inefficiencies haven't been worked out of the manufacturing process yet, and there's not an established wide customer base to spread the R&D over yet. Radios in the 1920s cost over 100 hours of wages for a lot of people. TVs in the 50s were stupid expensive. Computers in the early 60s were literally hundreds of thousands of dollars. And all of these things were pretty garbage compared to what you think of today. Hell, the computer from the early 60s could probably lose a math race to a seasoned abacus veteran. In exchange for the high risk and high payment, you get to play with something that might be cool, and you get bragging rights (depending on your personality type, one of these might excite you more than the other). > Any decent company would fix it, full stop. Well, probably. I'm not going to defend samsung here. They're acting pretty garbage. But the point about new tech being risky, is entirely fair. If something's still exciting, it's probably a good idea for the risk-averse to avoid it.

JohnJamesRambo 5y ago
> you get to play with something that might be cool, and you get bragging rights How is this remotely like the life changing effect of getting a radio or tv?
- MathCodeLove 5y ago
  The point wasn't about how lifetaking the techology is/isn't. The point was that it's new, and therefore expensive.
  - Brian_K_White 5y ago
    The point wasn't that it was expensive. The author happily paid the expense. They claim to even be happy to suffer the annoyance of downtime and repair even though they didn't abuse the device. Those are the only 2 things an early adopter is obligated to asorb. The point was that it was all 4 together of: expensive, immature, unsupported, and not sold as unsupported. It was sold with a standard warranty like any product, yet in reality they just deny the claim no matter how valid. The expense only means that's why you care, that they take your money which did not break on them a few weeks later, and don't honor their promises.