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> It’s crazy that anyone can force a full-screen interrupt on my personal device with no context. It's a _phone_. Phone calls are it's primary function. If you

by 2000UltraDeluxe 4y ago

> It’s crazy that anyone can force a full-screen interrupt on my personal device with no context. It's a _phone_. Phone calls are it's primary function. If you don't want that, wouldn't a pad be a better option than a phone? Besides, how would you handle calls from landlines and such?

stepanhruda 4y ago
Hah, no it's not, I don't even have the phone app on my home screen unless I search for it.
mikestew 4y ago
t's a _phone_. Phone calls are it's primary function. Not for about fifteen years or so, no. I don't even have the Phone app on the front page of my iPhone, let alone allow it to sit in the dock. Regardless, whatever the primary function of the device, there is room for improvement over "it's always worked that way".
thereisnospork 4y ago
>Besides, how would you handle calls from landlines and such? Direct to voicemail, of course, with a message saying 'text me' for automatic transcription. As they say, its a feature not a bug [to not be interrupted]. In a perfect world I'd have a secretary or AI to screen calls on my behalf, but I don't.
- TeMPOraL 4y ago
  Ironically, you almost do. Last week I updated my S22 to Android 13, and one of the new features Samsung claims to have implemented[0] is to have Bixby pick the call for you, transcribe what the caller says, and display it on screen, giving you a choice to pick up the call, or type/select a reply that Bixby will then say to the caller. With spam call detection being an established feature for years already, the ingredients for your AI assistant are already there. Now that I think of it, I might actually try this the next time a telemarketer calls. ---- [0] - I haven't actually tested it, nor seen it in action - just saw it being mentioned when I reviewed "Tips" app after update.
  - wildrhythms 4y ago
    Pixel phones have call screen feature today, and anecdotally it works great. I haven't picked up to a telemarketer in over a year. https://support.google.com/assistant/answer/9118387?hl=en https://support.google.com/assistant/answer/9118387?hl=en
- newbie2020 4y ago
  Thankfully you’re not charge of designing my phone
danielbln 4y ago
Is there a 5-6 inch pad available? If not, then that's not an alternative, can't shove a 10 inch tablet into my pocket. And while it's called a phone, the primary function for many (dare I say most?) is definitely not doing voice calls, hell my phone app icon isn't even on the homescreen anymore, that's how little I use this device for phone calls and I use it for hours every day otherwise.
- 2000UltraDeluxe 4y ago
  > Is there a 5-6 inch pad available? Android tablets? Several.
  - rootusrootus 4y ago
    I'd be interest to know what those are. Smallest I've been able to find is 8 inches.
    - 2000UltraDeluxe 4y ago
      Hmm, I was going to get back to you with a list, but it seems most of the 6-inchers have been discontinued. The Amazon Fire 6 would have been the most prominent example. There are some, but none of them would be suitable for consumer use. I stand corrected!
- dotancohen 4y ago
  Samsung Note series of phones. I've been using them since the Note 3 and could not imagine using any other device without a stylus. Yes, it's primarily a phone by market segmentation. But it's a small tablet by features.
saurik 4y ago
> If you don't want that, wouldn't a pad be a better option than a phone? 1) Do they make devices that aren't phones that are the size of a note"pad"? The smallest non-phone tablet devices are now (with the death of iPod touch) the size of (at best) a small note"book", not a sensibly-sized-for-portable-usage note"pad". 2) That doesn't even solve the problem as tons of Internet-connected messaging software now supports calls, so I feel like you are missing the point in some sense: the person you are responding to is seriously talking about WhatsApp!
rvieira 4y ago
tbf, it depends. I make/receive around 1 call per month, if that. To me, it's a good quality camera that I can fit in my pocket.
midoridensha 4y ago
>It's a _phone_. Phone calls are it's primary function. No, it's not. You sound like a dinosaur. A phone's primary functions are 1) text-messaging apps, 2) camera, 3) dating apps, 4) banking apps, and various others. Phone calls are somewhere around #20.
- MichaelZuo 4y ago
  Not according to the mobile OS engineering teams at Apple or Google. Phone calls are intentionally given priority over other functions.
  - happyopossum 4y ago
    > Not according to the mobile OS engineering teams at Apple Phone calls haven't forced full screen takeovers for several years on iOS, and have the same UX as 3rd party VoIP and Video call apps...
    - MichaelZuo 4y ago
      Priority isn't solely limited to forced full screen takeovers.
- jobs_throwaway 4y ago
  dating apps over phone calls is an absolutely ludicrous take that demonstrates a disconnect from reality
  - coldpie 4y ago
    Definitely not. It depends on who you and your circle of friends are, of course, but dating apps are definitely way higher usage than phone calls among anyone I know. I use my phone as a phone less than half a dozen times per year. If the phone functionality vanished, I don't think I would mind.
    - Cederfjard 4y ago
AnIdiotOnTheNet 4y ago
As a phone, all cell phones are terrible. In the wired-phone era companies used to advertise on call quality. Nobody does that any more because the quality of cell phone calls is so abysmal that text with (or without frankly) emojis is an order of magnitude better for communication. If they made pads the size of my phone that could still use cell network internet and that I could put a custom OS on I'd consider it.
- yamtaddle 4y ago
  People who never experienced a really good connection when no more than a little of the phone & switching network was digitized, surely have no idea what they're missing. I've never once heard a call since that era that was as good—VOIP, Zoom, cell network, modern POTS network, whatever.
solumunus 4y ago
> It's a _phone_. Phone calls are it's primary function. So? This is a way to improve phone calls.

stepanhruda 4y ago

Hah, no it's not, I don't even have the phone app on my home screen unless I search for it.

mikestew 4y ago

t's a _phone_. Phone calls are it's primary function. Not for about fifteen years or so, no. I don't even have the Phone app on the front page of my iPhone, let alone allow it to sit in the dock. Regardless, whatever the primary function of the device, there is room for improvement over "it's always worked that way".

thereisnospork 4y ago

>Besides, how would you handle calls from landlines and such? Direct to voicemail, of course, with a message saying 'text me' for automatic transcription. As they say, its a feature not a bug [to not be interrupted]. In a perfect world I'd have a secretary or AI to screen calls on my behalf, but I don't.

TeMPOraL 4y ago
Ironically, you almost do. Last week I updated my S22 to Android 13, and one of the new features Samsung claims to have implemented[0] is to have Bixby pick the call for you, transcribe what the caller says, and display it on screen, giving you a choice to pick up the call, or type/select a reply that Bixby will then say to the caller. With spam call detection being an established feature for years already, the ingredients for your AI assistant are already there. Now that I think of it, I might actually try this the next time a telemarketer calls. ---- [0] - I haven't actually tested it, nor seen it in action - just saw it being mentioned when I reviewed "Tips" app after update.
- wildrhythms 4y ago
  Pixel phones have call screen feature today, and anecdotally it works great. I haven't picked up to a telemarketer in over a year. https://support.google.com/assistant/answer/9118387?hl=en https://support.google.com/assistant/answer/9118387?hl=en
newbie2020 4y ago
Thankfully you’re not charge of designing my phone

danielbln 4y ago

Is there a 5-6 inch pad available? If not, then that's not an alternative, can't shove a 10 inch tablet into my pocket. And while it's called a phone, the primary function for many (dare I say most?) is definitely not doing voice calls, hell my phone app icon isn't even on the homescreen anymore, that's how little I use this device for phone calls and I use it for hours every day otherwise.

2000UltraDeluxe 4y ago
> Is there a 5-6 inch pad available? Android tablets? Several.
- rootusrootus 4y ago
  I'd be interest to know what those are. Smallest I've been able to find is 8 inches.
  - 2000UltraDeluxe 4y ago
    Hmm, I was going to get back to you with a list, but it seems most of the 6-inchers have been discontinued. The Amazon Fire 6 would have been the most prominent example. There are some, but none of them would be suitable for consumer use. I stand corrected!
dotancohen 4y ago
Samsung Note series of phones. I've been using them since the Note 3 and could not imagine using any other device without a stylus. Yes, it's primarily a phone by market segmentation. But it's a small tablet by features.

saurik 4y ago

> If you don't want that, wouldn't a pad be a better option than a phone? 1) Do they make devices that aren't phones that are the size of a note"pad"? The smallest non-phone tablet devices are now (with the death of iPod touch) the size of (at best) a small note"book", not a sensibly-sized-for-portable-usage note"pad". 2) That doesn't even solve the problem as tons of Internet-connected messaging software now supports calls, so I feel like you are missing the point in some sense: the person you are responding to is seriously talking about WhatsApp!

rvieira 4y ago

tbf, it depends. I make/receive around 1 call per month, if that. To me, it's a good quality camera that I can fit in my pocket.

midoridensha 4y ago

>It's a _phone_. Phone calls are it's primary function. No, it's not. You sound like a dinosaur. A phone's primary functions are 1) text-messaging apps, 2) camera, 3) dating apps, 4) banking apps, and various others. Phone calls are somewhere around #20.

MichaelZuo 4y ago
Not according to the mobile OS engineering teams at Apple or Google. Phone calls are intentionally given priority over other functions.
- happyopossum 4y ago
  > Not according to the mobile OS engineering teams at Apple Phone calls haven't forced full screen takeovers for several years on iOS, and have the same UX as 3rd party VoIP and Video call apps...
  - MichaelZuo 4y ago
    Priority isn't solely limited to forced full screen takeovers.
jobs_throwaway 4y ago
dating apps over phone calls is an absolutely ludicrous take that demonstrates a disconnect from reality
- coldpie 4y ago
  Definitely not. It depends on who you and your circle of friends are, of course, but dating apps are definitely way higher usage than phone calls among anyone I know. I use my phone as a phone less than half a dozen times per year. If the phone functionality vanished, I don't think I would mind.
  - Cederfjard 4y ago

AnIdiotOnTheNet 4y ago

As a phone, all cell phones are terrible. In the wired-phone era companies used to advertise on call quality. Nobody does that any more because the quality of cell phone calls is so abysmal that text with (or without frankly) emojis is an order of magnitude better for communication. If they made pads the size of my phone that could still use cell network internet and that I could put a custom OS on I'd consider it.

yamtaddle 4y ago
People who never experienced a really good connection when no more than a little of the phone & switching network was digitized, surely have no idea what they're missing. I've never once heard a call since that era that was as good—VOIP, Zoom, cell network, modern POTS network, whatever.

solumunus 4y ago

> It's a _phone_. Phone calls are it's primary function. So? This is a way to improve phone calls.