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Thing is, Apple actually improved things by making phones (almost) all-touch. Touchscreen phones fucking rule, despite the challenges presented, because there a

Thing is, Apple actually improved things by making phones (almost) all-touch. Touchscreen phones fucking rule, despite the challenges presented, because there are so many different applications you need to control on your phone that physical buttons would be pretty cumbersome and would always feel like a poor hack. A car does not have the same functionality or purpose. Touchscreens are a distinct step backward when replacing radio and lighting controls. I'm not going to play Baldur's Gate 2 on a damn Tesla because I have to drive it, and if I didn't have to drive it in a world where self-driving was good, I'd just play it on my damn phone. (Actually I'd play it on my Steam Deck, because the physical controls are best-in-class.)

kristopolous 3y ago
Right but that's not it with Apple. Things like multiple SIMs, microSD, headphone jacks --- early android phones even had micro-hdmi ports and removable batteries. They also used to be a more convenient form-factor before Apple started trending towards phablets. It also took about a dozen years before they would not easily crack because Apple, and thus the rest of the industry, insisted on a design that looked more like a fashion accessory than something you use on a daily basis. Every move Apple did, basically the entire industry cloned. iPhones are readily available. If a consumer wanted it they'd get it. Instead of the much vaulted diversity or thousand flowers supposedly blooming, you just get different brands of the same decisions. This goes back to a Ries&Trout quote from the 90s: If your competitor is selling coca-cola, it's probably easier to start selling snapple than wannabe coca-cola. But that's not what tech does. Instead, a designated leader is deputized king bullshitter and all the other players chase it. It was anathema to progress when Microsoft occupied that space in the 90s and it's still that way today.
marssaxman 3y ago
> physical buttons would be pretty cumbersome and would always feel like a poor hack. Except for typing text, of course, for which touch screens are worse. I no longer write email on my phone, because typing anything longer than a couple of sentences on glass is too frustrating. In that way touchscreen phones have regressed from the experience I used to have with a BlackBerry.
- digging 3y ago
  Yes, that's true. Typing actually sucks. Frankly I don't like typing even on a tiny keyboard like a Blackberry's either, but it's for sure better than a touch screen.
  - kristopolous 3y ago
    How would you fix it without violating the form factor? I've seen lots of attempts, such as foldable and rollable along with butterfly keyboards (ibm style, not apple) that clasp to the back of the phone and use a novel layout, but nothing really great.
    - digging 3y ago
      With current technology, nothing I can think of. Ideally, a touchscreen that can alter its shape to create tactile "key" bumps overtop a software keyboard but remain flat by default.
      - kristopolous 3y ago
        I've seen prototypes of those but nothing production. Here's one from 2009 https://www.wired.com/2009/05/prototype-display-combines-touchscreen-morphing-buttons/ https://www.wired.com/2009/05/prototype-display-combines-tou... It's not actually a hard technology. I've felt a few of them in person at various things like CES and SIGGRAPH. They're a bit jelly-like but aren't bad. I guess we'll have to hope Apple "invents" a revolutionary iButton feature for iPhone/2024 and then we'll finally get that because that's the Only Innovation Pipeline that exists It makes me almost want to work for Apple on their iPhone team to get them to knockoff the bullshit
- kristopolous 3y ago
  Back then we called them "crackberries" because you could do a lot on them. I mean we still have "crackiphones" today but that's a different meaning.

kristopolous 3y ago

Right but that's not it with Apple. Things like multiple SIMs, microSD, headphone jacks --- early android phones even had micro-hdmi ports and removable batteries. They also used to be a more convenient form-factor before Apple started trending towards phablets. It also took about a dozen years before they would not easily crack because Apple, and thus the rest of the industry, insisted on a design that looked more like a fashion accessory than something you use on a daily basis. Every move Apple did, basically the entire industry cloned. iPhones are readily available. If a consumer wanted it they'd get it. Instead of the much vaulted diversity or thousand flowers supposedly blooming, you just get different brands of the same decisions. This goes back to a Ries&Trout quote from the 90s: If your competitor is selling coca-cola, it's probably easier to start selling snapple than wannabe coca-cola. But that's not what tech does. Instead, a designated leader is deputized king bullshitter and all the other players chase it. It was anathema to progress when Microsoft occupied that space in the 90s and it's still that way today.

marssaxman 3y ago

> physical buttons would be pretty cumbersome and would always feel like a poor hack. Except for typing text, of course, for which touch screens are worse. I no longer write email on my phone, because typing anything longer than a couple of sentences on glass is too frustrating. In that way touchscreen phones have regressed from the experience I used to have with a BlackBerry.

digging 3y ago
Yes, that's true. Typing actually sucks. Frankly I don't like typing even on a tiny keyboard like a Blackberry's either, but it's for sure better than a touch screen.
- kristopolous 3y ago
  How would you fix it without violating the form factor? I've seen lots of attempts, such as foldable and rollable along with butterfly keyboards (ibm style, not apple) that clasp to the back of the phone and use a novel layout, but nothing really great.
  - digging 3y ago
    With current technology, nothing I can think of. Ideally, a touchscreen that can alter its shape to create tactile "key" bumps overtop a software keyboard but remain flat by default.
    - kristopolous 3y ago
      I've seen prototypes of those but nothing production. Here's one from 2009 https://www.wired.com/2009/05/prototype-display-combines-touchscreen-morphing-buttons/ https://www.wired.com/2009/05/prototype-display-combines-tou... It's not actually a hard technology. I've felt a few of them in person at various things like CES and SIGGRAPH. They're a bit jelly-like but aren't bad. I guess we'll have to hope Apple "invents" a revolutionary iButton feature for iPhone/2024 and then we'll finally get that because that's the Only Innovation Pipeline that exists It makes me almost want to work for Apple on their iPhone team to get them to knockoff the bullshit
kristopolous 3y ago
Back then we called them "crackberries" because you could do a lot on them. I mean we still have "crackiphones" today but that's a different meaning.