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There is a near-infinite variety of phones. People claim that they want them but really they don't. I know this because I used to try to help. I used to think

There is a near-infinite variety of phones. People claim that they want them but really they don't. I know this because I used to try to help. I used to think that, for whatever reason, people just didn't know about all of the options out there. I was wrong. "I want a smaller phone" here's a smaller phone "yeah but I don't like that one". "I want a thicker phone with a huge battery" here's a thicker phone with a huge battery "yeah but I don't like that one". "I want a dumber phone" here's a dumber phone "yeah but I don't like that one". "I want a privacy-focused phone" here's a privacy-focused phone "yeah but I don't like that one". People will make up an infinite variety of excuses why a product that meets their chief stated requirement isn't for them. "Oh the camera is only 24.9999 megapixels instead of 25. Oh that's 9mm thick I really can only do 8.9mm at maximum. Oh that's only IP68 rated I want IP69. Oh that screen is 5.4 inches-- TOO BIG-- I want a 5.25 inch screen." The best was when someone wanted a rugged phone with long battery life and they rejected an option because its ARM cores ran at like 525MHz less than the latest shiny Samsung joint so they bought the skinny non-rugged non-gigundo-battery Samsung instead. They didn't understand that the only distance between the two would be in benchmarks, and only by small margins, and that to human perception there would be no difference. What I think they want, instead of a phone that meets their requirements, is a POPULAR phone that they consider to be an aspiration goal or status symbol to be specifically designed to meet their personal requirements and that everyone else should have those same requirements too.

echelon 1y ago
The problem is that the market has a few clear market leaders that have dominated the field. Every other player is fighting for scraps. It's almost impossible to compete with Apple and Google. Samsung is managing to hang on, but not many others can. I think the level of software control that Apple and Google wield alone is cause for regulatory scrutiny and possible antitrust action. Maybe something like that can oxygenate the field for better competition. Smartphones shouldn't be this stagnant. It should be a highly competitive market. But it isn't.
parineum 1y ago
> I know this because I used to try to help. I used to think that, for whatever reason, people just didn't know about all of the options out there. > I was wrong. You were wrong because you misunderstood the comment. When people say "I want a smaller phone" what they mean is "I want this phone, but smaller". So when you tell them a smaller phone exists but it's also different in 20 other parameters, now there's a new problem, as you encountered. It's not because those people are disingenuous, it's because you misunderstood them.
numpad0 1y ago
There used to be phones with a secondary display, full QWERTY keyboard, wireless split remote, whole Windows computer in the back, a completely square display, two displays of which one rotate, a plug-in dual display cover, dual SIM slot, a miniature video projector, fingerprint sensor in the back, TV tuner, FM radio, sleep-swappable battery, IP68 rating, laser barcode scanner, 1" equivalent image sensor, 42MP image sensor, actually mechanically zooming lenses, IrDA, strap holes, 3.5mm headphone jacks, iPhone killed them all. Yeah I personally kind of want iMessage. Doesn't change the fact that iPhone killed them all.
- os2warpman 1y ago
  With the possible exception of IrDA, which in 2025 is like wanting a parallel port on a phone, pretty much all of that still exists. Here's a phone with "a completely square display": https://www.walmart.com/ip/Rotatable-Phone-i19-Pro-Mini-Fold-Mobile-Phone-Dual-SIM-Vibration-Magic-Voice-Blacklist-Speed-Dial-2-4-inch-Screen-Square-Phone/7933450218 https://www.walmart.com/ip/Rotatable-Phone-i19-Pro-Mini-Fold... It even rotates but only the one screen. I even found a phone with integrated barcode scanner, the UNIWA V9S.

echelon 1y ago

The problem is that the market has a few clear market leaders that have dominated the field. Every other player is fighting for scraps. It's almost impossible to compete with Apple and Google. Samsung is managing to hang on, but not many others can. I think the level of software control that Apple and Google wield alone is cause for regulatory scrutiny and possible antitrust action. Maybe something like that can oxygenate the field for better competition. Smartphones shouldn't be this stagnant. It should be a highly competitive market. But it isn't.

parineum 1y ago

> I know this because I used to try to help. I used to think that, for whatever reason, people just didn't know about all of the options out there. > I was wrong. You were wrong because you misunderstood the comment. When people say "I want a smaller phone" what they mean is "I want this phone, but smaller". So when you tell them a smaller phone exists but it's also different in 20 other parameters, now there's a new problem, as you encountered. It's not because those people are disingenuous, it's because you misunderstood them.

numpad0 1y ago

There used to be phones with a secondary display, full QWERTY keyboard, wireless split remote, whole Windows computer in the back, a completely square display, two displays of which one rotate, a plug-in dual display cover, dual SIM slot, a miniature video projector, fingerprint sensor in the back, TV tuner, FM radio, sleep-swappable battery, IP68 rating, laser barcode scanner, 1" equivalent image sensor, 42MP image sensor, actually mechanically zooming lenses, IrDA, strap holes, 3.5mm headphone jacks, iPhone killed them all. Yeah I personally kind of want iMessage. Doesn't change the fact that iPhone killed them all.

os2warpman 1y ago
With the possible exception of IrDA, which in 2025 is like wanting a parallel port on a phone, pretty much all of that still exists. Here's a phone with "a completely square display": https://www.walmart.com/ip/Rotatable-Phone-i19-Pro-Mini-Fold-Mobile-Phone-Dual-SIM-Vibration-Magic-Voice-Blacklist-Speed-Dial-2-4-inch-Screen-Square-Phone/7933450218 https://www.walmart.com/ip/Rotatable-Phone-i19-Pro-Mini-Fold... It even rotates but only the one screen. I even found a phone with integrated barcode scanner, the UNIWA V9S.