4 ms·

It's a bit like asking if I'd want to use an Ipad 1 which is less than 5 years old. If Apple focused on iterating on iOS 5 and kept it running on an iPad 1, and

It's a bit like asking if I'd want to use an Ipad 1 which is less than 5 years old. If Apple focused on iterating on iOS 5 and kept it running on an iPad 1, and all the developers in the world were developing for the iPad 1, I think we'd be much worse off. We also mustn't forget there's compounding development. i.e. if you have a 1-year release cycle on small updates (4 -> 4S, 5 -> 5S) and a 2-year release cycle for major updates, you compound developments much faster than a 5-year cycle as you can do mini-experiments every year, see how the response is and act on it. Touch ID is a great example, used as an alternative to unlocking with pin on the 5S, well received, then integrated into Apple Pay for in-store payments, appstore payments, paypal payments etc. Does that mean we're 'to blame'? Well in a way, yes. But I don't really feel it's a big problem. It's a side-effect of something awesome: new technology iterating fast. If you compare mobile tech between 2008 - 2014, I'm pretty amazed. But you offered a pretty extreme 5-year case. I think most obviously would say no to that. But software problems being deprecated on a 2-year old phone (that should have already been resolved anyway) is pretty weak and I don't think it's got much to do with consumers. That's a business choice for which I think enough resources should be made available to fix, unless it's not important. But we're talking a Voip call for a smartphone here, it doesn't get much more elementary than that. It's just bad practice and I don't think we are to blame for that. I wouldn't expect a Voip call to echo madly from an HTC or Apple phone and then not get fixed in the 2 years after.

possibilistic 12y ago
I know it's not feasible at present, but I'd like to imagine a smartphone that I could consider a high end professional tool. A device like that needs no software or UI changes outside of an occasional patch; hardware fast enough that I couldn't imagine a need for replacing it. A Thinkpad or Nikon, and just as much an extension of my person. Like vim, using the device would feel a bit like playing the piano--something I bend and mold, that also bends and molds me. I'm not at all satisfied with this stuff yet--not to the level I described. Currently these phones are indespensible (much like trips to the dentist), but what I really want is for them to feel like an extension of my soul (like a fine car). Things are too buggy, too consumer, and moving much too fast. I imagine we'll eventually hit a plateau, because I want that phone.
ce4 12y ago
I'm a bit skeptical that your comparison of to the ipad1 is a good one. After all you just compared (one of?) the first viable tablets from the very start of the tablet market where innovation/iteration was much higher to a smartphone that appeared 5 years into the smartphone era where innovation/cycle is now much lower. You can still install the latest Android version via aftermarket firmware for the first Samsung Galaxy S1. That phone was released in June 2010, only two years into the smartphone era. It will turn 5 soon and still runs great. Only downside is its small system partitions.

possibilistic 12y ago

I know it's not feasible at present, but I'd like to imagine a smartphone that I could consider a high end professional tool. A device like that needs no software or UI changes outside of an occasional patch; hardware fast enough that I couldn't imagine a need for replacing it. A Thinkpad or Nikon, and just as much an extension of my person. Like vim, using the device would feel a bit like playing the piano--something I bend and mold, that also bends and molds me. I'm not at all satisfied with this stuff yet--not to the level I described. Currently these phones are indespensible (much like trips to the dentist), but what I really want is for them to feel like an extension of my soul (like a fine car). Things are too buggy, too consumer, and moving much too fast. I imagine we'll eventually hit a plateau, because I want that phone.

ce4 12y ago

I'm a bit skeptical that your comparison of to the ipad1 is a good one. After all you just compared (one of?) the first viable tablets from the very start of the tablet market where innovation/iteration was much higher to a smartphone that appeared 5 years into the smartphone era where innovation/cycle is now much lower. You can still install the latest Android version via aftermarket firmware for the first Samsung Galaxy S1. That phone was released in June 2010, only two years into the smartphone era. It will turn 5 soon and still runs great. Only downside is its small system partitions.