Your current and next phone. - Smartphone general

[Doggo]

Current: iPhone 11
Future: iPhone 16 Pro Max. Plus maybe a droid to play around with (I could use it as a “work phone” I guess, but there are a one or two small things iOS won’t do. Mainly wardriving apps.

 

[Doggo]

I don't really understand this video, but it appears Australia is on its way to bricking millions of phones, at least when used locally. In about a month. And that the Network they're rolling out will only work on locally purchased phones.

Not that I have any plans to visit the place, but this seems retarded, even by Ausfag standards.

What they’re taking about is the shutdown of the 3G network to allow bandwidth for better 4G and 5G. The only real problem is that not all phones use VoLTE (Voice over LTE) so when these phones make a call, they drop back to 3G. Honestly, if you have a phone that can’t do VoLTE, it’s time up upgrade anyway. It’s been a thing forever and there’s no excuse for half-arsed modern phones to not have it.

Android sucks at it, to the point where one of my friends had to make changes to the modem’s firmware to make VoLTE work, but he’s a very specific edge case. He wants a very particular phone (not too big, no hole punched out of the screen for a selfie camera he doesn’t use, and dual SIM without eSIM (so two physical SIMs). Turns out phones that fit these requirements are very few and far between.)

On iOS VoLTE just works, and has done for ages.

So yeah, the 3G shutdown won’t affect many people, and the carriers are giving away 4G phones for those who can’t afford them. However what it may affect more is M2M/IoT applications. Something like less than 2% of cellular traffic is over 3G. It’s so little that hardly any bandwidth is set aside for it these days. If you’re on 3G where you are, it’s just about unusable anyway.

Hope this explains some things.

 

[SirCliveSinclairdabbing]

What they’re taking about is the shutdown of the 3G network to allow bandwidth for better 4G and 5G. The only real problem is that not all phones use VoLTE (Voice over LTE) so when these phones make a call, they drop back to 3G. Honestly, if you have a phone that can’t do VoLTE, it’s time up upgrade anyway. It’s been a thing forever and there’s no excuse for half-arsed modern phones to not have it.

Android sucks at it, to the point where one of my friends had to make changes to the modem’s firmware to make VoLTE work, but he’s a very specific edge case. He wants a very particular phone (not too big, no hole punched out of the screen for a selfie camera he doesn’t use, and dual SIM without eSIM (so two physical SIMs). Turns out phones that fit these requirements are very few and far between.)

On iOS VoLTE just works, and has done for ages.

So yeah, the 3G shutdown won’t affect many people, and the carriers are giving away 4G phones for those who can’t afford them. However what it may affect more is M2M/IoT applications. Something like less than 2% of cellular traffic is over 3G. It’s so little that hardly any bandwidth is set aside for it these days. If you’re on 3G where you are, it’s just about unusable anyway.

Hope this explains some things.

The thing is there was a nice window of 3g phones without GPS onboard (Nokia n9x range).
Now it's 4g/5g only you're trackable to ft instead of miles.

 

[Kennedy Space Center]

I currently own Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra and I'm planning on switching to Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra if it will have the same body as S24. So more boxy, without edges.
I've had iPhone 12 Pro for over a year and I will NEVER ever go back to owning an iPhone. What a terrible device that is.

 

[ENDTOPII]

What they’re taking about is the shutdown of the 3G network to allow bandwidth for better 4G and 5G. The only real problem is that not all phones use VoLTE (Voice over LTE) so when these phones make a call, they drop back to 3G. Honestly, if you have a phone that can’t do VoLTE, it’s time up upgrade anyway. It’s been a thing forever and there’s no excuse for half-arsed modern phones to not have it.

Android sucks at it, to the point where one of my friends had to make changes to the modem’s firmware to make VoLTE work, but he’s a very specific edge case. He wants a very particular phone (not too big, no hole punched out of the screen for a selfie camera he doesn’t use, and dual SIM without eSIM (so two physical SIMs). Turns out phones that fit these requirements are very few and far between.)

On iOS VoLTE just works, and has done for ages.

So yeah, the 3G shutdown won’t affect many people, and the carriers are giving away 4G phones for those who can’t afford them. However what it may affect more is M2M/IoT applications. Something like less than 2% of cellular traffic is over 3G. It’s so little that hardly any bandwidth is set aside for it these days. If you’re on 3G where you are, it’s just about unusable anyway.

Hope this explains some things.

> people aren't buying new phones anymore
> *make every model prior 2019-2020 brick
> "phones" can only be used in urban areas from now on

The mental gymnastics you have to make in order to lower the connection distance range for a portable device and to make the battery drain even more, is nothing more than a massive planned obsolescence gayop by telecommunication companies.

 

[Kabobs]

I currently use the iPhone 16 Pro Max and the Moto G Stylus 5G (2024). While I use the iPhone as my daily driver, I still rock the Android for stuff iPhones can’t do.

 

[The Mass Shooter Ron Soye]

Ian Cutress explains why MediaTek ditching Cortex-A5xx little cores was a good idea:

 

[Stasi]

Been using a Realme 7 5G for the last 3 years and was pretty happy with it. Wasn't even thinking of changing but something fucky started happening with the battery. It would last a full day and have juice left over when I got home but last couple of days the battery has been dropping like a brick in a swimming pool. It bled about 40% charge overnight while not doing anything and when the screen is on I can literally see the battery counter drop a % every couple of minutes.

I get batteries degrade over time but it went from fine to "please charge me 3 times a day" literally overnight, and I can't see anything unusual like high background usage in the settings so have no idea what the fuck is going on.

Anyway, thinking of getting a budget replacement phone, Moto G seem to be popular but there are like 50 different models on Amazon. Can anyone recommend a budget phone with decent battery life? I don't need it to game or anything, just shitposting on here, checking emails and listening to music.

 

[soup peddler]

I had been using a Unihertz Pocket Titan with a version of LineageOS ported to the phone, but more recently I've just been using a burner flip phone. I love the phone, but basically, because it's someone's project OS, it doesn't get security updates as quickly as it needs to, so it kind of gives me pause to keep around. The microphone and speaker are both shit, so I'm considering destroying the microphone Snowden-style to just use a wired earphone-headset with it.

I'm kind of considering in the future just only owning and using a satellite phone and a landline? With my career I'll be in the N.American wilderness a lot so it's actually somewhat viable.

[generic online picture of the phone with its original OS, which is just funky android]

Basically right now I only use it when I need something only a smart phone can deliver, but I'm working right now at making a modern linux OS for an old clamshell PDA I can just keep loaded with openstreetmaps and whatever I need/ connect to a hot spot when necessary.

If I stay with a flip phone, I might go for a sunbeam wireless f1 pro with hotspot and waze. But more than likely I'll just keep the Titan and just only bring it out when I need it.

 

[The Anarki Main]

I got a Fairphone 4 a couple of months ago to replace my Soysung Gaylaxy S22 since that was dying. Here's my armchair review of it.

Build quality: excellent, aside from the insides which are fingerprint magnets, probably since it's recycled material. Stock ROM: Dog shit, it uses Google services like stock Android, but they are broken, so you can't activate the phone and use half the features. Replacing it with a new ROM fixes this, but that comes with it's own problems, notably the Fairphone camera is full of proprietary tech and relies on closed source binary blobs that the manufacturer isn't doing a great job of supporting. The only ROM with really good Fairphone camera support is /e/OS since they officially endorse it. You are also required to use an app inside the stock ROM to activate your warranty which is just evil. Camera quality: Also dog shit, especially considering the marketing promises a lot. I don't know if it's because of the OS I am using or if it really is supposed to look like that, but it is disappointing for 700+ US dollars. The Galaxy S5 looks better. Availability: Difficult. Their manufacturing partner is supposed to double as their North American distributor, but they... don't ship to North America. You can only import the phone through fucking Walmart of all places. Most carriers also won't accept the phone due to an arbitrary whitelist on IMEI numbers in the US, but this can be bypassed if you activate the phone with T-Mobile and then move back to your main carrier after the phone has been activated with one that approves of it. Sound: Good. Needs a headphone jack. Screen: Eh. This is supposed to be a flagship and they're using an LCD display instead of an OLED. Color reproduction is okay but not amazing, and no AOD mode. Black levels are disappointing, smudges are visible to a distracting degree. I think it is a VA panel but I don't know. Performance: Fine. Slower than the S22 but not bad. Can run games well, if you care about that kind of thing. Heat: Excellent. Enough said. Battery: Also excellent. I wish CalyxOS gave you low battery warnings but that's more of a me issue and not this phone specifically. Sustainability: Yes. This is what you get a Fairphone for. This is the only reason. Being able to repair it easily for years instead of throwing perfectly usable electronics away. If you don't care about this then just get a different phone, please.

Overall, not horrible, but not 700 dollars quality. You're really only getting this phone if you're a turbo autist like me and hate all the normal people phones that you're expected to replace every few years.

 

[Fräulein Troonjak]

>owning a chinkbrick
Paying to have your data sold. Ngmi.

 

[Baguette Child]

I lost a good friend today. After 16 years of faithful, dutiful service my Nokia E90 has finally departed this life.

My attempts to resuscitate him were unsuccessful. No longer shall my E90 shitpost with men, now he shitposts in the hereafter. He shall be missed for his sensible operating system, physical keyboard and lack of capability to spy on my every waking moment. I've compiled a comprehensive archive of all the custom software I've written for the E90 over the years if anyone ever wants it.



I seek advice on appointing a worthy successor. The 3G shutdown in my area has rendered the candidates I had scouted out no longer viable. I don't want a modern smartphone. I'm looking for anything that lacks Google or Apple interference and that will let me tinker under the hood unabated. I don't care about cameras or processor speed. Physical keyboard would be ideal but that's wishful thinking in the fucking garbage era we live in.

I might just get my pinephone back out and work on getting that usable again. But I'd rather not.

 

[soup peddler]

Physical keyboard would be ideal but that's wishful thinking in the fucking garbage era we live in.

For physical keyboard--

-Unihertz titan/ pocket titan- great device overall, can run LineageOS with VoLT well, but the speaker and microphone are not stellar, it's a bit of a brick, and the screen might be too small for your needs. It's kind of like a compromise between a smart phone and not. I don't mind the small screen and it's great for my preferences. I got mine used for under $200.

- F (x)tec- More expensive, probably like $700, but has a full smart phone screen as well as a "slide out" keyboard. I checked it out last year and it seemed ok, I just didn't care for the full size screen. Iirc it can run LineageOS.

-Blackberry Key2/Priv- Handsome device with a smaller screen and relatively sleek. As always, locked down, cannot port a postmarket OS onto it. Can get one for under $200

I looked into this a bunch last year, so I thought I'd share, in case it's helpful

 

[ShapelyMutton]

Physical keyboard would be ideal

Unihertz titan/ pocket titan

Build quality on the Unihertz Titan Pocket isn't great or my friend got a lemon. After 3 years 60% if the paint on the keys has worn away, the metal backplate is peeling off, and there were some odd periodic camera failures. Usage wasn't too rough and it was in the Unihertz provided protective casing the entire time.
There should be a Unihertz Keyboard model being announced in the next couple of months as well. Whether it will be a straight upgrade to a prior model or a different model from the Titan, Titan Pocket, or Titan Pocket Slim remains to be seen.

 

[soup peddler]

Build quality on the Unihertz Titan Pocket isn't great or my friend got a lemon. After 3 years 60% if the paint on the keys has worn away, the metal backplate is peeling off, and there were some odd periodic camera failures.

Yeah, my key paint is messed up as well, the speaker is tinny, and the camera is just straight up bad. However, for ~$175, it was a qwerty phone I could run a custom ROM on, and get directions/email on, so overall I'm very happy with it.

 

[Kosher Dill]

I've been playing around with a new phone to try out autism OSes on. What's the current thinking on GrapheneOS?
On the one hand, the (ex-?) main developer is a for-real lunatic who has his own active lolcow thread: https://kiwifarmsaaf4t2h7gc3dfc5ojh...-strcat-strncat-thestinger-grapheneos.165912/
On the other hand, nobody seems to care, reputable sites like privacyguides.org still recommend it, and even the victims of that lead dev's harassment apparently say "It's fine unless that one schizo considers you an enemy".

 

[prollyanotherlurker]

Currently have 3 phones:
Some chink made Nokia dumbphone
Oneplus 6 with linux on it (currently typing this from it)
Xiaomi Redmi Note 9 Pro (horrible, build quality and the software)

Because my first two phones do the stuff perfectly fine i use them for so im looking at getting a tablet. This would replace my third chinkium phone. Only things i actually use it for is 2fa and content consooming (newpipe, pirated movies/shows with mpv). I would also add a requirement and thats pencil support.

The one i found thats not Apple is Lenovo Tab P11 second gen. Looks like it has a good screen and supports the pencil.

how are you liking the linux phone? what de are you running on it? the I feel like I've mainly seen kde (or plasma maybe) mobile, and I've heard gnome might be decent on mobile.

 

[Battlefield42]

how are you liking the linux phone? what de are you running on it? the I feel like I've mainly seen kde (or plasma maybe) mobile, and I've heard gnome might be decent on mobile.

Phosh. Tbh linux on phones feels like how my first experience with linux was back in school more than a decade ago. Not great, not terrible.

 

[Van Darkholme]

When my Samsung A52 breaks or the battery shits itself, I will probably buy another phone in that price range (around 300€). I don't need anything more expensive for the things I do and I don't like using iPhones (used to own one before and just hated it).

 

[Yandex Captcha Solver]

Bought a "refurbished" OnePlus Nord N200 5G off eBay earlier this summer for $70. Ended up being a brand new phone. Threw a case and screen protector on. Flashed the international firmware on it, then flashed LineageOS. The camera sucks unless the lighting is great, the phone is slow browsing the web sometimes, speaker is shitty for videos, but I touch my phone just a few times a day. It's the first time VOLTE or Wifi Calling has worked perfectly. Only problem is I have to toggle my SIM in settings every reboot to receive texts.

Battery life is still reporting 100% health thanks to charging controls in LineageOS. Battery lasts a few days due to it's 5000mah battery. Still get weekly OTA updates since it's a supported device. Don't know what I would do without LineageOS, keeps budget phones usable for a long while.

Before I got it, I was really hoping for Unihertz to upgrade their Atom XL line to a new chipset that wasn't made in 2017. Seemed like the perfect small phone, that was durable, and as a bonus doubled a walkie talkie. Know there was a Lineage build for it as well. Sadly they released the Tank Mini, which is almost an inch thick, a tad too comical for myself. A nice thing about Unihertz is they will tell you if a model is getting upgraded soon, just email them. Which there was more odd-ball manufacturers out there like Unihertz. They make some very interesting designs.