I went through my late teens as the initial smart phone boom was happening. I had a Motorola q that could get TV channels and had a keyboard. I had the enV that flipped open. And many androids/blackberries that I loved for their unique form factor and functionality.
I have never balked at spending money on a phone and for a long time i felt locked into generic flagship devices. With the debut of folding screens I feel like my appetite for unique devices rekindled. I think the power of android lies in its diversity of implementation.
So what features and functionalities would you choose over the next flagship release?
This is going to be such a stretch and I doubt this would ever happen, but if you could get a decently sized camera sensor on the back of a phone and a mirror less style lens mount…I would sell my DLSR in a heartbeat.
that’s called having a Sony Xperia XZ2 Compact and living in the US where they shut down all the 3g towers and all the carriers, including MVNOs, blacklisted its VoLTE capability >:[
—passive aggressively typed on the dinner plate of a phone that i had to replace my nice tiny XZ2c with
Then also, FM radios. Most Android phones had them up until a few years ago, when Apple stopped shipping iphones with the feature, to push more people onto iTunes.
I’m not a huge radio listener. But having the functionality during an emergency is invaluable. There was a really bad storm in my country a few years ago. Me and my family had no power and no internet for nearly a week. I would listen to my battery powered radio to get weather updates and to find out what the situation was like elsewhere. I don’t understand why that same functionality can’t be implemented in phones.
Besides that, removable batteries, sim card and SD card slots.
I was looking into smaller form factor phones awhile back, and an interesting feature I noticed some of them had was a programmable button.
I don’t know that programmable buttons on phones are that niche, but it’s certainly not common either so far as I’m aware, so this super simple feature would be wicked imo. I’d also really like if more phones just stole Motorola’s gesture interactions (e.g. quick twist for camera, firm double-shake for flashlight, etc.).
Also, uh…Speaking of small form factor phones, I don’t know if that counts as a feature, but it’s one detail I’d like to see come back, or flip phones with separate screens (clunky, sure, but better than the screen eventually creasing imo).
Yeah there are still options out there that offer an IR blaster, but I’d really like to see it return as a mainstream feature. Now it’s more of a niche thing you don’t see often.
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This is going to be such a stretch and I doubt this would ever happen, but if you could get a decently sized camera sensor on the back of a phone and a mirror less style lens mount…I would sell my DLSR in a heartbeat.
I enjoyed the squeeze to activate assistant on Pixel 2 XL…just felt right. I even configured it to activate flashlight when I needed a quick light.
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The ability to easily unlock bootloaders, IPS screen and removable batteries.
Headphone jack, apparently…
A phone without the actual phone part. Just SMS/MMS. Maybe a notification that someone tried to call
that’s called having a Sony Xperia XZ2 Compact and living in the US where they shut down all the 3g towers and all the carriers, including MVNOs, blacklisted its VoLTE capability >:[
—passive aggressively typed on the dinner plate of a phone that i had to replace my nice tiny XZ2c with
duck duck go tracker blocking that doesn’t use vpn technology
Check iodéOS, an Android-based OS that has a built-in ad/tracker blocker as part of the OS.
Honestly, headphone jacks are number 1.
Then also, FM radios. Most Android phones had them up until a few years ago, when Apple stopped shipping iphones with the feature, to push more people onto iTunes. I’m not a huge radio listener. But having the functionality during an emergency is invaluable. There was a really bad storm in my country a few years ago. Me and my family had no power and no internet for nearly a week. I would listen to my battery powered radio to get weather updates and to find out what the situation was like elsewhere. I don’t understand why that same functionality can’t be implemented in phones.
Besides that, removable batteries, sim card and SD card slots.
Aluminium back instead of plastic or glass
IR emitter . Super handy wen you use old stuf like me like VHS dvd combo crt ect .
Today my wish is for an internal pihole instance running on the device.
Does the alert slider counts as a niche feature? Very few brands provides this.
I was looking into smaller form factor phones awhile back, and an interesting feature I noticed some of them had was a programmable button.
I don’t know that programmable buttons on phones are that niche, but it’s certainly not common either so far as I’m aware, so this super simple feature would be wicked imo. I’d also really like if more phones just stole Motorola’s gesture interactions (e.g. quick twist for camera, firm double-shake for flashlight, etc.).
Also, uh…Speaking of small form factor phones, I don’t know if that counts as a feature, but it’s one detail I’d like to see come back, or flip phones with separate screens (clunky, sure, but better than the screen eventually creasing imo).
A good well implemented button anywhere is a joy and I think there would be a lot of interest in smaller phones with interesting features.
I’m on a Fold 4 now and I do love the novelty/oddity aspect of having a folding tablet.
But I would love to see the return of IR blasters on most phones and sliding phones for physical keyboards.
Lots of Xiaomi phones come with IR and an app called Mi Remote with many devices/brands to control.
Yeah there are still options out there that offer an IR blaster, but I’d really like to see it return as a mainstream feature. Now it’s more of a niche thing you don’t see often.