I miss the IR blaster so much, I used it constantly
Just because they don’t know what the cameras are for doesn’t mean they don’t use them
The cameras are for different light and motion conditions. It happens automatically
They remove the math-based image processing and replace it with AI, making all your photos invalid as any kind of evidence.
They’re going to integrate AI and make it non-removable. “You need this.”
They’ll replace the latest foldable hinge technology with low grade sand because Apple made theirs out of low grade sand.
My phone has an ir blaster, but the software is awful so I’m not going to call it out as a success here. It is a flagship, though.
I miss the headphone jack so much.
I totally get it but I have been pretty happy with the earbuds to be honest. I know that’s a bit of a hot take but I always wanted wireless in the past and I use my jabra’s on a daily basis. Still, I dont like the removal of useful features, we could easily have wireless earbuds and still have headphone jacks for fuck sake
No more touch screens! You press a button to turn it on and you watch/look at/read whatever we give you to watch/look at/read! But first, point the camera at your ID and bank cards.
We’ll add five cameras! And guess what, if even one camera fails, we’ll brick all five! Isn’t that great! More points of failure for everyone ❤️
I miss the IR blaster so much. It was great to not only be able to control my own devices, but also be able to change TV’s in waiting rooms or gyms when they were stuck on shit like Fox News.
Smell-o-vision. If it became real I would send people videos of people farting as a joke.
They took your removable battery
So you’d have to buy a new phone instead of replacing it with a better battery off Amazon
They took your IR blaster
Not sure where this is or what it’s supposed to do
They took your microsd slot
So you’d have to pay for cloud storage
They took your headphone jack
So you’d have to buy wireless headphones
They took your buttons
Because they think they know what you want better than you do
They cut a hole in your screen
Because bigger screens sell
They added 5 cameras you don’t use
Because better cameras sell
The IR blaster lets you use your phone like a universal remote. I can control my TV, my air conditioner, and most importantly, some stores’ unsecured commercial displays with my phone.
I like that last part the most I kind of want to get one now.
The IR blaster was an IR LED you coud use to turn your phone into a remote control. Also for direct data transfer, though that one was iffy.
They added 5 cameras because people use iPhones as social media machines and Apple knows it.
I recently upgraded my phone, and the lack of a 3.5mm jack really hurts. But at least I have an excuse not to listen to my sister’s 20 min Whatsapp voice messages…
One other thing I really miss is the LED indicator that you have new notifications when the screen is off.
I loved my Xperia M and its huge ahh LED
Cheap solution, whatever your charger port is, they make that to 3.5mm
They are working hard on taking away SIM cards so that you can’t move to another phone without your provider charging you and giving you an okay.
Yes in theory eSIM cards are better, but the way many providers handle issuing you an eSIM card is a nightmare. Whereas with a physical SIM I can just pull it out and put it in any phone that supports that provider without a problem.
I went as far as buying one of those physical SIM cards that holds e-sims on it so that I can swap that into a new phone. But newer phones are more frequently not coming with SIM slots at all.
Always buy unlocked. I transferred carriers on the bus one afternoon and by the time I was home, it was done and I had already deactivated my old account. Kept my mincer and everything. It was even simpler because I have a dual eSIM. Once it was done, I deleted my original eSIM. There’s also the big advantage of using dual eSIM when traveling internationally as you can just activate foreign networks immediately.
But even if you don’t buy unlocked, the carrier has to unlock your phone if you’ve been with them for like 60 days or something according to the FCC. My friend couldn’t get his phone unlocked so he threatened to report them to the FCC and BOOM. Unlocked remotely. It was crazy that it had to go that far.
The first phone I got with an e-SIM crashed during startup. After it cooked my old SIM card. It was so arduous to get fixed. So fucking stupid. This tech isn’t ready for prime time if it can’t handle the phone crashing at specific points.
I’m resisting esims for as long as possible.
Nanosims provide this key feature where I can put my sim in a cheap 20$ flip phone when I go snowboarding or kayaking and don’t want to risk breaking my smart phone.
This also is a convenient way to get Google, and tech, and social media noise away from me for a short time.
I also noticed there is a complete lack of esim capable dumb phones. This has me starting to question the motivation behind esim.
I like eSIMs now because I can get a different account every month, data only and then I use jmp.net to have SMS and voice call services with a permanent number for when I need that. Its cheaper then anything else and more private too.
I don’t know who you’ve been getting your esims from but it I’ve used simjuno and nadanada both are pretty easy to setup.
That sounds like a major pain in the ass.
A lot less pain then getting stuck paying off $1000 phone and over $300 for service. I guess some people just prefer to get ripped off
As soon as the ability to just physically remove the SIM is gone, the big providers will add locks in software to enshittify the experience.
That’s a given. I can see Apple becoming a mobile service provider and locking all iPhones users to them, for example.
eSIM experience will only stay smooth as the alternative physical SIM option exists.
Lock ins are only a problem if you sign a contract to get your phone costs subsidised. The solution is not physical sims, its stop buying over priced shiney things with a contract just cuz MaBell will give you a “deal”. You can almost always get a better deal yourself if you are willing to look for it.
I pay in a year less then most ppl pay for a month of the same exact service, but instead of paying T-Mobile or Verizon $40 I pay $4 for the same amount of data. Instead of buying the latest phone I get a used one that will get updates for the next 3+ years.
I don’t see how apple or Verizon or anyone else could really ever make this setup not work for me unless they lobby congress to destroy MVNOs and used phone resale.
Apple always sells their phones unlocked when you buy directly from them. I don’t ever see them ever going back on that.
There needs to be a second technological revolution.
