My first Android phone was the HTC One M8. I got it because at the time it made my iPhone 5 look like a chump. Bigger screen, unrivaled stereo front speakers, much more internal storage you name it.

I also got the LG G series after that because I loved that the battery was removable (I ended up with an enormous aftermarket battery pack that lasted 3.5 days of constant use) and the buttons were all on the back of the phone.

I got the Essential PH1 because the ceramic body was nice and the promise of the 2 pin magnetic accessory port was really neat (only a 360 camera was released for it but still).

I got a Pixel 4a because every Android phone at that point was a 6 inch rectangle with side buttons and a fingerprint reader but at least it was cheap and still had a headphone jack.

I’m glad to see flip phones returning because I think it is giving Android back what has always been its biggest advantage to me which is unique hardware features.

Personally, the HTC M8 speakers with the button layout of the LG G4 would be an intsa-buy for me to this day.

What kind of hardware features have you guys fallen in love with over the years and what do you value or would like to see return?

  • dotslashme@infosec.pubEnglish
    13·
    10 months ago

    Here’s a short list of things I personally want

    • Change hardware parts
    • Extendable storage
    • 3.5 mm jack

    The fact that the whole phone is a unit is both absurd and stupid. It makes it nearly impossible to repair or replace anything but the screen. I cannot even remember how many phones I have been forced to recycle due to the fact that the battery no longer hold charge over time.

    Storage might not be a big thing, most of us probably use cloud storage, but I don’t want cloud storage with a subscription fee, when it would be easier (and cheaper) to have storage directly in my phone.

    I’m going to say it - fuck bluetooth! Every day it’s: will it connect? Do I have to re-pair? Is the sound really coming out of my headphones only or do everyone around me here what I hear?

    • ladfrombrad 🇬🇧@lemdro.idMEnglish
      6·
      10 months ago

      You don’t need to pay a subscription fee for cloud storage when it’s super simple to host your own, and Android allows the mounting of different filesystems too.

      SMB on a rasp pi + cheapo storage + Tailscale, all the way to paying £$€ for a dedicated NAS enclosure with as much storage as you can afford also with Tailscale?

      Yup, fuck subscription fees.

      You also can then use the corporate cloud storage providers like G/ProtonDrive etc to use their free offerings for off site backup of the most important data.

    • captainsiscold@kbin.social
      4·
      10 months ago

      I’d love to see those features in phones today; all of those are basically dead in the US market (Xperia 1 V gets two out of three, Zenfone 10 at least gets the 3.5mm jack…might be some cheap Motorola something that still has a jack, as well?).

      Me personally, I could even live with just the 3.5mm jack. The whole argument of “it’s for waterproofing/making the phone thinner/insert BS excuse here” falls flat when my Galaxy S9 has a 3.5mm jack and the same IP68 rating as the Pixel 8, yet manages to be thinner.

      • xyguy@startrek.websiteOPEnglish
        2·
        10 months ago

        I have maintained for a while that if phones came with 2 USB ports instead of just 1 you could have your cake and eat it too. My biggest gripe with the lack of a headphone jack is that I can’t charge my phone and listen at the same time. 2 ports, one on each side for right and left handed people to pick their favorite charging location and you get a ton of other options for peripherals that way.

        • captainsiscold@kbin.social
          3·
          10 months ago

          At this point, I’d honestly be fine with that too. Unfortunately it looks like one of the only ones around that has two USB-C ports is the Asus ROG Phone 7 & 7 Ultimate, which both already have a headphone jack too, lol.

    • IronRain@lemmy.worldEnglish
      3·
      10 months ago

      Amen! The only thing keeping me from upgrading from my Note 20 Ultra is the lack of options for SD card slots! The idea of having to pay a premium for storage each time I upgrade my device is insulting and terrible for personal finances. And with all the recent headlines about cloud storage being hacked, or how it was inaccessible, I wouldn’t trust it even if I always had access to an internet connection (which I don’t always have, especially when out and about).

      Hell, they could upcharge this “feature” and have it available only on the Ultra models to help justify the exhorbitant cost and I would pay it.