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[–] 159 points 1 week ago* (21 children)

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.

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  • [–] 68 points 1 week ago (4 children)

    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.

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  • [–] 10 points 1 week ago (10 children)

    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.

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  • [–] 25 points 1 week ago (4 children)

    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.

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    [–] 94 points 1 week ago (29 children)

    Take away your ability to install apps that aren't stamped approved.

    Oh wait, one did it over a decade ago and the other is about to start enforcing it.

    Oh, and there's pretty much only the two of them.

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    [–] 84 points 1 week ago (4 children)

    They will try to discourage use of on-screen keyboards (making them dumber and less reliable) to force you to use AI dictation and sell you more headphones.

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    [–] 51 points 1 week ago (5 children)

    Next thing to take: unlockable bootloaders so you can no longer install an alt OS.

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  • [–] 9 points 1 week ago

    Installing GrapheneOS on my pixel was easy, but I had to go through hoops to get my old Motorola G7 running iirc PostmarketOS (now called Nura).

    Had to install some program on my desktop so I could ask my connected phone for a series of unique character strings through the terminal, then enter them in a specific order on Motorola's website where they check if your phone is applicable for unlocking bootloading. It says no, so I look around and find a list of carrier codes that indicate whether or not it should be, and mine should. I ended up finding some forum posts from years ago talking about how the website is wrong and lies to you, and that if you change the url that it gives for applicable devices to include your phone's strings then it'll correctly identify the device as applicable for bootloader unlocking. Finally got then to send me an email with the unique code for my phone, and I was able to follow the instructions to install PostmarketOS.

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    [–] 42 points 1 week ago (3 children)

    I miss the headphone jack so much.

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    [–] 37 points 1 week ago* (1 child)
       >they took your bootloader unlocking   
       >they took your sideloading(i think)  
    
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    [–] 35 points 1 week ago*

    Next they will add more AI and more tracking and more ads.

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  • [–] 34 points 1 week ago (7 children)

    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.

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  • [–] 10 points 1 week ago (2 children)

    Starting 2019 most smartphones vendors have stopped adding the notification LED which could be explained by the advent of AOD and a drive for smaller bezels.[6][7]

    An always-on display (AOD) is a computer-device feed feature mostly found on smartphones that has the device display show limited information while the phone is asleep. I

    both from Wikipedia. tl;dr. modem screens can be switched on partially and do so efficient enough to replace LEDs. if and how they do depends on the os

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    [–] 32 points 1 week ago (2 children)

    With wireless charging existing, I wouldn't be surprised if they got rid of the USB port as well, and sold phones with no ports at all, just wireless everything.

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    [–] 26 points 1 week ago (1 child)

    I miss the slide out qwerty keyboard my old HTC Inspire had.

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  • [–] 24 points 1 week ago (2 children)

    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.

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    [–] 22 points 1 week ago

    Not sure why this is a "shit post." This actually happened.

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  • [–] 21 points 1 week ago (3 children)

    Aye you still got volume buttons they can take one of them.

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    [–] 21 points 1 week ago (5 children)

    They remove the math-based image processing and replace it with AI, making all your photos invalid as any kind of evidence.

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    [–] 21 points 1 week ago

    "Cameras always on"

    For the user experience.

    /s

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  • [–] 20 points 1 week ago (2 children)

    Ooh, maybe a dedicated AI button right next to the power button that can't be turned off or used for any other function that you accidentally hit all of the time.

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    [–] 19 points 1 week ago (6 children)

    I miss the IR blaster so much, I used it constantly

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    [–] 19 points 1 week ago (4 children)

    The charging port will be subscription-based.

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    [–] 19 points 1 week ago

    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.

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  • [–] 14 points 1 week ago (5 children)

    Don't need a phone if you never leave your house.

    Galaxy brain

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    [–] 14 points 1 week ago (1 child)

    They're going to integrate AI and make it non-removable. "You need this."

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    [–] 13 points 1 week ago (2 children)

    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 ❤️

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    [–] 13 points 1 week ago (1 child)

    Crossposting something from almost 3 years ago. Bold, OP.

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    [–] 12 points 1 week ago (2 children)

    My BlackBerry had a notification LED that I could set to different colors and based on the type of notification. Made it super easy to see if there was something I needed to look at without picking it up. I miss that.

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    [–] 11 points 1 week ago (4 children)

    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

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