I think 90% chance of apple going for the EU-Specific model just like they did for Digital markets act, 10 chance of screws, 0% chance of actually popping the back cover off with bare hands.
For Samsung, 50% chance EU-Specific models 40% chance screws, 10% chance back cover tool-less removal. (Edit: typo)
As for other smaller manufacturers, probably just 50%/50% either screws or tool-less back cover removal.
My genuine hope is that this puts an end of the stupid “thinness wars” and we actually see innovation in devices again. I’m beyond sick of the “tall, skinny, razor-thin rectangle” form factor.
They keep making them taller and thinner but my pockets stay tiny :(
Innovation is there from other companies. They’re just never being rewarded for it because so many tards only ever see Samsung or apple.
MORE CAMERAS
50:1 aspect ratios!
Too big for one hand and slippery
There’s Unihertz. They have some interesting devices, but unfortunately they aren’t sold where I live. A lot of them are just screwed together.
Unihertz believes that there should be different types of smartphones for all kinds of people. That’s why we are committed to making unique smartphones. We hope people can have more diverse choices.
I can get it from resellers on places like Allegro, but I am really worried about returns or warranty. I have some specific requirements that I basically just need to try out, and then if necessary, return the device.
Last time I bought 3 candidates before making the final decision.
Never heard of them so I just checked it out and they have phones with DLP projectors built in? That’s some wild shit but I do like to see some actual innovation. I like that they also have phones with real keyboards. Are they US based by chance? It seems like every phone I have marginal interest in over the last decade is only sold in the EU and doesn’t support TMobile’s bands.
Edit: thar DLP phone is 30mm thick?! Also it only supports 4G?
Edit 2: looks like they have a 5G version of this monster phone. 23,000mAH battery!
Chinese.
The projector thing isn’t quite new, actually. Samsung Galaxy Beam did this in 2012. Though that projector was 15 lumens, Unihertz has one with 100 lumen projector. It also has a cooling fan for that, and huge battery that makes it a bit of a brick.
I myself have Ulefone Armor 24, and I do like the brick form-factor, but I know most people probably wouldn’t.
These are listed for the Tank 3 Pro: 2G GSM (Bands 2/3/5/8), 3G WCDMA (Bands 1/2/4/5/6/8/19), 3G CDMA2000 (Bands BC0/BC1), 4G FDD-LTE (Bands 1/2/3/4/5/7/8/12/13/17/18/19/20/25/26/28A/28B/66), 4G TDD-LTE (Bands 34/38/39/40/41/42), 5G NR (Bands N1/2/3/5/7/8/12/13/20/25/26/28/38/40/41/77/78)
You can find band number list on Wikipedia to get the frequency.
Checking T-Mobile US website, it seems to lack 600MHz for both “extended range” 4G and 5G as well as mmWave 5G support.
Keep in mind the possible lack of updates with no custom ROMs available. That just sucks, and is usual with such Chinese brands.
The only one I saw I kind of liked was the Titan, but it seemed a bit out of date (not sure if it gets updates, and I didn’t see it listed as supported for LineageOS).
Yeah, these use MediaTek SOCs, and required source code is not available. Which is why the custom ROM scene is so lacking on MediaTek side. And I wouldn’t expect updates from brands like this, unfortunately.
Apple will accept genuine Apple Battery Pro Max for the same price as the phone itself.
Back when removable batteries were a thing, the couple of phones I had both were removable without screws.
I have no strong feelings about what a removable battery should look like, but I love the idea of increasing a phone’s longevity easily.
I had a phone with a back cover that popped off without screws. It was the stupidest fucking design.
Drop your phone? Phone explodes and battery falls out.
Put your phone in your tight pants pocket wrong? Back cover comes off.
Toolless designs are great for things you access frequently. The only time I had to open the back of that phone was to put a sim card in it. Phones should be more repairable, but I want them to be held together with screws so they don’t fall apart during the 99.9999% of the time they’re not being opened.
Not to mention that a removable back plate would eliminate the waterproof and dust-proof seals that I have come to appreciate quite a bit over the years.
I’m glad I didn’t have that experience. I think I had cases on those phones, so that might have been what made the difference.
The exploding phone was actually a lot less likely to break. Making the phone a rigid bar of glass and aluminum makes it more likely to be destroyed when you drop it.
I used to carry 2 batteries. Though that’s probably not a large market. But if made around that idea it could be done well.
Either having hibernation or some power source to keep the RAM powered during main battery swap (small supercapacitor, small regular Li-Ion battery, thin lithium ceramic battery, I don’t know what’s best), and a dock for battery charging.
Kind of like LG G5.
Preferably, the battery would have integrated charger so you don’t have to carry around a dock. Just what you do now, just with the spare battery replacing a power bank in more convenient way. Maybe it could come off with the charging port just like LG G5, but it would be built-in rather than being something you pop a different battery into.
Not to invalidate your experience but I have never seen one with screws yet I have never heard of a back cover accidentally popping off (aside from extreme falls). My current one isn’t removable but each one before this was, and I would for years fidget with it by popping the cover on and off, and even after that it held on just fine. Though screws would regardless be more secure and that is good, I agree.
I still have a Samsung Galaxy S2, which has such a cover. From the beginning, the phone would lose its back cover (and the battery would fall out) whenever it hit the ground, even just from a table. I solved it with getting a thin plastic phone case, and even after 14 years the phone works just fine.
We would visit family abroad multiple times a year, and so we had SIM cards for both countries. This meant popping the phone open at least 6 times a year, so it got worn down plenty. It happened very frequently that my phone spilled open when dropped, but I’m happy for you that you didn’t have the same result!
If it’s a removable back cover, I wonder how hard it would be to have a third-party back cover…with a larger battery?
Back in the day, the Galaxy Note 4 had this monster of a battery made for it by Anker, and yes it came with a replacement door. It was a beast.
If anything like how they were before - dead easy. I had one for my old HTC Hero that was just a chunky ass battery with a bigger back to suit. Wouldn’t put it past a manufacturer now to make it difficult on purpose though.
You can get ‘charging cases’ that are loaded with an extra battery, cover the phone, and plug into its charging port as a workaround for sealed devices. There’s usually a button that switches the case on and starts charging the internal battery from the external one.
dude.
Opens amazon.
Searches “phone parts”.
Smaller battery + tracking set. Plug and track.
Disguised.Pls let’s discuss this topic after they make their minds ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)
Weaker glue, solder-less battery connector and a kit with tools and new glue/tape.
Waterproof certifications will be dropped.
The waterproof IP rating is a misdirect. We had waterproof phones with replaceable batteries, they just weren’t required for most people. Batteries fail at a predictable rate, and decreasing or dead batteries are the primary reason people upgrade their phones.
Phone manufacturers wanted to seal their devices to make people buy a new phone when the battery dies. They started making a big deal about IP ratings, because it was a byproduct of gluing everything shut. But how often do you actually get your phone wet? Everyone has one story about dropping a phone in the toilet, or falling in a pool, but those instances are rare. not every phone will get wet or dusty, but every phone battery will die eventually.
Which will be absolutely dumb. It’s been proven a few times that removable batteries are possible with waterproof certifications.
Waterproof certifications will be dropped.
Not sure about that…
I mean, its technically do-able:
See: Samsung Galaxy XCover 6 Pro - Removable battery, headphone jack, IP68 rating, “Military Grade” (MIL-STD-810H compliant), expandable storage (sd card slot), 1080p 6.6-inch LCD display, Gorilla Glass victis+, USB 3.2 25W charging, fingerprint sensor. The whole package.
Only downside is the shitty cameras and slow processor.
You seal everything but the battery in one watertight compartment. The battery is a sealed, self-contained package, in a second compartment. Dunk the phone, the only thing that gets wet are the battery contacts, which are protected the same way that earbuds with magnetic chargers are protected: if the contacts get wet, the battery shuts itself off until it has been dried off.
They’ll probably find some way to make the process as tedious as possible and sell batteries for way more than they should.
I get your point for Samsung, but % do not add up.
xD