What phone now?

[RShea]

Interesting. And I discovered that I was mistaken about how much more the iPhone Mini weighs relative to my SE1, 18% more, not 50% more; I must have confused its weight with some other model, and there certainly are some well over 50% heavier.) None of the phones at that link are as light as the SE1 (the iPhone Mini actually comes closest).

One problem with a lighter weight phone, is the weight savings can only be in 2 main areas- battery (which means a shorter battery life) or the case, which means usually no glass back, using lighter materials like a metal back, and of course the front screen sometimes a bit thinner and not as good as say a nicer gorilla glass screen.

[bobz]

One problem with a lighter weight phone, is the weight savings can only be in 2 main areas- battery (which means a shorter battery life) or the case, which means usually no glass back, using lighter materials like a metal back, and of course the front screen sometimes a bit thinner and not as good as say a nicer gorilla glass screen.

Yeah, and more the case than the battery (I happen to have a spare SE1 battery, weighed it, right around 1 oz; the phone's battery life is about as adequate as any other). And how heavy duty they need to make the case is a largely a function of its surface size. Apple never had any problems with phones bending until they came out with the 6s-Plus (and they've subsequently beefed up their bigger phones).

My 5s (same construction as the SE1) literally got run over by a car; I epoxied the glass edges into place (screen side was completely undamaged, seems to have gotten the rubber tread end of the deal while the back side got pressed into asphalt) and continued using it for more than a year after that...


...and then when the battery needed replacing, I replaced the case-back and (increasingly unreliable) camera, and used it for about another whole year.



So, plenty durable, but as you go to bigger footprints, the phones need more heft (and bigger batteries to light up the bigger screens).

[bobz]

^^ Also, the 5/5s/SE1 has the same Gorilla Glass as any of their other phones years before or later; no skimping there at all. The 5 weighed noticeably less than the 4, despite having a somewhat bigger display, probably because they dispensed with the glass covered case-back (which was on the 4, I'm guessing, more due to Steve Jobs' aesthetic fetishes than for durability or any other functional advantage).

[S_jenks]

Meanwhile I am holding on to a straight 6 iphone, dreading the day it dies for good. Replaced the battery twice already, and having the headphone jack is so nice to have.

Is there any positive to moving forward these days?


Sent from my iPhone using TGR Forums

[bobz]

Is there any positive to moving forward these days?

Anything before the 6s is losing out on a lot of available signal out there, and will continue to lose more.

That, and the older processors are slower and will probably struggle with the more demanding apps.

Finally, it's probably 16gb, which is getting to be a pretty low ceiling these days.

[riser4]

One problem with a lighter weight phone, is the weight savings can only be in 2 main areas- battery (which means a shorter battery life) or the case, which means usually no glass back, using lighter materials like a metal back, and of course the front screen sometimes a bit thinner and not as good as say a nicer gorilla glass screen.

Why is a glass back a good thing???

[RShea]

Replaced the battery twice already, and having the headphone jack is so nice to have.

Is there any positive to moving forward these days?

While I do not carry any iPhone- there are a few things that start to be issues. Older phones first end up at some point of being off the list of operating system upgrades to the newest OS. While that can be OK if you are 1 or maybe up to 2 or 3 versions behind the newest OS, at some point there could be Apps that will either not work or no longer support the older OS version and then you are stuck with trying to still use an old now unsupported version of an app or no longer have that App available on your old cell phone. Over time even with factory reset and reloading, at some point the processor and memory and storage limits will be exposed (especially with Apple that has no capability of adding microSD storage to for things like photos and data storage.) Many Android devices have an microSD card slot, so if you need storage expansion you can just replace the microSD with a larger memory card or move older information onto a card and archive the photos off the device...

As for the headphone jack, with many of the Android phones going to USB-C charging ports, there are USB-C to headphone jack
adapters out there that gets you a wired headphone if you do not want to be dealing with cordless due to charging and battery issues (on the headphones mostly as some only offer 4 to 6 or so hours before you have to charge them). But people used to complain about the cost of the wireless bluetooth devices also, but the 3rd party versions have come way down in price if you do not want to get the same brand as the phone- ie matching Apple wireless headphones or Samsung etc.

I see bluetooth wireless headphones for $6 to $20 regularly. Maybe not Bose, Beats by Dr. Dre, etc. top end, but then you are probably just playing MP3 or a podcast anyways.

[gravitylover]

I just got an LG V60 ThinQ 5G and it's pretty nice. It's huge which is good and bad, good for my old eyes especially when using maps in the car but not so good if your pants don't have big pockets. I guess it's a good thing I got it for free since LG stopped producing phones and shut the division down a few days after I got it. It's quick, has incredible battery life, good graphics and screen, the camera takes really nice pictures even with my potato shot reputation and the speaker sounds pretty good when playing music while out in the garden. I'd say even though they're out of the game if you find a good deal on one of these get it.

[bobz]

operating system upgrades

Yes, I forgot to mention that. The current iOS (and the upcoming one too) supports 6s and later, not 6. So you're going to stop getting app updates pretty soon, and some of those apps will break when they lose compatibility with the server end. Eventually, out of date browsers won't even open some websites. And again, just for using the thing as a phone, there was a big hardware upgrade between 6 and 6s on comm networks support, so you'll be losing coverage as networks are updated.

[Flyoverland Captive]

If you like your 6, and want a minor upgrade to a 6s, pm me; I’ve got two I’m not using.

[RShea]

Why is a glass back a good thing???

Not sure if it is a good thing but is needed for wireless Qi type charging. Also the pay from your phone- Samsung and Apple Pay need it. I've had a few phones with it- a Sony and a few of the Samsung Galaxy series - 7 (and Edge 7) - it is stiffer than a metal or plastic back cover. But it can break if dropped and not in a good protective cover.... But the metal phones- Titanium, brushed aluminum do not allow wireless charger functioning properly or the contactless payments and other materials like plastic that would support those 2 things was common in the earlier days of cell phones before those features were offered. Plastic back was also popular for devices that had removable battery and needed to take the back cover off to access the battery usually had a metal frame to offer better support.

[climberevan]

Why is a glass back a good thing???

IMO, it's definitely not.

It's worth noting that Samsung's current flagships (S21) all have plastic backs. I think that's a move (back) in the right direction. Put some headphone jacks on those mofos and I'm a buyer. (USB-C to 3.5 is clumsy and inconvenient. Just put the $.10 jack on there.)

[ötzi]

Why can't you have a plastic back for Qi charging? You can charge a phone in a plastic case.

[riser4]

Who on earth thinks wireless charging is a good thing???

[The Tortoise]

I don't get the benefit of glass when my phone lives in a case all the time.

I've beat the shit out of my LG G7 (briefly left it in a fire) and it shows no signs of wear, except the glass back is cracked to shit.

But it's always covered with a case so, whatever.

[bobz]

Who on earth thinks wireless charging is a good thing???

I'm not crazy about the idea, but it would reduce the wear-and-tear on the lightning socket (which tend to get funkier after a few years). I'm curious what my EMF meter will have to say about the charging method when I get around to having a phone that offers that option.

[Boissal]

I'm not crazy about the idea, but it would reduce the wear-and-tear on the lightning socket (which tend to get funkier after a few years). I'm curious what my EMF meter will have to say about the charging method when I get around to having a phone that offers that option.

This.
I've had a Pixel 3 for over 3 years now and the USB-C port shat the bed over a year ago, between charging and connecting headphones it saw a lot of action.
Without the wireless charging option the phone would have been done even though everything else work perfectly. I'm hoping to get another couple of years out of it.

[Falcon3]

Who on earth thinks wireless charging is a good thing???

I really like wireless charge. Except for one phone that died an untimely death in my pocket while crashing on a MTB, all my other phones have died due to charging port issues.

[bobz]

I can't speak for Android, but the lightning port is a straightforward replacement, as iPhone repairs go, and definitely a might-as-well if you're doing the battery. It's pretty much the first thing you encounter when cracking the phone open.

[gravitylover]

Wireless charging is great but a little slow IME. I'm tired of wires all over the place.

[RShea]

Android MicroUSB or USB-C are usually a simple repair also. If you are going to get a new battery installed in a phone, might as well have the charging plug replaced also. I made that mistake on a phone, got a new battery put in (at a repair store, I did not want to deal with the heat gun to get the back off and then reglue it so they quoted me a price that did not hurt too much with the battery and all tested. It worked for about 5 or 6 months then would still run off the battery, if I could get the charging plug in and the device charged. Plus I would still from time to time use the USB plug to to a PC USB for transferring files instead of doing the cloud download from the backups of the photos. I ended up just picking up another phone instead of dealing with it and probably would have been 5 or 10 dollars in the port replacement part of the phone...

[rideit]

Well, THIS could be a real, actual game changer.
(Iphone 13 may have satellite connectivity)

https://news.google.com/articles/CAI...S&ceid=US%3Aen

[riser4]

Regarding usb-c android phones. You have to be religious about keeping the port clean and not letting dirt get in there. I finally bought a case for my latest phone that includes port covers.

[mattig]

Regarding usb-c android phones. You have to be religious about keeping the port clean and not letting dirt get in there. I finally bought a case for my latest phone that includes port covers.

I've had an S8+ with usb-c since 2017 and not once cleaned the port. I'm not gentle on phones either.

[riser4]

I've had an S8+ with usb-c since 2017 and not once cleaned the port. I'm not gentle on phones either.

It's something about me and my pockets. I've killed several phones this way.