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Sosokrates · Dec 16, 2017

I have had a galaxy S6 for the past year and it does everything I could want out of a smartphone

*it takes great photos
*Its Fast
*Has a great screen

I went into a local phone shop to check out the pixel 2 and for the average person or even slightly more tech savvy person such as myself the money it would take to upgrade to a pixel 2 seems completely not worth it.

And unless theres some big technological leap in smartphones I cant see why the majority of smartphone users would want to upgrade.

Its like the tech has reached its Horizon for what the goal of a smartphone is.

Things like bezel less phones, face unlock, squeeze the phone to activeate etc are not going to make me upgrade.

luxsol · Dec 16, 2017

I still carry around and use my 3GS iPhone from 2009.

... it's no longer my primary cellphone, but its still awesome.

Estellex · Dec 16, 2017

Yea phones improvements tend to gravitate towards faster and more powerful process components. Every yearly refresh is geared towards having faster CPU and GPUs.

The screen tech for phones have already stagnated. What can get better than 1440p-4k amoled screens?

I think they should focus on: 1.Battery life 2. Cooling for prolong intensive tasks and then go from there.

Sosokrates · Dec 16, 2017

Apart from tech enthusiasts it boggles my mind how people will upgrade from an iphone 6s/7 to an X or upgrade from a Samsung s6 to an s8.

I would be very surprised if samsung and Apple dont start seeing a big drop in there flagship sales.

I think the big inovations will come from software

Voice control on phones is still quite limited, when its on the same level as in the movie her(not the Scarlett Johansson AI, but how he controls his phone with the male voice before he gets the new OS)

That will be a big game changer, and Im pretty sure phone companies will make it an exclusive feature on there flagships.

Woo-Fu · Dec 16, 2017

Like every other portable device they're held back by battery tech.

Sosokrates · Dec 16, 2017

Woo-Fu said:
Like every other portable device they're held back by battery tech.

Would better battery tech just mean more power and longer lasting?

Ubername · Dec 16, 2017

Phones should just be graphics cards with OLED screens that you can plug into your pc for epic performance gains, everyone would get one.

Atrus · Dec 16, 2017

I think the tech companies realize that too hence why Apple only provides software support for 3-4 years even though a phone could live well beyond that. Like TVs, they'll try to approach innovation with novelty while continuing down the path of better image quality, thinner form, increased computability and longer battery life.

Kurt Angle · Dec 16, 2017

Sosokrates said:
Things like bezel less phones, face unlock, squeeze the phone to activeate etc are not going to make me upgrade.

youll be stuck with the S6 for a long time then

Steve Jobs arent found around every street corner and moments like June 2007 only come around once in a lifetime.

Stormblessed · Dec 16, 2017

All the obvious improvements have been done, so now they're mostly iterative. No big innovations. People will continue to buy new phones due to planned obsolescence and the wear and tear of everyday use.

Kurt Angle said:
youll be stuck with the S6 for a long time then

Steve Jobs arent found around every street corner and moments like June 2007 only come around once in a lifetime.

And here I was given to understand America is a land full of used car salesmen.

robo · Dec 16, 2017

Depends on what you class as an upgrade, the smart bit or the phone bit.

The phone bit is having to be updated to take advantage of the new frequency bands available (uk here), so although the screen, os etc may not see much of a change the phone bit has to otherwise it's obsolete in terms of using the newer tech being rolled out.

Carrier aggregation

Mimo

New bands

Download speed capabilities

When looking for a new phone check what device category it is, the latest are cat 16 to 18, these will do upto a gigabit download given the right conditions but are normally restricted by the operators to 50-60% of maximum.

Sony Xz premium and Samsung s8 are cat 16, Huawei mate 10 is cat 18.

Always check under the hood not just the looks.

EverydayBeast · Dec 17, 2017

Eh not really, there's indestructibility, water proof, attachments (VR, speaker boxes) and graphical improvements.

ShirAhava · Dec 17, 2017

I 'upgraded' from my 2015 android to a 2015 iphone6splus for cheap and I'm loving it

These new phones are pretty whack as in they don't really do anything worth spending 500+ on at all

Faster/More durable obviously..everything else is just meh...the smartphone scene is really boring right now

I can't say I care for any 2016/2017 phone and no headphone jacks? they can fuck right off with that shit

-Minsc- · Dec 17, 2017

Not really stagnate. More is it really practical for me to upgrade?

luxsol said:
I still carry around and use my 3GS iPhone from 2009.

... it's no longer my primary cellphone, but its still awesome.

I was using a used 3GS up until this spring. The power button was getting wonky and the battery life was degrading so I decided to get something different. Had $130 on my old Koodo Tab so I threw it toward a Galaxy J3-6. Not top of the line, but more than gets the job done for me.

Atrus said:
I think the tech companies realize that too hence why Apple only provides software support for 3-4 years even though a phone could live well beyond that. Like TVs, they'll try to approach innovation with novelty while continuing down the path of better image quality, thinner form, increased computability and longer battery life.

That's the major kicker. Makes me want to go back to a flip phone when my current one dies.

MultiCore · Dec 17, 2017

Moore's law.

We can't really build much faster parts without driving up cost, or ruining battery life.

Unless you have a brilliant idea for a new sensor, or a fundamental shift in the software we use, it's gonna be slow progress until there's a manufacturing breakthrough in integrated circuits.

Estellex · Dec 17, 2017

Stormblessed said:
All the obvious improvements have been done, so now they're mostly iterative. No big innovations. People will continue to buy new phones due to planned obsolescence and the wear and tear of everyday use.

And here I was given to understand America is a land full of used car salesmen.

I just want some clarification on planned obsolescence. A phone can generally last 3-4 years until battery capacity starts to show signs of significant wear.

Phones with removable battery like the s4 can last for 4+ years right in terms of basic usability?

Darko · Dec 17, 2017

VR is the only reason i upgraded my phone.. my 6s plus woulda lasted me a few more years

mark1955 · Dec 17, 2017

Estellex said:
Yea phones improvements tend to gravitate towards faster and more powerful process components. Every yearly refresh is geared towards having faster CPU and GPUs.

The screen tech for phones have already stagnated. What can get better than 1440p-4k amoled screens?

I think they should focus on: 1.Battery life 2. Cooling for prolong intensive tasks and then go from there.

Your post is really off base if you are talking about Android phones with Qualcomm SOCs. Qualcomm is struggling to make CPU improvements as of late but has been finally making year over year improvements in thermal and battery efficiency.

My Pixel 2 battery life is amazing and the phone NEVER gets warm. Even though it's fast as fuck it benchmarks for shit too.

Sosokrates · Dec 17, 2017

I will probably end up getting a new phone in 2020.
Probably not because of tech becoming obsolete on my s6 but because google and phone makers will restrict features on older phones.
Unless they make a phone with radicly better A.I features before then.
Apple,google,samsung are investing heavily in A.I because they also realize hardware progression is stagnating.

nephilimdj · Dec 17, 2017

Seems like easiest way to judge a phone these days is camera

Most HTC - good
Most LG - good
Pixel 1/2 normal - meh
iPhone 7/8 normal - meh
pixel XL - good
IPhone XL - good

when everything else inside is nearly same, you want a good camera.

Lucumo · Dec 17, 2017

Sosokrates said:
Apart from tech enthusiasts it boggles my mind how people will upgrade from an iphone 6s/7 to an X or upgrade from a Samsung s6 to an s8.

Phones are the new handbags. Also, people are clumsy and damage them all the time.

120v · Dec 17, 2017

in terms of overall functionality a ceiling has been reached. i could conceivably use my s5 another few years though i'm assuming it'll crap out in 6 months or so

but they're micro PCs. they'll never stagnate

Spukc · Dec 17, 2017

My next step will be full windows 10 with legacy support on a phone.

I see no reason to upgrade my edge 7

shira · Dec 17, 2017

Some people need the prestige factor of whipping out the iPhoneX.
Remember someone with 3 Ferraris can have the same phone as a guy who rides the bus.
It's kind of a social equalizer in that respect.

EverydayBeast · Dec 17, 2017

It took a world war and a smart mind to jump start a lot of the technology we have today so unless you have one of those its unlikely to progress any further outside of speed, and power.

Fbh · Dec 17, 2017

I've always considered high end phones to be one of the most unnecessary purchases people make .

If you have enough money to easily afford it then sure, go get an iPhone X. But working in retail you see so many people going in debt to buy it in instances or getting it with an overpriced contract to "get it for just $200".
And what do they do with it ? check social media , text, watch videos, browse the web.
All of those things that already worked really well on their iPhone 6S or 7.
It's like buying a high end gaming PC and then use it 99% of the time for MS Word and watching YouTube videos.

I recently upgraded from a S6 to an S8 because the battery on the S6 was lasting less than half a day and in between a gift card and a black Friday sale I ended up paying $350 for it which seemed like a fair price.
It's better, yeah. The camera performs better in low light , the screen is bigger and nicer and the battery is better than my S6 was when it was new.
But when it comes to the stuff I do 90% of the time with my phone the upgrades are pretty neglectable

FStubbs · Dec 17, 2017

Fbh said:
I've always considered high end phones to be one of the most unnecessary purchases people make .

If you have enough money to easily afford it then sure, go get an iPhone X. But working in retail you see so many people going in debt to buy it in instances or getting it with an overpriced contract to "get it for just $200".
And what do they do with it ? check social media , text, watch videos, browse the web.
All of those things that already worked really well on their iPhone 6S or 7.
It's like buying a high end gaming PC and then use it 99% of the time for MS Word and watching YouTube videos.

I recently upgraded from a S6 to an S8 because the battery on the S6 was lasting less than half a day and in between a gift card and a black Friday sale I ended up paying $350 for it which seemed like a fair price.
It's better, yeah. The camera performs better in low light , the screen is bigger and nicer and the battery is better than my S6 was when it was new.
But when it comes to the stuff I do 90% of the time with my phone the upgrades are pretty neglectable

Which is why they don't let you change the battery anymore. My Note 4 is still rolling because I could change the battery. My Galaxy S3 is also hanging on due to that.

Fbh · Dec 17, 2017

FStubbs said:
Which is why they don't let you change the battery anymore. My Note 4 is still rolling because I could change the battery. My Galaxy S3 is also hanging on due to that.

Yep. And I fucking HATE it

Before getting the S8 I decided I wanted to vote with my wallet and get a good phone with a replaceable battery. After looking around and investigating I was shocked to find out that pretty much no one makes mid-high end devices like that anymore.
The best one was last years LG phone (G5 I think), which wasn't much of an upgrade compared to my S6, and even they have dropped that feature with their current high-mid end models.

I knew most phone makers had dropped the replaceable battery but I didn't quite expect literally everyone doing it. Sadly, the phone market has turned into one where the vast majority care about a sleek and thin design over one that gives you better features.

To this date I still think the S5 was one of the best phones Samsung ever made. Had and Sd slot, was waterproof AND had a replaceable battery. But everyone wants a pretty phone now, instead of a really good one

-Minsc- · Dec 17, 2017

Fbh said:
Yep. And I fucking HATE it

Before getting the S8 I decided I wanted to vote with my wallet and get a good phone with a replaceable battery. After looking around and investigating I was shocked to find out that pretty much no one makes mid-high end devices like that anymore.
The best one was last years LG phone (G5 I think), which wasn't much of an upgrade compared to my S6, and even they have dropped that feature with their current high-mid end models.

What about the low to mid end models, they have replaceable batteries?

Breakage · Dec 17, 2017

These days it's more a fashion statement. Most people only actually use a handful of features (that their older phones also offered).

Heath V · Dec 17, 2017

I'm fine with my NOTE 5, my main issue is when my battery fails to hold a charge after a while.

jufonuk · Dec 17, 2017

I went from a 6 to a 7 honestly only notice the extra memory and slight better camera

Got my wife the X I dont expect to see anything exceptional bar some emoji gimmicks

Woo-Fu · Dec 17, 2017

Sosokrates said:
Would better battery tech just mean more power and longer lasting?

More power and longer lasting means anything a phone does can conceivably be done better. Things you can brute force with more power that you can't with finesse.

But the real reason phones might feel stagnant is that people realize they don't need or use 90% of what a smartphone is capable of while that 10% they actually make use of? Hasn't gotten significantly better in oh, say, a decade, while having worse battery life than the flip-phones that worked perfectly fine and could go for much longer without a charge.

demon · Dec 17, 2017

I still have my Moto Droid Turbo, and aside from the battery not quite having the mAh's it used to, I'm perfectly happy with it and it does everything I need. Also no screen cracks without any protection....I just don't understand how people fuck up their phone so easily.

Anyway the smartphone as it exists in its current form has definitely reached a kind of ceiling. The next big innovations will be battery tech (faster charging, longer life) and bendable screens for something can that fit in your pocket and unfold into a tablet-sized screen. Maybe some kind of unexpected advancement in wireless audio/earbuds.

br3wnor · Dec 18, 2017

Woo-Fu said:
More power and longer lasting means anything a phone does can conceivably be done better. Things you can brute force with more power that you can't with finesse.

But the real reason phones might feel stagnant is that people realize they don't need or use 90% of what a smartphone is capable of while that 10% they actually make use of? Hasn't gotten significantly better in oh, say, a decade, while having worse battery life than the flip-phones that worked perfectly fine and could go for much longer without a charge.

Are you really comparing a 2017 Smartphone with a a flip phone in terms of capability? Come on man.

I agree that the upgrades have been getting less and less exciting but I got an 8 Plus recently and I finally feel like its a phone where I dont see replacing until I absolutely have to. Its super fast, great screen, water proof and has an amazing battery. All my previous iPhones I felt like there were some features missing and Id get the itch to upgrade after a few cycles, but I think this phone finally has it all. I have no interest in the X face tech and the bezelless is nice but without a fingerprint sensor, Im not interested. Im hopeful the 8s internals will be enough to survive numerous cycles with only having to do a battery replacement or 2.

CarpeDeezNutz · Dec 18, 2017

I think for most people its a status thing, having the latest phone.

Very Berry Sunday · Dec 18, 2017

iPhone 6S+ is a beast despite holding 2/3 of its charge.

Neo_Geo · Dec 18, 2017

It's stagnated due to the extra horsepower going solely to having more useless shit running at all times keeping the phones at a noticeably hiccup-filled experience at best and laggy w/ random multiple-second pauses for no valid reason at worst.

I moved from a Galaxy S7 Edge to a Moto G5 Plus, and the technically inferior G5 Plus performs in superior fashion due to having a virtually pure version of Android instead of the Touchwiz interface ruining any power advantage.

The Mule · Dec 18, 2017

They need to roll out battery charging technology from ambient energy sources i.e. electromagnetic spectrum (i.e. light, wifi, radio etc.), heat (from your body), kinetic etc.

MultiCore · Dec 18, 2017

The Mule said:
They need to roll out battery charging technology from ambient energy sources i.e. electromagnetic spectrum (i.e. light, wifi, radio etc.), heat (from your body), kinetic etc.

With current technology, you'd never get enough current. Hard enough with Qi wireless. It has to be exactly on the pad. A thick case can prevent charging.

Marcos Jr · Dec 18, 2017

Spukc said:
My next step will be full windows 10 with legacy support on a phone.

I see no reason to upgrade my edge 7

I think this could be the next major improvement. Something along the lines of what Microsoft did with Continuum, but this time running a full version of Windows, when docked and connected to an external display.

Samsung also did something similar but I don't really recall the details.

With the new Snapdragon processors being able to run a full (emulated?) version of Windows 10, I see how this could eventually happen.

SMattera · Dec 18, 2017

Outside of making the screens larger, it doesn't seem like smartphones have fundamentally changed since the iPhone 4. That was the first sort of truly modern smartphone, and everything else has been incremental. But with how much people use/depend on their phones, modest improvements in battery life, speed, and camera can actually have a major affect on a person's daily life, and I don't think upgrading every year is that outlandish.

Plus if you're an Android user, you can usually snag at least one flagship phone brand new for $300-$400 on Black Friday.

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