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Andy Rubin (Android co-founder) launches "modular" Essential phone (no 3.5mm jack)

Least100Seraphs

Neo Member
standards.png
 

Jindrax

Member
Yeah this is an odd one, what he says and what he's selling doesn't really match.
I was expecting a normal sized phone, that comes apart in modules, for a normal price.

Not just another smartphone at 750 bucks. I mean dude you're not changing anything you're doing exactly the same thing?
 
And why exactly would I want an external dongle or whatever only to have something that is a standard in phones that cost less than half?

Because phones that cost less than half are very very unlikely to be actually good phones you'd want to use day to day.

This whole whining about the port that is obviously going to be gone in 5 years thing is getting kinda old. You'll have an adapter. it's fine. Or you'll get some modern bluetooth headphones and wonder why you ever wanted to use a wire.

I hope this was a sarcastic reply, making fun of the stupidity of needing a dongle for a headphone jack.

It's not stupid. It's pretty much a complete non issue unless you're looking for talking points.

I have my adapter on my keyring in case I need it. I need it sometimes when I got to the gym to hook my phone up to the stereo there. That's pretty much it.
 

ZeoVGM

Banned
It's not stupid. It's pretty much a complete non issue unless you're looking for talking points.

I have my adapter on my keyring in case I need it. I need it sometimes when I got to the gym to hook my phone up to the stereo there. That's pretty much it.

"It's not stupid and it's a non-issue because it doesn't bother me personally."

Got it, thanks.
 

Red

Member
Ocean depths is hot 🔥

I want this phone in my life but I will never buy it.

I think modular designs are the way forward. People are going to upgrade less and less as more good phones are out there and the market grows more saturated. Lifespans for flagships will grow increasingly longer in the coming years. This is the first phone I've seen with an unobtrusive attachment system, and I hope it points the way forward.

Y'all gotta adjust to the 3.5mm free future. It's not coming back. Time to move on.

And finally—someone wrapped the notification screen around the front camera like they should have done when free form displays became a thing.
 

jwk94

Member
Because phones that cost less than half are very very unlikely to be actually good phones you'd want to use day to day.

This whole whining about the port that is obviously going to be gone in 5 years thing is getting kinda old. You'll have an adapter. it's fine. Or you'll get some modern bluetooth headphones and wonder why you ever wanted to use a wire.



It's not stupid. It's pretty much a complete non issue unless you're looking for talking points.

I have my adapter on my keyring in case I need it. I need it sometimes when I got to the gym to hook my phone up to the stereo there. That's pretty much it.
What phone are you talking about?
 

gcubed

Member
Looks nice but no way I'd jump in on a first gen phone full price like that. The home base looks kind of cool too
 

reKon

Banned
It doesn't bother anyone. It comes with an adapter. Put the adapter on your headphone cable.

You really can't see why someone would be annoyed by this? It's one thing to think that most wouldn't find it a big deal. It's another to think that everyone is fine with this because you are.
 

Gallbaro

Banned
Because phones that cost less than half are very very unlikely to be actually good phones you'd want to use day to day.

This whole whining about the port that is obviously going to be gone in 5 years thing is getting kinda old. You'll have an adapter. it's fine. Or you'll get some modern bluetooth headphones and wonder why you ever wanted to use a wire.



It's not stupid. It's pretty much a complete non issue unless you're looking for talking points.

I have my adapter on my keyring in case I need it. I need it sometimes when I got to the gym to hook my phone up to the stereo there. That's pretty much it.

Axon 7 by ZTE is pretty amazing.
 
Yeah this is an odd one, what he says and what he's selling doesn't really match.
I was expecting a normal sized phone, that comes apart in modules, for a normal price.

Not just another smartphone at 750 bucks. I mean dude you're not changing anything you're doing exactly the same thing?

Yeah, my concerns exactly. Does he mean the snappable add-ons are the selling point? Because all I see him doing there is trying to sell me a 360 degree camera I don't want. Can they add a super-powered normal camera this way? I'd love a phone camera with amazing zoom and shutter speed for wildlife photography. I hate selfies so that 360 degree camera is moot to me.

I do like the design, but that's just convincing me to wait for a few more full-screen phones to enter the market, at which point I'll do what I always do - buy the phone with the best rear camera. This Essential phone doesn't seem to be adding anything new to the formula, unless I'm completely missing something.
 

pronk420

Member
The phone itself looks kind of cool, but the modular accessory system didn't actually work out so well for LG.. I mean basically you can add a camera.. or another different camera.. or maybe a battery pack which you could just plug in the USB port.

I can't see modular cpu/ram upgrades working since by the time the phone becomes too slow in a few years, you would need to replace most of the internals to have a comparable spec to a new phone.
 

Fuchsdh

Member
So the modular phone idea Google toyed with for way too long before realizing it was pointless and no one wanted it has returned, this time in a phone that's really just like any other but with attachments (so it kind of defeats the point of what people think of when you say "modular phone". I'm guessing it'll still be something few people want.

Ironically the iPhone is probably closer to the "modular core" model at this point; nothing's stopping you from adding lenses, bigger batteries, cases, already.
 

reKon

Banned
It looks One Plus 5 is going to be the essential phone if they deliver on the camera. The only thing that would probably be lacking is the design, but it will at least be well built and probably the best performing flagship next to the Pixel.
 

Korey

Member
And just when I was about to drop another criticism it hit me: I am partly responsible for all of this.

For all the good Android has done to help bring technology to nearly everyone it has also helped create this weird new world where people are forced to fight with the very technology that was supposed to simplify their lives. Was this what we had intended? Was this the best we could do?

System Architecture / OS
Android

...

I don't get why either. What's special about this phone?
 

azyless

Member
Seems bizarre to go on about "choices !" and then make a phone that doesn't offer a 3.5mm jack or an SD card slot.
Not sure what they offer that others don't, frankly.
 

ItIsOkBro

Member
so home many modules does it have? because trying to navigate that nightmare of a website i could only find one, the 360 degree camera.
 

LeleSocho

Banned
This phone seems so much better than any other Android competitor.
-Stock Android with no bloatware that slows down your phone a week after use *cough* Samsung *cough*
-No compromise modern design
-High end hardware
-Another US competitor
-Premium materials: Titanium (which is great) and Ceramic (which is ok...)

And for some people like me that care about having a phone for more than one year this thing doesn't have a stinky oled screen.

If i had to buy an Android phone it would be either this or the next Pixel.
 

Hylian7

Member
Y'all gotta adjust to the 3.5mm free future. It's not coming back. Time to move on.

I'm really not understanding the logical reasoning for phones to do this, and then the people making comments like this. The 3.5mm jack is clearly something lots of people use, and people are rightfully upset when it's going away. Literally what does that accomplish by removing it?
 
so home many modules does it have? because trying to navigate that nightmare of a website i could only find one, the 360 degree camera.

Yeah, I don't get this at all. A snap on camera is all I can see.
Why would I want this expensive phone? It's nice looking, but there's a ton of marketing mumbojumbo speak.
 
Doesn't Moto have a modular phone where you can snap on accessories like upgraded cameras, projectors, etc.?

What is this doing differently?
 

kiguel182

Member
I don't really get the appeal of adding a camera or speakers to your phone so this doesn't seem that interesting. Phones are pretty simple as is, you click an app and do stuff. I don't use any attachments and never had to rebuy stuff when I upgraded (cables came with the phones).

As long as they have Bluetooth my headphones work with them and that's all the extra stuff I use them with. I'm definetly not the audience for this.
 
"Hey person that is obviously in a group of people this bothers...this doesn't bother anyone."

You're a real bright one there Camper.

It's one of those things people will complain about endlessly until they actually have to deal with it and then the day they get a phone without a port they'll realise it's a non issue. It's a glorified talking point. It's overemphasised.
 
I'm really not understanding the logical reasoning for phones to do this, and then the people making comments like this. The 3.5mm jack is clearly something lots of people use, and people are rightfully upset when it's going away. Literally what does that accomplish by removing it?

Size/space freed up. I don't have the image but there's one that shows the 3.5mm jack takes up like a few square cm of space.
 
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