I should really do something about the schedule slip. Last week has been pretty exciting.

Can't promise that it won't happen again, but I'll try to keep on schedule.

Previously on Lemmy:

• Buying Guide: Low End
• Buying Guide: Midrange

Past Discussions:

• iPhones
• Repairability/Build Quality
• Google Pixel
• Foldables
• Samsung
• Sony
• OnePlus
• Motorola

Now we get to the fun part, the 700 USD+ range of phones. Go wild with your recommendations, showcase the excellence in the top end Android ecosystem and your favorite features that people don't know about.

This guide is only made possible by your voluntary contribution. I believe that this guide is wonderful for a reason: we made it together, not for money, not for ad clicks, but because you wanted to help other people, and it is that selfless contribution that make this place great.

From the bottom of my heart, thank you for contributing to making Lemmy a better place. So, now if people in your life ever ask you about what phones to buy, well, send them here, and maybe they'll like this place and stay around to chat a bit.

Who knows.

Let's hope for the best.

I feel like there hasn't been enough fun shenanigans in our community recently (and I love shenanigans.), so, we are doing a mini-contest to replace a word for our sidebar description.(Because I'm bored with it).

As usual, post your entry in the top level comment, and the entry with highest uplemmy (within reason) wins.

No time limit on this.

cross-posted from: https://kbin.social/m/[email protected]/t/445850

Microsoft is done supporting the original Surface Duo, three years after it first launched on September 10. The company has stated from the very start that the Surface Duo would receive just three years of OS updates, meaning today is the last day that Microsoft has to stay true to its word.

Going forward, Microsoft will no longer ship new OS updates or security patches for the original Surface Duo, meaning Android 12L is the last version of the OS it will ever officially receive. Surface Duo only ever got two major OS updates, one shy of the average three that most high-end flagship Android devices get these days.

Like I said before, I will never stop making fun of the Juicero of Android phones.

Yeah...

Sorry this is a week late. Too busy funposting elsewhere on Lemmy this week.

Previously on Lemmy:

• Buying Guide: Midrange

Past Discussions:

• iPhones
• Repairability/Build Quality
• Google Pixel
• Foldables
• Samsung
• Sony
• OnePlus
• Motorola

Not much to write about, rules are the same as the one for midrange guide. Price range would be 0-300 USD for the States, and use your local currency as appropriate.

I would like to see people list some interesting budget models that we don't usually talk about here this week for sure.

Maybe poppy seed or chia seed?

Previously on Lemmy:

• iPhones

Past Discussions:

• Repairability/Build Quality
• Google Pixel
• Foldables
• Samsung
• Sony
• OnePlus
• Motorola

Every hobbyist forum needs their own guides and resources, and we are no different. I think it's finally time for us to all pitch in and make an Android buying guide that's 100% Lemmy over the next couple of weeks, since buying recommendations are commonly requested here, and it's also a way for us to get more friends to talk Android with.

So, over the next couple of weeks, we are going make our own guide piece by piece: Low-end, Midrange, High-end, and Android Accessories.

We are going to use the following price range definition in terms of USD, use this as a general guideline for price range estimates in your local currency, (Probably not a direct conversion, since purchasing powers are different in different countries.)

• Low-end: 0-300 USD
• Midrange: 300-700 USD
• High End: 700+ USD

Rules are simple:

1. For all top-level comments, you should include the model and brand of the phone, your own recommended price range (i.e. This phone would be a good deal at 200 dollars, OK at 250, but a terrible deal at 300.), and anything else you would like to add to justify your recommendations.

2. No direct links to products. Prices changes too much, and having affiliate links opens up another can of worms about how sincere our recommendation intentions are.

And we are going to start with the hardest price range to recommend first: Midrange.

Have fun.

Surprise.

Bet you didn't see this one coming.

This week's post has been pretty late. I'm a bit troubled by yesterday's thread on Apple. So, a foreword: It's OK to prefer something over another, it's not OK to say people who like different phones than you are somehow more childish or less intelligent than you. Again, we are going for casual, yet intensely helpful here, so please don't call people names over petty reasons, we have rules here.

Previously on Lemmy:

• Repairability/Build Quality

Past Discussions:

• Google Pixel
• Foldables
• Samsung
• Sony
• OnePlus
• Motorola

In this post, it's not about saying how bad iPhones are, but I'd just like to hear the perspective on iPhones from Android users. I, for one, had an old iPhone 4 for a long time (call it nostalgia, or laziness, or just being cheap), and it was my general frustration with the device that ultimately led to my preference for Androids, (It was quite a while back though).

• It was absolutely painful to transfer files from the phone to my computer (Ugh, iTunes).

• I got it pre-jailbroken and didn't realize you can't just update the system casually, so it was really fun trying to find ways to downgrade the system until I realized that I can't and have to pray for the next jailbreak to get half my things working again.

• The 40-pin cable wears out so fast, and always in the same spot on the strain relief. I swear I've gone through 3 of these cables in one year just from normal use.

• All the browsers are somehow flavors of Safari. To do anything, I will have the choice of ad-filled websites, or ad-filled apps.

It always just seemed like I'm fighting against the system. Never did I have that "it just works" moment, until I've got my first Android, and realize I have the freedom to do whatever I want with it, and I can install what I want, and if there's a problem, I can look things up and fix it myself.

(Having a back button is also a game changer.)

Of course, there is a lot that Android manufacturers can learn from Apple as well, one of the most obvious one is the time for software support: I think my old iPhone has gone through like 3 version updates over the years, whereas currently I'm lucky to get 2 out of any Android manufacturer.

But it seems that Android manufacturers are more content on copying things that works for iOS, but doesn't work for Android, like removing the headphone jack. Or big notches. (It makes no sense to do that because of Android's notification system uses the full length of the bar.) It's gotten to the point that I don't think people who makes Android phones actually uses Android but are content to copy superficial features from Apple without understanding why Apple do them.

Like a bunch of lemmings. (Heh)

Again, these are my personal preferences, I have nothing against people who prefers iPhones, nor do I think they are lesser for it, but it's just not for me.

I'd use a one as a work phone/for iMessages though.

Previously: 20K Subscribers Edition

This will be short.

Based on what I've seen in recent weeks, I would like to try out a new rule for the next 1-2 weeks or so.

Rule 8 (Trial): Submission statements of any length composed of your own thoughts inside the post text field are mandatory for any microblog posts, and are optional but recommended for article/image posts.

I would like to see if this will deter low effort content and spam here.

This goes into effect immediately, please provide all feedback in the comments.

Previously on Lemmy:

• Google Pixel

Past Discussions:

• Foldables
• Samsung
• Sony
• OnePlus
• Motorola

As promised, we are talking repairability this week. I thought it's not really possible to talk repairability without talking about it in relations to build quality.

It seems to me that over the years, the general trend is that phones have become more and more difficult to repair in general. To me, I don't believe that this is some kind of nefarious plot designed to make people buy new phones every two years, here are some of the reasons why I think it is:

The first is the perceived build quality. It used to be that plastic is the most common type of material for the back of phones, and I would say plastic is the ideal default material for the back of phones: cheap, and versatile in hardness, color, and texture. However, the use of plastic in cheaper phones has resulted in a negative perception. Metal backs are durable but doesn't allow for NFC signals through, and I can't believe they settled on glass as the ideal material for the back instead, since it is actually extremely impractical to use.

The second is waterproofing. Waterproofing requirement means that glue is mandatory even with the presence of a gasket, which naturally discourages the

The third would the improvement in actual build quality. Modularity is very much still a trade-off, as if we can assume the phone cannot be easily opened, then more fragile components can be used in the phone that doesn't have the requirement to be able to be repeatedly plugged and unplugged. One of the most important changes is the change from Micro-USB to USB-C, as the increased durability means that people won't consider it to be a part that requires replacement as much.

I just think that what's broken can eventually be fixed, but it'll never feel the same afterwards.

Sorry if this is a bit messier and late this week, very interested in everybody's thoughts on this topic. The Fairphones look interesting, but it's not easy to get in the States.

Previously on Lemmy:

• Foldables

Past Discussions:

• Samsung
• Sony
• OnePlus
• Motorola

Sorry for the delay for the weekly. Server's not that stable right now, maybe we should start the thread on Sundays instead.

I always like to switch things up once in a while because it's fun. So, let's get back to the brand discussion this week for the Google Pixel. We'll do a discussion on repairability next week. Again, ideas are always welcome here.

I've never used a Pixel, but people around here should know that I've been very critical of Google's product decisions over the years, and the Pixel is no exception. In my point of view, discontinuing the Nexus series, buying out the talents from the remains of HTC and starting an official "made by Google" phone is the equivalent of reddit buying out Alien Blue to make the official reddit app. I think it's the event that scared big Android manufacturers like Samsung enough to start making their own ecosystem away from Google, as they are concerned that Google may start locking software features to their own phones instead of improving Android overall (rightfully so, I might add).

It really makes no business sense at all to turn your manufacturing partners into your competitors, but then again, it's Google.

With that being said, the first years of the Pixels has been marred with growing pains. Whereas the Nexus line has always been barebones, no frills development devices, it seemed to me that the people who made Pixels don't even use Android and are insistent on turning Pixel into iPhones, removing the headphone jack on the Pixel 2 despite the antagonistic ad from the original Pixel, Pixel exclusive software features like Google camera that necessitating the need of rom mods, as well as the quality issues that seems to be inherited from the Nexus days just really soured me from considering Pixels, as I think it's against the spirit of openness that made Android great.

But it seems like in recent years, they finally figured out that a large percentage of people who bought Androids not because they can't afford iPhones, but because they like Android, and I see the introduction of the "a" series as progress. The recent Pixel ad campaign also made me think that they finally figuring it out: people want different things, trying to turn Android into worse versions of iPhones was not going to work, so they should be trying to make the best Android for Android users instead.

(It's also the reason I think all the previous reddit clones failed, but Lemmy will be the one that finally succeeds.)

cross-posted from: https://lemm.ee/post/3429727

TL;DR

• ASUS has apparently withdrawn the ability to unlock the bootloader on its phones.
• As per the company’s technical support team, Zenfone 10 and Zenfone 9 users

Well, there goes our hope for the Zenfone 10.