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Here's a short list of things I personally want
The fact that the whole phone is a unit is both absurd and stupid. It makes it nearly impossible to repair or replace anything but the screen. I cannot even remember how many phones I have been forced to recycle due to the fact that the battery no longer hold charge over time.
Storage might not be a big thing, most of us probably use cloud storage, but I don't want cloud storage with a subscription fee, when it would be easier (and cheaper) to have storage directly in my phone.
I'm going to say it - fuck bluetooth! Every day it's: will it connect? Do I have to re-pair? Is the sound really coming out of my headphones only or do everyone around me here what I hear?
Counter argument: I get frustrated when people complain about the lack of SD card and headphone jack on every phone that doesn't have those. I get it some people really want those features but do they really expect manufacturers to add them after they've gone? Sony's the only manufacturer that changed course and they only did it because they're a niche brand with an audience that appreciates those features.
I feel it's foolish to expect someone like Google to suddenly change their mind because someone on the internet said they wouldn't buy their phones without those features. They've not had expendable storage on any Nexus or Pixel phone except for the Nexus One and the jack has been gone since the Pixel 2. I know the A series had it longer but it's been two generations since it's disappeared from there as well.
For whatever it's worth, I would like to have the headphone jack personally but it's not a dealbreaker if it's not there. Don't care about the SD card and wouldn't use it anyways since it's extremely slow compared to internal storage and I've had a bad experience when I've used it on previous phones when it got corrupted and I lost a significant amount of pictures. Didn't use it for apps because I knew it would result in slower load times so was really disappointed when it got corrupted. I'm not the only one who thinks this way, app developers hate the SD card too. Linus Sebastian also said that someone in the industry said it has gone away because of performance concerns.
Note: this isn't aimed at you, it's just a rant against the "no SD card, no 3.5 mm, no buy" crowd that always posts those comments whenever some phone doesn't have it.
That's not really a counter argument, you're just complaining about people talking about hardware features they want in a thread about...hardware features we want.
A counter argument would elaborate on why these features aren't relevant anymore, but you didn't include that. A counter argument would offer superior alternatives that should be used instead of SD cards or 3.5mm jacks, but you didn't include any of those. A counter argument would have addressed the initial arguments of cloud storage being an unnecessary expense and a wired jack being more reliable than Bluetooth, yet you didn't do that either.
Every thread about hardware has at least one guy bitching that phones should still have 3.5mm jacks and expandable storage, but the guy whining about him is just as consistent. Congratulations, you're a different layer of the exact problem you're complaining about.
RE: OP, 3.5mm jack and SD card, of course.
My comment mentioned why the SD card was removed. To paraphrase Linus, they're the cheapest form of NAND storage and are extremely unreliable. When they fail, the average consumer blames the phone and not the cheap SD card they put into it. I'm not a fan of cloud storage but most people do not need anything other than the base variant now since it comes with 128 GB out of the box. Some manufacturers are even offering 256 GB.
I also mentioned that I'd like having the jack but it's not a dealbreaker that it's gone. Also doubt we would have seen as much progress with truly wireless earbuds if more manufacturers did not remove the headphone jack. I know some people detest them and think they're a cash grab but they're a game changer when it comes to exercising and moving around. However I'll agree that removing the jack also opened another revenue stream for manufacturers which could be construed as a cash grab.
Additionally I stated my point wasn't directly at the OP but was a rant at the senseless "no jack, no SD card, DOA" comment which can be seen at the launch of a phone who's manufacturer hasn't included those features for 5 or more years. It's just beating a dead horse at this point. It is like expecting CRT TVs to be the default instead of flat TVs. CRTs also had advantages but the market has moved on. Additionally I think it might be better to actually comment about a phone having a headphone jack or SD card slot or both of those since that's a much more positive way of looking at things since not having them is the default now.
I remember I received a notification about a card that was about to fail or something, because it was too old. That was on an older Huawei phone but still. So I don't think it's this usual for people not to be aware that their SD cards would soon go away (instead of thinking they have a problem with their phones).
Not sure if all manufacturers do this, there are also instances where the user might set up the SD card as adoptable storage which would make it hard to differentiate between internal storage and the SD card.
@Positronic The system does explain every option when first inserting the card, though.
How many people are going to read that properly? We're not just talking about enthusiasts, regular users will do it if they get the option and think they can store their apps on there.
Your comment mentioned why you personally don't like using SD cards, though I disagree that it's a reason to remove the functionality completely, which is why I wouldn't buy a phone without a slot. If you're having such reliability issues, you should buy a higher quality SD card. They're objectively more reliable than cloud storage though, should you ever go somewhere where network connectivity is an issue. And 128 GB is almost nothing, kinda proving my point that this is more of a use case point than an argument against the feature.
Given that they're still using Bluetooth, which is still terrible with any interference, low bandwidth, and has the same tedious connectivity problems it's had for the past decade...I'd argue we have yet to see that progress where it matters.
If that were true, there wouldn't be so many people vocally expressing why new products aren't adequate without these basic features.
My initial comment also mentioned why developers hated the SD card slot. To quote Koush
The comments from Linus came from an industry insider he said he trusts. I would be inclined to believe him since he used to carry a Note9 and was a massive advocate of SD cards.
Also don't think the reliability of the cards was an issue when I got them, they were high rated Samsung and Sandisk models.
You're looking at this from the point of a power user and not the average person. Most normal people just get the base variant when they see it has 128 GB and are happy with it.
I mentioned I dislike cloud storage but with USB-C ports I can actually use my external SSD or a USB drive to backup my phone if I want to although it's not something I do often.
When was the last time you used a Bluetooth headset? I had issues initially in 2018 and 2019 but things like the Galaxy Buds+ and newer generations of truly wireless earbuds have fixed the connectivity and interference issues. Some Bluetooth headphones support LDAC and LHDC codecs which allow for high bandwidth. LDAC is part of AOSP so it should be on every Android phone running Oreo or newer unless the OEM has removed it for some reason.
That's because there are a small group of enthusiasts who are extremely vocal. Most people have moved on, they may want one or both features but they aren't dealbreakers for them. Also wouldn't say a bunch of enthusiasts complaining means it expresses the sentiments of everyone. Look at the outcry about the iPhone mini, it didn't sell very well but online communities would have you believe it was the most popular device of that lineup.