Cell Phone News

[JCC]

Yes, I can fit my phone in my pants pocket as well. With shorts (particularly the rear pocket in my running shorts) it's not quite so easy if doable. The increase in thickness, would be more than mititgated for me by the significant decrease in length. Of course, I would need to actually put one in my pocket for a test drive to be sure. Plus, as I mentioned, I just like and miss the form factor of flip phones. I just wish they could make a budget model.

Again, all this is hypothetical, since I refuse to spend a $1000 on my cell phones. I just wish there were more small, cheap phones made, but it seems like most people like larger phones. I remember when Apple came out with the iPhone Mini (which a buddy of mine has) I loved its size and really wanted Google or Samsung to copy it. Of course Apple has already stopped making it.

[Octavious]

I have a regular S22 and I have no problems just throwing it in my front pants pocket. We got my daughter the larger one and I kind of regret that. It's ridiculous and she drops it like 900 times a day.

My youngest has my old iPhone XS Max with my old folio case. He drops it about the same number of times. But the folio protects the screen pretty well. It does mostly fit in his pocket.

I have no trouble fitting my 14 Pro Max with a folio/wallet case in my front pockets either. I do have a separate case for when I exercise and want to take the phone. The folio doesn't fit in an armband case so well.

Personally, the whole thing about these flip phones being safer is bs. They all have glass backs. I miss the simplicity and ease of repair of plastic backed phones (still miss my old Nokia 920).

Why are glass backs a thing? It just means I have to put it in a case and will never see the glass case anyway.

[Pyperkub]

I have a regular S22 and I have no problems just throwing it in my front pants pocket. We got my daughter the larger one and I kind of regret that. It's ridiculous and she drops it like 900 times a day.

My youngest has my old iPhone XS Max with my old folio case. He drops it about the same number of times. But the folio protects the screen pretty well. It does mostly fit in his pocket.

I have no trouble fitting my 14 Pro Max with a folio/wallet case in my front pockets either. I do have a separate case for when I exercise and want to take the phone. The folio doesn't fit in an armband case so well.

Personally, the whole thing about these flip phones being safer is bs. They all have glass backs. I miss the simplicity and ease of repair of plastic backed phones (still miss my old Nokia 920).

Why are glass backs a thing? It just means I have to put it in a case and will never see the glass case anyway.

Better signals than aluminum/metal backs. Plastic didn't look/feel/wear right on thousand dollar devices from an esthetic perspective either.

Plus, they can sell you a case and/or license cases to 3rd party manufacturers...

[Jaymann]

Got the latest iPhone update, they are pushing for face recognition and Wallet. Hard pass. I will never, ever put access to my funds on a cell phone.

[Rumpy]

Personally, I love my TCL phone. It has a glass back and all I needed was a gel backing and I get enough grip out of it that way.

[stessier]

Got the latest iPhone update, they are pushing for face recognition and Wallet. Hard pass. I will never, ever put access to my funds on a cell phone.

Your right, but you are in a shrinking minority.

[Smoove_B]

Your right, but you are in a shrinking minority.

Wearing masks and paying cash. That's how I roll.

[Jaymann]

Your right, but you are in a shrinking minority.

Wearing masks and paying cash. That's how I roll.

A gentleman and a scholar.

[em2nought]

Cell phones can do so many amazing things, like take me on every farm to market road in Texas and get me to where I want to go in the dark without me having a clue where I've been. LOL Now if only it worked correctly as an actual phone most of the time.

[Sudy]

So, I just upgraded from a five-year-old Huawei P20 Pro to a Samsung S23 Plus and my initial thoughts have been... the experience has not improved. I mean it's fine, but what can my new phone do that my old phone couldn't? Heck, I'd rather have the form factor of my Samsung S7 Edge over either of them. And I know relative smartphone stagnation has been a topic for a long time.

But then I went to take a photo and OMG THAT ULTRAWIDE LENS. I mean I'd share a photo, but I can't take a fully zoomed out one that doesn't show mess in my apartment!

[gilraen]

I upgraded from Galaxy S8 to S20 for both our phones but for legitimate performance/functionality issues. My husband's phone had some weird volume issues. My phone was having issues with network connections. When on wifi, calls and text messages wouldn't come through (texts would show up minutes or hours later, calls would get bounced into voicemail without the phone ringing). When the phone would be on cell network and detect available wifi, the process of it switching between networks would take forever (which created somewhat of a dead zone in a half-block radius around my house, since the phone would constantly bounce between cell and wifi signal).

At one point I was in a mall parking lot, with all full bars of 4G LTE signal, trying to order a pizza through a mobile app to pick up on the way home. After trying to connect to the internet for 10 minutes, I gave up.

Anyway, I couldn't care less about the camera quality (which is all they ever advertise) but inability to maintain a stable signal is where I draw the line. Plus with S23 coming out this year, refurbished S20 was dirt cheap on Amazon.

[Baroquen]

I just upgraded from a Galaxy S7 to an S23 a few weeks back. The old one had gotten really slow, storage was full, and the battery didn't last long enough on marathon days (though my getting slower may contribute to that last one). I like the new phone, but wasn't overwhelmed. The deal I got on it was nice enough. And it runs smooth, it's a decent size, and the battery life is a lot better. So that's all good. I used the camera but haven't noticed a difference really. Though it took a great group selfie last week, which I hardly ever do, so it's tough to compare. Anyway, it's nice I guess.

[Kraken]

My S10 is, what, 3 years old now? I only use a tiny fraction of its capabilities and anticipate keeping it another 2-3 years, or until it just can't keep up anymore with the limited things I ask of it. Four G's is enough for me but I know the rest of the world needs five now. I replaced the battery a year ago and will probably do it once more.

[Sudy]

I was strongly considering just replacing the battery in my Huawei P20 Pro for $50-70 CAD as I was no longer able to get a full day's use and then still use it to watch TV on in bed as I fall asleep. But I figured it's been five years, I might as well upgrade and take advantage of an updated OS and other features. I'm not unhappy I upgraded... I'm glad to be back in the Samsung ecosystem. (Well, the services they enroll/try to enroll you in not so much, but the product itself is good and seemed a bit better than the recent Pixels.) Once I get my first new bill... I'm not so sure. This is the longest I've gone between phone upgrades ever though, and it's hard to believe how little difference I'm noticing so far. Maybe I'll actually bother to learn some of the phone's/OS's new features this time?

My photography needs aren't great, but I like having the hardware there when I get inspired. And really, there are no budget options worth considering. At least on my carrier with a subsidized plan. I'm not stoked that I have to relinquish my phone at the end of the two-year contract or pay almost $500 out-of-pocket to retain it. That's how they get you... forcing you into a never-ending upgrade cycle now that you may not actually have as much reason to upgrade immediately. But I mean, other than the savings in going bring-your-own-device for a few years again, I've got a stack of four phones on my desk right now. I don't need more than two max. (I used to like using my S7 Edge as a "mini tablet" for TV because it's a lot lighter than newer phone options, but now that the battery's so far gone it's just not worth bothering with. I'll just grow my wrist muscles.)