Posts by Matthew Young35

Sandra Fowler74 said:bluebison10's phone—well, I haven't actually used that thing in years.

If you aren't joking, you might actually be the only person left in both the real and digital worlds who doesn't use a smartphone.

Jack Miller6 said:Thanks guys, you killed it with the suggestions 🙏 I think I'll go with this Redmi Note 7, it seems like a solid choice

It's easy for those wealthy, calculating gentlemen in Madrid to treat themselves to luxury every couple of years, but here in North London, we're just trying to make it through the week 🤣

Hold on... wait a second...
North Chicago has actually become quite elite lately.
Well, provided you're on the right side of town, of course.

My advice? Pick up a used flagship from a year or two ago... maybe a Huawei, an HTC, or a Samsung (but stick to the S series or the Note line), or even some of the lesser-known brands.
I was actually comparing phones with a friend today; his three-year-old Sony flagship still pulls better benchmark scores than the recently released Mate 30 Lite.
The gap between a true flagship and the mid-range stuff that follows it is massive.
If you buy something a year or two old, you might actually come out ahead financially.

To give you a better idea of what I mean—I was looking at the GSMArena Redmi Note 7 comparisons against
any flagship from two years back (like the S8, U11, or XZ1). Most of them are nearly twice as fast in benchmarks.

But it's all up to you.

Michelle Palmer6 said:But really, who needs RAW mode? 🤷Honestly, 98% of people wouldn't even know what to do with it, let alone have the patience to sit around editing them later. If you're serious about that level of photography, you're either going to grab a flagship phone with a killer sensor or just pick up a dedicated DSLR.
I'm not saying the app isn't great—I haven't personally tested it—but for the average user, RAW is total overkill. Even for enthusiasts, it's a lot to handle.

Well, I actually have a phone with a top-tier camera.

I'm not saying it isn't a good app—I haven't tried it myself—but RAW is complete overkill for the average user, and honestly, even for those looking for something a bit more advanced.

Look, I’m talking about the native camera app on the phone, not Open Camera.

And yeah, I agree, it's a massive overkill.
You aren't going to get a shot that looks like it came out of a professional rig, and the file sizes are absolutely mammoth. Who is actually using raw mode on a smartphone?

I just noticed that the photos turn out incredibly well.

Now, my device actually features a raw mode within the native app, and I have to say, the shots turn out absolutely fantastic regardless of whether it's broad daylight or pitch black... But man, a single photo ends up being fifty megabytes.

If you're looking to upgrade your photography game, I highly recommend grabbing "Open Camera" from the Play Store.
It really levels up your shots, especially if you're working with a lower-end smartphone.

Larry Fox5 said:And as a "half-baked product," it had zero competition. I mean, it didn't wipe out BlackBerry for nothing.

Yeah, a half-baked product. Give me a break—even Daimler's first motor was considered a "half-baked product." 🙄

Jobs sparked a total revolution with the first functional App Store. Then again with iCloud. Honestly, which mobile device besides the iPhone has even survived from 2007 until now? None.

Everything feels pretty much the same nowadays, but back in 2007? They had absolutely no competition.

What do you mean, which mobile device has survived from 2007 to this day?
If you're talking about companies, there are damn many that have survived.
But if you mean an actual device, I honestly can't think of anyone still using a 3G, let alone a 2G.

And sure, Jobs started a revolution, but it was a marketing revolution, not a technological one.

Susan Kim2 said:Look, the iPhone didn't exactly reinvent the wheel. There were smartphones out there long before it, and devices like the Palm Pilot existed way before that too. It’s just that Apple managed to package them for the average person, effectively setting the standard for the modern era.

The iPhone 3G and that first Nexus Google built with Samsung—those were really the blueprints for everything we carry in our pockets today. Before those hit the scene, things were pretty much all over the place.

The original Nexus was actually an HTC device.
Later on, HTC took the foundation of that Nexus and built something even better: the HTC Desire.
Even the current Pixel traces its roots back to HTC, especially considering Google eventually acquired part of HTC's mobile division.

Samsung developed the Nexus S and several others... LG and Motorola jumped in later too, but HTC was the one who started it all.

Larry Fox5 said:Didn't realize you were such a hater too. 🙄

Back in 2007—which wasn't exactly ages ago, so don't act like you forgot—when Jobs showed off his first iPhone 1 with that single button and touchscreen tech, where you basically did everything through gestures just like we do today... man, that changed the world. It was way more than just a revolution.

Basically, he's mocking them because the giants back then—looking at you, Nokia—were totally asleep at the wheel, thinking nothing was going to change, while it took the competition years just to catch up to Jobs' magic.

That year, 2007, was absolutely a Milestone for mobile tech.

And the first Samsung with Android didn't even show up until two years later. Two whole damn years.

I’m going to address this specifically.
You're definitely an old-timer.
It seems you remember 2007 vividly, yet perhaps not with perfect accuracy.
First off, what he actually presented was essentially a half-baked product.
Did you know that the device he introduced couldn't even send a standard MMS? It lacked 3G support entirely.
By the way, the iPhone 3G—which was the second model—isn't called "3G" because it was the third generation, but because it finally supported 3G technology. The original iPhone is generally referred to as the iPhone 2G.
You couldn't even play MP3s on that phone.
In reality, what you could actually do with that device was extremely limited.
The one truly novel feature that set it apart from everything else was multi-touch, which made zooming in on photos much easier.

Larry Fox5 said:Didn't realize you were such a hater too. 🙄

Back in 2007—which wasn't exactly ages ago, so don't act like you forgot—when Jobs showed off his first iPhone 1 with that single button and touchscreen tech, where you basically did everything through gestures just like we do today... man, that changed the world. It was way more than just a revolution.

Basically, he's mocking them because the giants back then—looking at you, Nokia—were totally asleep at the wheel, thinking nothing was going to change, while it took the competition years just to catch up to Jobs' magic.

That year, 2007, was absolutely a Milestone for mobile tech.

And the first Samsung with Android didn't even show up until two years later. Two whole damn years.

Before Android, we had Symbian (back in 1998, nine years before the iPhone) and Windows Mobile (in 2000, seven years before the iPhone).
As for phones with a touchscreen? I won't even bother listing them; there were an absolute ton of them out there.

Take this, for instance:
The Ericsson R380 Smartphone is a GSMmobile phone developed by Ericsson Mobile Communications[1] It was introduced at CEBIT on 18 March 1999,[2] combining the functions of a mobile phone and a personal digital assistant (PDA).[3] Released in November 2000,[4] it was the first device marketed as a 'smartphone'.[5] In December 1999 the magazine Popular Science appointed the Ericsson R380 Smartphone to one of the most important advances in science and technology.[6] It was a groundbreaking device since it was as small and light as a normal mobile phone.[7]

Amanda Evans2 said:I used to have a Xiaomi Redmi Note 4 for a little side job
The screen was absolutely terrible
Back then, the current Samsung model was light years ahead of that display

Has that situation actually improved since then?
I know Huawei makes top-tier stuff—my wife has the standard P30, and honestly, that phone is such a steal right now if it can still handle everything on these newer models

The Mi Note 4 came out in 2017. How on earth could you think Samsung was in the S3 era? The S3 was released in 2012.

The P30 is currently a flagship from Huawei.

Either you've gotten your timelines mixed up, or you're just pulling my leg.

I'm honestly at a loss here.
In the past, they seemingly offered the best value proposition if you were aiming for the high end. Of course, you had to completely write off any hope of meaningful support.
To be perfectly honest, I have no idea how much has actually changed since then.
What I do know is that they still produce devices that are comparable to flagships from much more powerful companies.

Paul Sanders5 said:It’s just Samsung, just German engineering, and just PCs running Windows.

The holy trinity.

Look, I’ve owned an iPhone before. Personally, I think Apple is pretty mediocre as a brand, but man, the actual hardware is top-tier. You just have to swallow the fact that you're paying 20% more than anyone else in that same category. Like, compared to Samsung. And then with Samsung, you're paying 20% more than the Chinese brands, so you're basically a sucker either way 😁 but honestly, I wouldn't touch a Xiaomi even if someone handed it to me for free. 😳

Whatever, let people blow their cash however they want—on phones, on hookers, on whatever. You only live once.

And where does a betting shop fit into any of this?

The iPhone wasn't really a pioneer in anything, except perhaps when it came to design aesthetics and its price tag.
Everything the iPhone ever marketed as a "breakthrough" feature actually existed on other phones long before it arrived.

Can you name even one single thing the iPhone possessed that hadn't already been implemented by a competitor?

To be perfectly honest, I can't think of a single one.

I understand the concept of vendor lock-in, but my point is simply that Apple isn't offering anything that isn't already available on Android.
Vendor lock-in is an entirely different conversation.

I have absolutely nothing against someone loving their iPhone. If they’re happy, I’m happy. It’s fine. I am merely stating that the claim that the iPhone is inherently better, faster, or more stable is quite simply untrue.
Take, for instance, back when the iPhone 4 era was peaking. When Android devices started pushing toward 4.7 or even 5-inch displays, how did the iPhone loyalists react? They scoffed. They claimed those screens were ridiculous and far too large for a handheld device.
Fast forward a few years, and the narrative shifted completely.
The same thing happened with widgets. At first, it was "unnecessary" or just plain "ugly." Then, suddenly, they introduced their own version of quasi-widgets.
NFC was deemed unnecessary, wasn't it? Then, three or four years later, it becomes a flagship feature on the latest iPhone.
And the status bar? A total disaster, apparently. Two iOS updates later, and there it is.
Remember the dual cameras on HTC phones? People laughed and asked who would ever need that. Two years later, every iPhone has them.
Wireless charging, fast charging... the list goes on.

The reality is that over the last two or three years, the iPhone has actually been lagging significantly behind its Android competition.
Even the sales data reflects this trend.

But, as I have maintained several times before, if people are satisfied with their iPhones, then good for them. I am not here to lobby anyone to switch.

Susan Kim2 said:If you've been using Apple gear for years, there’s really no incentive to jump over to Android because of how their ecosystem works. Everything is tied directly to your account, making device upgrades seamless. Plus, having an iMac means you can access everything from your phone just as easily; I can pull up anything from any of my Apple devices.
On top of that, the OS just runs smoother. They maintain much tighter control since they aren't selling off the system to anyone else. If you need a phone that won't crash on you and comes with solid support, you go with the iPhone.

Honestly, what's the point of owning an iPhone while running Windows at home? You aren't even getting half the value out of those Apple products—and we both know it isn't about the hardware.

Fortunately, the smartphone market is huge enough now that you actually have options. You could pick up a new Redmi for around $380 that hits all the high marks—top-tier specs, a great camera, and reliable enough software that you won't have to think about upgrading for at least three years.

Nowadays, Android offers pretty much everything iOS does.
Name one single thing iOS has that Android doesn't. Even when it comes to stability or speed... people love to compare an iPhone to some budget Android handset and claim the iPhone is faster.
When you're looking at comparable hardware, the iPhone isn't inherently faster. For opening any given app, my phone takes the exact same fraction of a second as an iPhone.
Sure, Samsung can be problematic; even on their flagship models, scrolling through settings can occasionally stutter. But that’s a failure of Samsung’s proprietary software, not Android itself.
On the flip side, the iPhone has its share of headaches. Try charging it out in the wild if you didn't bring a cable. Try transferring photos to a PC if the recipient refuses to install iTunes. Try navigating backward with one hand now that they’ve moved the back button to the very top of the screen. Can you find a meaningful difference in display quality between an iPhone 6 and an iPhone 8? Try putting a widget on your home screen. Try changing the desktop manager. Try remapping the buttons. Try finding a custom ROM. Try installing an adblocker. Or try switching phones and migrating all your data in thirty minutes without it being another iPhone.
And yet, it’s still more expensive than Android.
I could go on.
There are endless flaws with the iPhone and countless reasons why Android devices are superior.

Larry Fox5 said:So you went with an iPhone—hey, whatever, you clearly have your reasons. Personally, I've never even touched a Samsung, so I can't really compare them based on actual experience. Honestly, ever since smartphones became a thing, I've just stuck with Apple because why bother looking elsewhere when the service is fine?

To be blunt, I don't know a single person who hated their iPhone enough to switch brands. If anything, the battery life is probably the biggest headache—but hey, you just deal with it...

Of course I have my reasons.
I could start listing them, but I don't feel like getting into it right now—perhaps another time.
You might not know anyone who made the jump from iPhone to Android, but I know plenty of people who have.
What I haven't seen is anyone moving from Android back to iPhone. I know a few who jumped to Android and then crawled back to Apple, but that's usually because they picked up a cheap budget model or a low-end Samsung.

Amanda Evans2 said:The iPhone X is an absolute beast of a phone; it feels lightyears ahead of the Samsung Galaxy S10 I’m currently lugging around, and having used the original X briefly before that, the jump is massive.
When you look at sheer functionality, speed, and just meeting everyday needs, an iPhone makes an Android device look like a quaint little town square fountain by comparison—and believe me, I’ve tried them all.
Right now, I’m running two different Android devices, and both of them have at least ten specific flaws that I simply never encountered while using an iPhone, despite having switched back and forth several times...

Which two Android phones are you actually comparing to an iPhone X?
I certainly hope you're measuring it against something in the same price bracket, rather than some budget Samsung J5 or similar low-end hardware.

Larry Fox5 said:Honestly, seeing how much you whine and cry about every single phone option out there—it actually makes me think you made the right call. I can't remember a single time I had an issue, aside from the usual hassle of swapping out a cracked screen... 🤣

Look, let's simplify this: if you're happy, everyone's happy.

I'm neither whining nor crying.

iPhone
🤦

steelmarlin93 said:Here we go again...

"Satanists outraged: Those aren't ours, those are Christian rituals"

I am actually dying. Lol.