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M_Reimer , in EU votes to mandate removable batteries in smartphones in a landslide; no more glued together junk!

And now they just have to force manufacturers to either at least security patch devices for, let’s say 10 years, or force them to open source everything the community needs to continue supporting this device. It never happened to me that the battery died before support ended.

Just had that issue with my Pixel 3a XL. No more security updates. Had to replace it with a Pixel 6a but I liked the 3a XL more. It there was any community support for the 3a XL, I would rather sell my 6a again.

M_Reimer , in What niche phone features would appeal to you?

Native Bluetooth GPS support. I do mapping for OpenStreetMap a lot and the built in GPS modules are just too bad for that. Currently I have to use an app to get my Bluetooth GPS connected. But sometimes this app fails and the built in GPS takes over and ruins my logs.

blayde , in Why are custom roms so much device specific while any linux distro works on any pc?

It took a lot of work to get PC parts to become interoperable. There’s all kinds of special negotiations that happen at boot to discover the state of hardware. There are standard drivers for most peripherals

Mobile devices aren’t expected to change hardware so everything is hard-coded into the ROM. No discovery protocols are supported. Standardized drivers make it hard to ship new features or squeeze every last bit of performance so no effort goes into making them

T156 , in What niche phone features would appeal to you?

E-Ink would be nice, whether integrated as part of an OLED/LCD screen, or a separate module that goes over the top.

Most of the things that I use my phone for don’t generally need the full colour display (text isn’t that expensive to display), and I wouldn’t mind trading that for vastly better battery life that you can get from e-ink, but having the option to use both is probably the best way to go.

An IR transceiver wouldn’t go poorly either. It’s not something I use much, but it was handy to have when I did, whether to send things around, or to just use my phone as a remote for televisions and things.

llama , in Why are custom roms so much device specific while any linux distro works on any pc?
@llama@midwest.social avatar

Because the nuance of calling a PC a PC is that it supports a standard motherboard configuration and any Linux kernel will be able to boot. Mobile devices aren’t like this and every component requires a specialized driver to work.

patchymoose ,
@patchymoose@rammy.site avatar

And just to add to that, anyone who has installed Linux before knows that everything isn’t guaranteed to just work out of the box. Laptop WiFi cards, for example, frequently have driver issues. So it’s not quite as simple as OP is saying, even with PCs.

llama ,
@llama@midwest.social avatar

Reminds me of my fun times with ndiswrapper and nvidia-bl

MargotRobbie , in What niche phone features would appeal to you?
@MargotRobbie@lemmy.world avatar

Something interesting. Like 2 USB-C ports, also a nice hard plastic back, since they are so hard to find now.

Astigma ,
@Astigma@feddit.uk avatar

Oh boy do I have the phone for you Margot. Check out the ASUS ROG Phone 7 Ultimate. It has a USB-C port on the bottom as you’d expect but also one on the side for when you’re holding the phone horizontally but still want to charge.

kippidashira , in What niche phone features would appeal to you?
@kippidashira@kbin.social avatar

Ability to use the screen as a display through the USB port so I can debug a lot of my systems at home without needing to carry a monitor around.

original_ish_name ,

sounds like more of a software feature

bric ,

Actually I doubt it, video in and video out likely needs totally different wiring, so most phones probably couldn’t do it without hardware changes

dutchkimble , in What niche phone features would appeal to you?

Max 4 inch screen, IR blaster, physical keyboard with speed dial settings for buttons, form factor like the Xperia x10 mini pro, headphone jack, cameraless, LED with customisable lights for different notifications, bonus - built in projector, satellite phone capability,

NicoCharrua ,
@NicoCharrua@lemmy.ca avatar

Out of curiosity, why would you want a phone with no cameras?

And do phones with built in projectors exist? That sounds amazing, even if I would almost never use it

dutchkimble ,

I never really use the camera for anything meaningful, and prefer video call on the laptop.

Don't think projector phones exist, just a wishlist for something cool!

AbsurdityAccelerator , in What niche phone features would appeal to you?

I want a Galaxy Fold style phone, but the external screen is eInk. Have it set to always show the book I am reading. This will let me read in bite sized pieces.

bric ,

That would be awesome, although it might make the camera experience worse since you usually use the camera folded. I saw a prototype for a phone a while back that had a regular screen on one side and e-ink on the other, I always thought that was cool.

breakerfall , in What niche phone features would appeal to you?

Modular everything. I really wanted Project Ara to come to market.

CoderKat , in What niche phone features would appeal to you?
@CoderKat@kbin.social avatar

I know some phones had already did this, but I always liked the idea of support for using your phone as a TV remote. The phone has replaced so many pieces of hardware that it feels silly that TV remotes haven't been replaced yet.

I also specifically wish Chrome supported extensions on mobile. Firefox does it. Why can't the biggest browser do it?

Lodespawn ,

@CoderKat I'm pretty sure there are apps that let you do this. In my experience they tend to be buggy and slower than the dedicated hardware.

@Rdan33l

Liontigerwings ,

Through wifi. They used to have IR blasters that work just like the real remote

SilentStorms ,
@SilentStorms@lemmy.fmhy.ml avatar

I miss the innovation of early 2010s phones. Using the IR blaster to mess around with bar TVs was a ton of fun. Not to mention headphone jacks, SD card slots, and removable batteries.

I wish Firefox mobile supported desktop extensions. I know its doable with Nightly builds, but that’s a pain to set up.

riskable , in What niche phone features would appeal to you?
@riskable@kbin.social avatar

OMG great question! I want:

  • Laser range finder/"tape" measure
  • Thermal camera
  • Air quality sensor
  • Radiation detector/Geiger counter
  • Multimeter capabilities
  • IR LED (so I can use it as a remote)
  • Ultrasound capabilities
  • Peltier so I can put a drink on my phone to chill it down 👍

An unlocked bootloader and a normal Linux distribution where I have root!

polaroid , in What niche phone features would appeal to you?

HEADPHONE JACK.

GIVE ME THE GOD DAMN HEADPHONE JACK BACK

DoucheAsaurus ,
@DoucheAsaurus@kbin.social avatar

Ironically enough the headphone jack is more common on cheaper phones. Honestly though the mid grade phones are so good now that I can't see myself buying a flagship device unless there's some incentive.

zephyr ,

Hit the road, bc Jack won’t come back home no more

Jojo-Mcfrost572 , in What niche phone features would appeal to you?
@Jojo-Mcfrost572@kbin.social avatar

Phone upgrades.
Battery.. Non lithuim. Flexible and new. []
Flexible screen. Wrist strap or just flexible. []
Fitness/health capabilities. []
Usb 3.1 reversible.. Proper specs [x]
Wireless charging. Using new WiFi microwave to charge phone without mat. Wattup []
Better nfc/Google pay [x]
Smaller screen oled,s than 5.5 []
Better speakers none conduction or ceramic
Encryption []
Bezelless. Screen to screen hole cut out. 2018 []
Solar panel in screen. Sapphire glass. Smudge and germ

This list was created a few years ago.

Some things have been implemented but not all.

HidingCat , in What niche phone features would appeal to you?

Really would love a dedicated camera button that acts as a soft shutter release. Or a button in that position that's programmable.

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