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    Monday, April 20, 2020

    Android Flagships aren’t driving smartphone innovation anymore

    Android Flagships aren’t driving smartphone innovation anymore


    Flagships aren’t driving smartphone innovation anymore

    Posted: 19 Apr 2020 04:28 PM PDT

    OnePlus 8 prices in India and comparisons with iPhone SE2 prices

    Posted: 19 Apr 2020 07:49 AM PDT

    https://twitter.com/amitbhawani/status/1251883674632507392
    OnePlus 8 starts at Rs 41,999 ( ~USD 550)
    OnePlus 8 pro starts at Rs 54,999 (~USD 720)

    Meanwhile, the $399 iPhone SE2 is starting at $560 in India. Just shows that companies can definitely price products according to purchasing power in the region, which Apple just won't in India, and give the stupid excuse of local taxes.

    submitted by /u/doxypoxy
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    My take: Software Services will be main driver of smartphone revenue

    Posted: 19 Apr 2020 11:59 PM PDT

    I believe the new iPhone SE may begin a steady trend in the smartphone industry. As you know, prices of smartphones have skyrocketed, reaching absurd levels, because they pack in the lastest and greatest hardware. At some point though, for a consumer, the latest smartphone is already so powerful that the difference between some of these price points in terms of average user experience becomes unnoticeable. Paying 400$ for a phone like 4a or iPhone SE becomes more rational choice for the average consumer, who really may not even notice the performance difference.

    I believe that tech companies will take notice. They will maybe see that the better model going forward is for consumers not to pay a premium for hardware, but pay for software services (e.g. similar to the business model that Microsoft took in the last several years). While hardware capability will increase every year, the user demand for more advanced capability is not increasing at the same level; one could say the growth of the user demand for hardware capability is gradually slowing year after year.

    Thus, drawing in the consumer with an affordable price point for a solid smartphone hardware-wise becomes the main trend as only a small fraction will be wanting to pay 1000$+ for the newest and greatest flagships. Of course, the companies will think that with this approach it may be smarter to drive their revenue and loyalty with software services that will tie the user to the ecosystem and also add additional revenue, for already a phone at a low price point relative to the flagships. I'm sure flagships will not go away, since you need a line to showcase the latest and greatest, like there will always be Maserati or Porsche line of cars), but the issue becomes about the Toyota Camry of the smartphone lineup of each company, which becomes the most purchased.

    tl;dr I think the trend of overpriced flagships was inflating too much and this will see a trend of mid-point priced phones with decent hardware with software services becoming main driver of revenue.

    submitted by /u/musaler
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    Google debit card leak seemingly confirmed by Chrome

    Posted: 20 Apr 2020 01:31 AM PDT

    Others are stepping up their sensor game, your move, Google!

    Posted: 19 Apr 2020 06:51 PM PDT

    OnePlus marks one of the latest manufacturers to really up their game in sensor size. With OnePlus 8 Pro, they included quite a large 1/1.4" sensor for the main camera.

    Huawei started (I'm not going to count Nokia as I'll only include recent players) the trend of larger sensors with their P series and Mate series phones, by including larger 1/1.55" and 1/1.7" sensors in those phones. Soon the industry took notice and responded. Pretty much all other manufacturers including Samsung and Xiaomi started the move to larger sensors. The latest, biggest sensors are in S20 Ultra (1/1.33") and P40 Pro (1/1.28" - Currently the biggest modern sensor).

    The only two holdouts so far seem to be Google and Apple; they are still using smaller sensors. However, unlike Google, Apple has more than 2 selling points for their phones. With Google the selling points are: the camera and the stock Android.

    I feel like Google has been very neglectful of their camera hardware, instead choosing to concentrate solely on software. It's understandable as Google is a software company and their camera software is amazing! But I think they've pretty much maxed out the capabilities of the sensor they've been using. While they are still on par with other cameraphones in images, the competition has caught up and with further software improvements could surpass Google as their sensors have a higher ceiling of capabilities. And in the video department they have fallen behind.

    I think the hardware is keeping that amazing software back. The software has filled out the capabilities of the current hardware and there is nowhere else to go. It would really benefit from an improved, newer hardware.

    Hopefully with Pixel 5, Google will finally give us an updated sensor that is up to par with the rest of the industry and couple it with their already incredible software. I feel like results will be incredible and they will yet again take the lead in camera capabilities.

    Do you agree that it's time for a new larger and better camera hardware or do you think Google should continue what they're doing now and keep concentrating purely on software while reusing the same hardware?

    For a reference, here's a size comparison of different sensors. As you can see iPhone's and Pixel's are very small compared to the rest. Huawei P40's is even bigger than S20 Ultra's and Samsung is currently working on a sensor that is close to 1".

    submitted by /u/DiplomatikEmunetey
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    Discussion: How much do you care about the weight and thickness of your phone? Is it a factor at all in your purchasing decision?

    Posted: 19 Apr 2020 04:29 AM PDT

    So I recently just went from a OnePlus 7 pro to a Galaxy a70. Yeah I know :(, I dropped the OP7. But the difference in usability is drastic. The a70 is plastic, so 20g lighter. it's also about a mm thinner. Same screen size.

    Up until now I didn't realise how much that mattered on bigger phones. I can use this one handed for most things. The OP7 was just way too heavy.

    I brought this up because I regularly see screen size discussed but no other dimensions or weight taken into account. I could honestly see myself using a 7inch phone if its 21:9 and similar thickness and weight.

    submitted by /u/Michael__X
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    2bn phones cannot use Google and Apple contact-tracing tech

    Posted: 20 Apr 2020 03:06 AM PDT

    Huawei P40 Lite Smartphone Review: Good even without Google Services

    Posted: 19 Apr 2020 10:58 PM PDT

    (Opinion) Why Pixel devices shouldn't be branded as the true Android experience

    Posted: 19 Apr 2020 03:25 PM PDT

    Hello everyone,

    I compared Pixel's Android to stock Android (I used my Android One mobile as a comparison) and I have found the following differences:

    • Blue accent color instead of green
    • Product Sans instead of Roboto
    • True black dark theme instead of dark blue-ish dark theme
    • Exclusive: Pixel Launcher
    • Exclusive: Live wallpapers
    • Exclusive: Fully fledged Always on Display
    • Exclusive: Google Camera
    • Exclusive: Most up to date Google Assistant
    • App exclusives such as SnapChat Camera2Api support or Google Stadia

    Al these differences have made me come to the conclusion that Pixel devices should be branded as the "true Google experience" instead of the "true *stock Android experience". It also is misleading to call Pixel devices "true *stock Android" because people then buy devices with a somewhat stock Android and expect the Pixel experience which to their disappointment isn't present. Let me know of something I said is wrong and what you think in the comments!

    EDIT: clarification

    submitted by /u/Muda42
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