They are working hard on taking away SIM cards so that you can’t move to another phone without your provider charging you and giving you an okay.
Yes in theory eSIM cards are better, but the way many providers handle issuing you an eSIM card is a nightmare. Whereas with a physical SIM I can just pull it out and put it in any phone that supports that provider without a problem.
I went as far as buying one of those physical SIM cards that holds e-sims on it so that I can swap that into a new phone. But newer phones are more frequently not coming with SIM slots at all.
I’m resisting esims for as long as possible.
Nanosims provide this key feature where I can put my sim in a cheap 20$ flip phone when I go snowboarding or kayaking and don’t want to risk breaking my smart phone.
This also is a convenient way to get Google, and tech, and social media noise away from me for a short time.
I also noticed there is a complete lack of esim capable dumb phones. This has me starting to question the motivation behind esim.
I like eSIMs now because I can get a different account every month, data only and then I use jmp.net to have SMS and voice call services with a permanent number for when I need that. Its cheaper then anything else and more private too.
I don’t know who you’ve been getting your esims from but it I’ve used simjuno and nadanada both are pretty easy to setup.
As soon as the ability to just physically remove the SIM is gone, the big providers will add locks in software to enshittify the experience.
That’s a given. I can see Apple becoming a mobile service provider and locking all iPhones users to them, for example.
eSIM experience will only stay smooth as the alternative physical SIM option exists.
They’ve also done stuff like that with physical sims too. Obviously they couldn’t prevent you from taking out the sim card, but carrier locking has been/is a thing.
And there’s been times where x phone was only available with y carrier for a while.
Apple always sells their phones unlocked when you buy directly from them. I don’t ever see them ever going back on that.
Lock ins are only a problem if you sign a contract to get your phone costs subsidised. The solution is not physical sims, its stop buying over priced shiney things with a contract just cuz MaBell will give you a “deal”. You can almost always get a better deal yourself if you are willing to look for it.
I pay in a year less then most ppl pay for a month of the same exact service, but instead of paying T-Mobile or Verizon $40 I pay $4 for the same amount of data. Instead of buying the latest phone I get a used one that will get updates for the next 3+ years.
I don’t see how apple or Verizon or anyone else could really ever make this setup not work for me unless they lobby congress to destroy MVNOs and used phone resale.
That sounds like a major pain in the ass.
A lot less pain then getting stuck paying off $1000 phone and over $300 for service. I guess some people just prefer to get ripped off
What does the cost of the phone have to do with changing your plan monthly? You can not get ripped off and not have to do all that hoop jumping each month.
Well related because just buying a phone outright in my area is not easy. I have to ship the phone direct from manufacturer because all the major retailers refuse to sell unless you buy through a contract.
Well I dont have to change it monthly if i don’t want to but I happen to want to because it makes it harder to track and create a profile If I do. My actual phone/SMS service stays the same either way and routes over XMPP.
The cost of the phone is why most average people get suckered in to long term contracts.
Certain wireless providers ban phones they don’t like anyway, even if it’s unlocked. It’s depressing.
what the fuck? I stopped on “no jack for you sir” phase, no doubt I am not going for another smartpone when the current one dies out
Always buy unlocked. I transferred carriers on the bus one afternoon and by the time I was home, it was done and I had already deactivated my old account. Kept my mincer and everything. It was even simpler because I have a dual eSIM. Once it was done, I deleted my original eSIM. There’s also the big advantage of using dual eSIM when traveling internationally as you can just activate foreign networks immediately.
But even if you don’t buy unlocked, the carrier has to unlock your phone if you’ve been with them for like 60 days or something according to the FCC. My friend couldn’t get his phone unlocked so he threatened to report them to the FCC and BOOM. Unlocked remotely. It was crazy that it had to go that far.
Locked phones aren’t really a thing in Canada; they are all unlocked. That doesn’t dictate the eSIM switching process be easy between devices though :/
Also, wtf is with the “only one or two eSIMs” limit. That physical eSIM card I bought will fit as many fit in storage; something like 8 apparently. I hate arbitrary “no, only X” limits without a justification.There is only zero, one, and N (more than can be used because of physical or natural limits) in my mind. :P
The first phone I got with an e-SIM crashed during startup. After it cooked my old SIM card. It was so arduous to get fixed. So fucking stupid. This tech isn’t ready for prime time if it can’t handle the phone crashing at specific points.
Take away your ability to install apps that aren’t stamped approved.
Oh wait, one did it over a decade ago and the other is about to start enforcing it.
Oh, and there’s pretty much only the two of them.
Is there any way to stop this?
Not really. The companies will continue removing end-user ownership, even if they move to alternatives. The profits must flow, the number must go up.
If people start to boycott it can make a change
Boycott the technology they have forced on humanity. There’s a growing number of basic tasks that require a device and there’s a large portion of the population that just doesn’t care enough to not fall in line.
True, no change can be done without a will that comes from most of the people, but that’s life, somehow you need to feel like a feather moved by other people’s choices.
Focusing on what we can do is a better choice.
With how apple shit is treated like divine ambrosia and, in many places, a status symbol, I seriously doubt any boycott against them will have any effect.
Android is like Windows in the 1990s. It’s fucking everywhere and literally too big to boycott. Most OEMs also prefer to play ball with Google and keep the phones locked because it’s profitable for them as well. Boycotting a specific OEM might cause some damage to them, but it won’t budge Google. It’s good that some companies are making phones that ship with more open android clones, but those phones are still too expensive for most people to buy
Capitalism made them so big.
They will try to discourage use of on-screen keyboards (making them dumber and less reliable) to force you to use AI dictation and sell you more headphones.
Damn, that’s so viable. don’t give em ideas
At that point I think I would just go back to a brick phone again. I used one as my only phone for the past several years before getting a second hand fairphone with calyx, I really don’t have a problem with going back.
90% of the reason for the fairphone is I work in office now and I get bored for an hour lunchbreak. But being able to send my partner more higher quality cat pics is a bonus too.
And pay $3 to subscribe to the on-screen keyboard as an added function.
(Fuck, I’m sorry I’m giving them ideas)
I recently lost the voice assistant on my phone because it got replaced by Google’s stupid AI shit, which I refuse to use. Now the old assistant, which shipped with this phone and which it has used for the years that I’ve had it, is “unsupported by this device.” Don’t even need to buy a new phone for them to take features away from you.
Next thing to take: unlockable bootloaders so you can no longer install an alt OS.
Pretty much done on most smartphones.
Then buy a fairphone or other phones that do allow it.
Installing GrapheneOS on my pixel was easy, but I had to go through hoops to get my old Motorola G7 running iirc PostmarketOS (now called Nura).
Had to install some program on my desktop so I could ask my connected phone for a series of unique character strings through the terminal, then enter them in a specific order on Motorola’s website where they check if your phone is applicable for unlocking bootloading. It says no, so I look around and find a list of carrier codes that indicate whether or not it should be, and mine should. I ended up finding some forum posts from years ago talking about how the website is wrong and lies to you, and that if you change the url that it gives for applicable devices to include your phone’s strings then it’ll correctly identify the device as applicable for bootloader unlocking. Finally got then to send me an email with the unique code for my phone, and I was able to follow the instructions to install PostmarketOS.
and then hardware gated LLMs forcing you to use goverment approved AI in your phone to do everything
what do you mean next? it’s already happening lol
I miss the headphone jack so much.
That’s still a hard requirement for me, but I don’t mind using older “tech”.
I totally get it but I have been pretty happy with the earbuds to be honest. I know that’s a bit of a hot take but I always wanted wireless in the past and I use my jabra’s on a daily basis. Still, I dont like the removal of useful features, we could easily have wireless earbuds and still have headphone jacks for fuck sake
Same. It took about a decade after the widespread removal of headphone jacks before wireless headphones became a reliable replacement. Now I can’t imagine being tethered to my phone.
>they took your bootloader unlocking >they took your sideloading(i think)they took your job(2027)
Next they will add more AI and more tracking and more ads.
I recently upgraded my phone, and the lack of a 3.5mm jack really hurts. But at least I have an excuse not to listen to my sister’s 20 min Whatsapp voice messages…
One other thing I really miss is the LED indicator that you have new notifications when the screen is off.
when the screen is off
Well that’s your problem. You’re supposed to be engaging with content 24/7. The screen turning off at all sounds like a user error.
I used to love my multicoloured LED on my Nexus 4. I could configure it to flash in a different colour depending upon which app the notification was coming from.
Cheap solution, whatever your charger port is, they make that to 3.5mm
I loved my Xperia M and its huge ahh LED
I miss the slide out qwerty keyboard my old HTC Inspire had.
I want a sidekick lx with a touch screen, a modern processor, and an unlocked bootloader
Not sure why this is a “shit post.” This actually happened.
The charging port will be subscription-based.
I’m actually a tiny bit shocked apple phones haven’t gone wireless charging only and had no ports tbh
Yeah I thought they would do that to avoid USBC in the EU
I’m sure they’ve considered it, but there’s some technical reason not to (yet).
I wonder why, if it wasn’t for charging they could leave another port on it still if it needs one for some reason. Or partially seal it before the customer gets hold of it. Or even leave a metal ring around each camera hole and map that to USB pins, phones managed with micro USB for a long time so that could cover any internal need they have for a port.
Ooh, maybe a dedicated AI button right next to the power button that can’t be turned off or used for any other function that you accidentally hit all of the time.
Superglue.
Better yet not to buy such a phone in the first place.
My LG G8 all but got “upgraded” to this, it was a dedicated Google assistant button, right next to the power switch, and the assistant became AI. Thankfully, while you were unable to remap the button you could still just turn it off, I did that pre AI because I just never used assistant and kept accidentally hitting the button. There are a lot of things I miss about that phone, the AI button is not one of them.
I miss the IR blaster so much, I used it constantly
Can you explain this to me? I’ve never heard of this as a feature and literally cannot tell if this is a joke or real.
it turned your phone into a universal remote. useful for when you’ve lost your tv remote and such
You can also screw with TVs in public locations which was quite fun.
I have it on my OnePlus Nord 5 but a few months back they killed the OnePlus brand in Europe and North America. :(
Now all that’s left of OnePlus is overpriced Realme phones and Oppo, which is outside of my budget…
Luckily this phone will probably last me the next 4 years or so, since I just bought it before they started killing the brand, which was not that long ago.
It was an IR led tied into the phone. You could record and send out IR signals to anything with a receiver like tvs, appliances, etc.
For a little while you could buy an IR blaster that plugged into a headphone jack.
No more touch screens! You press a button to turn it on and you watch/look at/read whatever we give you to watch/look at/read! But first, point the camera at your ID and bank cards.
They’re going to integrate AI and make it non-removable. “You need this.”
I read iOS 27 as this, and I didn’t update. But they’re going to force me.
