The Great Smartphone & Tablet Thread, v5: Death to the Headphone Jack

[Thread]

Most important consideration for battery size is the screen surface area to battery mAh ratio. This should be understandable because the screen remains the #1 battery drain for virtually every user (regardless of device or operating system) in existence.

Next most important hardware spec is your chipset. More powerful chipsets are bigger drains, so the best phones tend to require larger batteries just to enjoy the same battery lives.

Other than that, battery conditioning has changed the least among all technology types since the inception of the whole iPhone revolution. Everyone is waiting for this dam to break open (tons of money and other resources being poured into R&D on stuff like the glass battery designs). But otherwise, pretty much everything runs on the Lithium Polymer technology, and the battery will simply wear down over time due to all the recharges.

The industry has focused more on making the LED/LCD cells more energy efficient, not the other way around. OLED displays have always drained more energy per cell, so this has been an area of particular concern for the Android manufacturers like Samsung and LG (although Apple has finally transitioned to an OLED display with the iPhone X).

Beyond that, Android phones tend to build up a ton of advertising spam. So every time you open an app, all of those pop-ups, and also hidden processes, will drain the battery. For this reason Android phones out of the box will often enjoy much, much better battery lives than ones that have built up a user profile. Apple's ecosystem (most specifically its revenue structure) works in a way that they are much better able to control and stifle this sort of software spamming. Expert users with root access often block these ads and hidden processes from running, but that's a niche market.

Thanks for the informative post. It's dissapointing that the efforts in battery improvement is relatively low in priority compared to thin phones, minimal bezels, glass back, wireless charging,etc. This would almost be a moot point if we had the ability to have removable batteries but I know that ship has sailed. The reality is accepting that the original battery has an ideal useful life of 2 years before it takes noticable dip in holding a charge.

 

[Madmick]

Thanks for the informative post. It's dissapointing that the efforts in battery improvement is relatively low in priority compared to thin phones, minimal bezels, glass back, wireless charging,etc. This would almost be a moot point if we had the ability to have removable batteries but I know that ship has sailed. The reality is accepting that the original battery has an ideal useful life of 2 years before it takes noticable dip in holding a charge.

On the plus side there are more and more third party service merchants who specialize in phone repair and maintenance. You can replace an iPhone battery today, for example, for $40-$60 (this includes the cost of them installing it) in most cities and towns. That's not too bad.

 

[God_Emperor_Of_Mankind]

On the plus side there are more and more third party service merchants who specialize in phone repair and maintenance. You can replace an iPhone battery today, for example, for $40-$60 (this includes the cost of them installing it) in most cities and towns. That's not too bad.

Do you think that they will still stock those batteries 4 to 5 years from now? I've seen bad experiences where they say a part is out of stock and then they keep saying that pretty much forever.

My note 3 for example is still going strong cause I have 4 anker batteries and 2 caseology ones and i can say the phone will last for years more.

The risk is your at the mercy of the company after 3 years and if you don't get a new battery then your phone is pretty much done.

 

[Thread]

Do you think that they will still stock those batteries 4 to 5 years from now? I've seen bad experiences where they say a part is out of stock and then they keep saying that pretty much forever.

My note 3 for example is still going strong cause I have 4 anker batteries and 2 caseology ones and i can say the phone will last for years more.

The risk is your at the mercy of the company after 3 years and if you don't get a new battery then your phone is pretty much done.

I believe as long as companies like ifixit are around you'll have options

 

[Big Burly]

My experience with the Nexus 7 was terrible. I bought 2 of them. One was a brick out of the box. I had it repaired. Eventually the screen wouldn't recognize touch correctly. The second one was not used much, and when mine died I took it over. It didn't last long either.

And I am super gentle with my tablets and phones.

I had a first gen Surface. It was very limited in what it could do. It quit charging after awhile.

I have an LG tablet that has been durable.

I got an Amazon Fire HD 10 for Christmas, and I like it better than any of the Google tablets that I have had. I use it for reading and movies, mostly. I haven't played any games on it yet, but that could change.

 

[Madmick]

Holy Christ, Apple is getting more retarded with each generation:
iPhone X SE Leak Reveals Apple's Expensive Smartphone

He’s back again. Acclaimed KGI Securities’ analyst Ming-Chi Kuo has been prolific in January and now he brings us insight into Apple AAPL -0.35%’s iPhone plans for 2018 and not everyone is going to like them…

In three new reports each attained by MacRumors, Kuo states Apple will launch three iPhones based on the iPhone X design this year: a second generation 5.8-inch iPhone X, a 6.5-inch ‘iPhone X Plus’ and a long-awaited and supersized 6.1-inch ‘iPhone X SE’. So far so good and there’s more good news as well.


Concept Creator
iPhone X next-generation concept


Kuo states that all three new iPhones will have larger battery sizes. He breaks these down as an incremental bump for the second generation iPhone X (2800 vs 2,715 mAh), a hefty 3,300-3,400 mAh battery in the iPhone X Plus and a battery up to 2,950mAh for the iPhone X SE. This is has been backed up by Chinese language site ET News.

And yes, the iPhone X SE will make compromises. The aforementioned battery won’t use the same advanced technology which allowed Apple to squeeze an L-shaped battery into the iPhone X (something it will continue with the iPhone X Plus and second gen iPhone X). It will also miss out on an OLED display, dual camera and (strangely) omit 3D Touch.

None of these things are likely to be deal breakers for most users, instead what is likely to raise alarm is the price Kuo says Apple will charge.

While some rumors have claimed the second generation iPhone X would drop in price to accommodate a larger iPhone X Plus, Kuo says this is not true. He claims the second gen iPhone X will again start at $1,000, the iPhone X Plus will be priced higher (likely $1,200-$1,350) while the once-cheap iPhone SE will see its iPhone X-inspired successor come in at more than an iPhone 8 starting from $700-$800.

Given the current iPhone SE starts from just $349, this will mean its successor more than doubles the price. As such Apple’s cheapest iPhone is likely to be the iPhone 7, which will replace the iPhone 6S in September and start at $449.

But why would Apple risk moving iPhones from a 2017 price range of $349-$1,150 to a potential 2018 price range of $449-$1,400?

It could be argued Apple is confident in the iPhone X sales it has seen (despite some analysts claiming they will disappoint), but I think the answer lies in a controversial claim Kuo made last week.

Kuo previously said he expects Apple to cancel the iPhone X after one generation. The logic is by not retaining the phone at a cheaper price, Apple can keep its design limited to premium models only. Were it to drop the price to $800-850 it would also risk the iPhone X cannibalizing sales of the less fully featured iPhone X SE.

Yes, iPhone fans are famed for their loyalty. But based on what Kuo reports are Apple’s plans for 2018, the financial demands placed on users this year will see that loyalty sorely tested…

iPhone X2 vs. iPhone X SE vs. iPhone X2 Plus

Benajmin Geskin
Apple iPhone 2018 expected range

I hope all of these flop even more badly than the iPhone X itself. They're forgetting what makes the iPhone the iPhone. Or, at least, they're complacent to plunder that brand's value in exchange for its destruction.

Oh, and $1200-$1350 as a baseline price? Are you nuts? By the time most buyers of that Plus model get out the door their total bill will be around $2K. You can buy a top-of-the-line gaming comp for that. Uggh.

 

[Thread]

Holy Christ, Apple is getting more retarded with each generation:
iPhone X SE Leak Reveals Apple's Expensive Smartphone

iPhone X2 vs. iPhone X SE vs. iPhone X2 Plus

Benajmin Geskin
Apple iPhone 2018 expected range

I hope all of these flop even more badly than the iPhone X itself. They're forgetting what makes the iPhone the iPhone. Or, at least, they're complacent to plunder that brand's value in exchange for its destruction.

Oh, and $1200-$1350 as a baseline price? Are you nuts? By the time most buyers of that Plus model get out the door their total bill will be around $2K. You can buy a top-of-the-line gaming comp for that. Uggh.

I hope it flops. Btw, got the V30. Not bad so far!

 

[BoogerDawson]

I hope it flops. Btw, got the V30. Not bad so far!

The Quad DAC looks like a sweet feature.

 

[Thread]

The Quad DAC looks like a sweet feature.

it certainly helps. Takes mediocre earbuds sound half way decent. Can't imagine how a good set of headphones would sound connected to this thing.

 

[Madmick]

it certainly helps. Takes mediocre earbuds sound half way decent. Can't imagine how a good set of headphones would sound connected to this thing.

The Superlux headsets are said to have the best sound quality by the headfi community of any headphone under $50 by a longshot at just $35-$45, and are among the only headphones of open/semi-open design under $100. The apparent issue is that the stock earpads are uncomfortable to wear for extremely long sessions, so some opt to also purchase additional third party velour pads including those made for other headphone manufacturer models with identical sizing per the particular headset (ex. AKG K240 for the Superlux HD668B). Still, it's probably ideal to try first for yourself to see if you have any issues:

• ($35) Superlux HD681 Dynamic Semi-Open Headphones
• ($45) Superlux HD668B Dynamic Semi-Open Headphones

Example of replacement velour earpads typically running a very attractive ~$9-$10 these days:
https://www.thomannmusic.com/superlux_hd_681_velour_ear_pad.htm


Thought I'd throw out this mention since Superlux has put the audiophile experience in reach of the legitimate economy range if that ESS SABRE 9228 DAC and the power/amp driving headphones attached to the LG V30 really is that good; as serendipity would have it, pretty much everyone other phone manufacturer is abandoning the 3.5mm jack, and so this level of audio experience at this budget is available only to a few fortunate smartphones owners like you.

 

[ChainFlow]

Mick. Dumb question here but is 16gb even functional? According to my phone the system is using 7.5 gb already. That would leave less than 8 gb available on a 16 gb iPad. Would that ultimately effect performance? IE slow everything down?

Actually, the 2017 ipad (329$ MSRP, frequently on sale for ~250-270) has a base storage size of 32GB.

Old post, but wanted you to know in case you hadn’t made a decision.

 

[Madmick]

Actually, the 2017 ipad (329$ MSRP, frequently on sale for ~250-270) has a base storage size of 32GB.

Old post, but wanted you to know in case you hadn’t made a decision.

My bad, not sure why I bunked that. I forgot they shifted to two storage variations.

 

[God_Emperor_Of_Mankind]

We should boycott the iPhone.

 

[SheetsMMAfan]

I just jumped ship from Apple (been there since 3G) around September of last year to my first Android product, the Galaxy S8+, and after a painful few months I FINALLY got everything the way I want it on my phone and haven't looked back.

The S8+ was salty as far as price goes, but fuck, upwards of $1300 for a phone seems absolutely BONKERS...

 

[JSN]

I finally invested in a quality pair of Bluetooth headphones (Sennheiser HD 4.50) and it’s definitely made me less vitriolic toward makers who’ve eliminated the 3.5mm jack. Apparently all of my Bluetooth devices until this point have just had poor connectivity.

 

[God_Emperor_Of_Mankind]

I finally invested in a quality pair of Bluetooth headphones (Sennheiser HD 4.50) and it’s definitely made me less vitriolic toward makers who’ve eliminated the 3.5mm jack. Apparently all of my Bluetooth devices until this point have just had poor connectivity.

I've bought the jaybird x3, it's good but I don't like them forcing anything on us.

 

[The Russian]

IPhone prices have been insane lately. On top of the clocked is and crappy batteries. I still like mine tho

 

[Madmick]

Yes, the Samsung Galaxy S9 has a headphone jack

Samsung Galaxy S9+ vs. Samsung Galaxy S9

 

[The Russian]

Yes, the Samsung Galaxy S9 has a headphone jack

i read the comment section of your link and loled hard. Fucking hipsters. Arguing about their feelings instead of the subject at hand.

 

[Madmick]

The Galaxy S9+ vs. the competition: Beyond the dual cameras
Nice neat table in this link comparing the S9+, Pixel 2XL, iPhone X, and iPhone 8 Plus.

iPhone X vs. Samsung Galaxy S9+

Sheesh. Apple's tech and software is incredible, right now, but who in the blue fuck wants to own the phone on the left? Artistic design and presentation of the hardware was a MASSIVE deal to Jobs. He'd be rolling in his grave.