I miss the old days of smartphones
Everything nowadays is faster, better, and stronger, but we've lost the "spark."
![HTC One M7 and One M8 being held together](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/PzoeJ4N568nwXveMLaemT9-320-80.jpg)
Beyond the Alphabet is a weekly column that focuses on the tech world both inside and out of the confines of Mountain View.
Sometimes, it's nice to sit back and reminisce about the old days. You know, the days when smartphones included things like headphone jacks, microSD card slots, and even removable batteries. Back when smartphones were fun, in the days of Moto Maker, LG G3, the HTC One, and so many more.
It was definitely the Wild Wild West, but it was so enjoyable because there were so many options to choose from. I mean, we even had the Google Play Edition lineup, comprised of phones from Samsung, HTC, Motorola, and even Sony!
Back in those days, we'd see some wild and crazy designs as companies weren't afraid of taking chances. The Galaxy Note Edge was pretty unique, but was Samsung's foray into the curved screens that we saw on the best Android phones until the Galaxy S24 Ultra, for better or worse.
The Moto Z was so thin that I thought Motorola was going to have an iPhone 6S moment on its hands. Funnily enough, the Moto Z also seemingly laid the groundwork for MagSafe, but naturally, didn't take off in the same way.
We didn't have to worry about running out of storage because the microSD card slot was there. Bluetooth headphones were around, but why splurge on those when you could just plug in your wired headphones sans dongle?
Sure, today, we have phones that fold and flip and don't need to carry a point-and-shoot camera. We just use the camera in our pockets or bags. That's all fine and dandy, but it hasn't been enough to make me completely forget about the past.
And don't get me wrong. I wouldn't trade a foldable phone for the HTC One M8, even if the underlying hardware was modernized. I'm extremely grateful for how far smartphones have come, more than 15 years after I got my very first smartphone.
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Perhaps my biggest disappointment is that phones just aren't as fun anymore. Some of this has to do with the inability to get phones from Europe, Korea, or China in North America. Here, the flagship realm is just the Samsung and Apple show, with a sprinkling of Google and OnePlus.
Looking at what comes to other regions makes me feel like a kid staring out of the window, longing to go outside and play.
Meanwhile, Huawei, Honor, Xiaomi, Vivo, and others are churning out new phones that put what we have here in the States to shame. Xiaomi is even gearing up to release its first Galaxy Z Flip rival. But the only way I'll be able to get my hands on it is to spend an exorbitant (to me) amount of money to have it imported. The same goes for the Vivo X Fold 3 Pro, with its 100W charging and true flagship camera system.
At the same time, I can't help but wonder about what the future holds for smartphones. Slabs are pretty much all the same and I couldn't really care less, with the exception being for phone companies to fix the displays so my colleague Nick can enjoy them again.
I would venture to argue that we've reached the pinnacle of what smartphones can do in terms of raw horsepower. Qualcomm's Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 seems to just about check all of the boxes, as it's powerful and efficient with little sacrifice.
It's also likely why phone companies are now putting more effort into AI capabilities. That's the next "great frontier," as only a little bit of those cool and new features are handled by the on-device NPU. The rest is done in the cloud, which is incredible in its own right, but not the point.
However, the tradeoff to gaining more powerful and efficient phones is that we lose all the features we once cared about, and we continue to pay the price as the cost of these devices increases. It costs money to manufacture processors, and chips like the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 aren't cheap as chipmakers include newer, more capable NPUs that could result in steeper costs to OEMs.
On the one hand, we can now reap the benefits of on-device processing as a wave of new generative AI features emerges. Meanwhile, OEMs will continue to make the most of what little space they have in these phones to bring that power while chipping away at the things that used to make phones truly fun, then charge us more for it.
Before we know it, the Galaxy S27 Ultra Pro Max will be here with a price tag of $2,000. It'll have all of the bells and whistles, while Bixby will be able to read your mind and do things for you. But you know what it won't have? A headphone jack, microSD card, or removable battery.
Andrew Myrick is a Senior Editor at Android Central. He enjoys everything to do with technology, including tablets, smartphones, and everything in between. Perhaps his favorite past-time is collecting different headphones, even if they all end up in the same drawer.
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JudasD cell phones are done and just running on inertia. same as PCs did before it. once something "new" arrives, the focus will instantly and easily change, the atmosphere is just primed for it.Reply -
SeeBeeEss Blackberry Storm, Samsung Galaxy Note 7, HTC Facebook Phone, Microsoft Kin One, HTC EVO 3D, Motorola Rokr E1, iPhone 6, Amazon Fire Phone, ZTE Open, Motorola Flipout, LG 1010, Nokia 7280...Reply
Big sigh...yep, the good old days. Sure missing those "fun" phones. ;)
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kolyan2k HTC was great. I think we were able to convert Microsoft HTCs to run Android back in the days.Reply -
Richard _the_curious My guy, are you kidding me. I would so take an hyc one series phone modernized. The design was so good and for someone that loves customization htc did a real good job. Way better than Google or apples real bad attempts. Even third party launchers are better. I don't know why Google hasn't implemented any of these features. I'd love to choose my own icon pack, change my fonts etc.Reply -
Tractorlegs
The apps and capabilities on smartphones and tablets are redundant. If I can keep up with social media, my banking/health apps and everything else on the tablet, why not go back to a flip feature phone as a telephone? I wouldn't mind an old Motorola PEBL or something like that. The designs of all these old fones are so cool - Nokia, Motorola, etc. -- so why not?AC News said:Don't you ever wish we could go back to the days of when phones were fun? Yeah, me neither.
I miss the old days of smartphones : Read more -
Emaderton3 I miss BlackBerry and had held on way to long. Before then, nothing beat the satisfaction of the noise that the old Samsung flip phones made when closed. That was actually one thing that drew me to the Z Flip 3 when I finally retired my KEYone.Reply -
Village_Idiot
The Blackberry Storm wasn't that fun. I got the Storm 2 and having to press the screen became counter intuitive real quick.SeeBeeEss said:Blackberry Storm, Samsung Galaxy Note 7, HTC Facebook Phone, Microsoft Kin One, HTC EVO 3D, Motorola Rokr E1, iPhone 6, Amazon Fire Phone, ZTE Open, Motorola Flipout, LG 1010, Nokia 7280...
Big sigh...yep, the good old days. Sure missing those "fun" phones. ;)
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Village_Idiot My first "fun" smart phone was the Samsung Galaxy Fascinate (Verizon version of the Galaxy S).Reply
I liked my Palm Treo and Blackberry Curve, and the Blackberry Storm 2 was ok. They were useful, but I wouldn't call them fun. -
ummduh Hear, hear!Reply
Fully agreed. There really isn't much in the way of ACTUAL consumer choice. Apple and Samsung make a change, EVERYONE follows. I've been around since the original Moto Droid (as far as the current definition of "smart phones" is concerned), which I actually still have in a drawer, and it actually powers up.
I miss my Note4, it was the pinnacle for me. The right aspect ratio, a great screen, ACTUALLY FIT IN MY POCKET, headphone port, sd card, removable battery, buttons separate from the screen, IR control, PERFECT IMO.