The Technology Thread

[WillPS]

Gone are the days of people would just jump out their seat and line up round the block in all weathers for the latest iphone.

Not so sure...
https://appleinsider.com/articles/23/09 ... -iphone-15

I happened to be at The Trafford Centre on Sept 22nd and it was mad how many people were lining up to pay full price for a phone marginally better than the one which was already available at a far lower price, with the main feature being a charging port which renders their current accessories redundant.

[Blewatter]

I can understand the short term cost of having your accessories being made redundant, but it does open up some opportunity for some Android and Apple accessories to be cross-platform. Obviously nothing proprietary, but certainly battery packs, wired earphones, and charging wires. Obviously, Apple will want to push their 'Apple Certified' third party products, but if people choose products that are cross platform, which are good quality but cheaper, then that's a win-win

[Dr Lobster*]

I did in the end manage to get hold of a natural titanium iPhone 15 pro from Apple in Norwich.

Did the trade in in-store and Apple gave me £150 for my old iPhone 11, which considering was 4 years old, had 80% battery health and a dodgy charging port, I didn't feel robbed.

The iPhone 11 was my first iPhone so I've never done a phone transfer before - but I was amazed at just how well it works - I backed up my iPhone 11 just before I left, factory wiped in store, and when I set up my new phone at home, it was like the same phone - everything came over and just worked, with the exception of my Apple Watch, which needed to be wiped, and re-paired (everything gets restored exactly as before).

So a good experience. Happy with the iPhone 15, glad I didn't got for the Pro Max, it's a perfect size, imo. Not cheap, but feels like a massive upgrade from the 11 - the screen, and although I've got a "proper" camera, the camera system is impressive. I'll try and get around to posting some comparison shots.

[cwathen]

Over in the Android world, last time I replaced my phone a few years ago I opted for an S10 even though the S20 and S21 had both been released by then. Mainly because I really wanted to keep a 3.5mm audio jack and and the S10 was still better than any then new Samsung handset which had one and at the time still got the same software updates as newer handsets, and I feel pretty locked into Samsung's ecosystem having had one since the S4 was current.

Now looking to replace it, still want Samsung and still want a 3.5mm jack which leaves me few options, all of which involve going down the range. Thought I had decided on the A14 5G as the best option having read a few 'best phones with a headphone jack' reviews, it lacks quite a bit from the S10, most of which doesn't bother me but I would really miss the stereo speakers and the CPU and RAM seemed a bit weak.

Then learned of the existence of the recently released A25 5G which does seem much closer to the S10's specs with the benefit of a much bigger battery, and has a headphone jack. And it's a brand new handset which should keep me in software updates for a good while.

Any better options do we think?

[WillPS]

Over in the Android world, last time I replaced my phone a few years ago I opted for an S10 even though the S20 and S21 had both been released by then. Mainly because I really wanted to keep a 3.5mm audio jack and and the S10 was still better than any then new Samsung handset which had one and at the time still got the same software updates as newer handsets, and I feel pretty locked into Samsung's ecosystem having had one since the S4 was current.

Now looking to replace it, still want Samsung and still want a 3.5mm jack which leaves me few options, all of which involve going down the range. Thought I had decided on the A14 5G as the best option having read a few 'best phones with a headphone jack' reviews, it lacks quite a bit from the S10, most of which doesn't bother me but I would really miss the stereo speakers and the CPU and RAM seemed a bit weak.

Then learned of the existence of the recently released A25 5G which does seem much closer to the S10's specs with the benefit of a much bigger battery, and has a headphone jack. And it's a brand new handset which should keep me in software updates for a good while.

Any better options do we think?

How about a USB-C to 3.5mm adapter?

[cwathen]

Thought about that but I quite often use both at once. Either sat on a train or in the car where it goes into the line in as have no Bluetooth.

Honestly didn't think it was that much of a power user feature to expect to be able to charge and have wired audio at the same time but apparently so...which somehow these days means buying a budget phone!

[Dr Lobster*]

Have you not considered a decent pair of wireless buds? I wouldn’t be without my AirPods Pro, not perfect but great for on the go and it is nice not having to fight the cable

[bilky asko]

How about something like this? Gives you a 3.5mm output and you can still charge too.
https://amzn.eu/d/0jViC0T

[Blewatter]

Over in the Android world, last time I replaced my phone a few years ago I opted for an S10 even though the S20 and S21 had both been released by then. Mainly because I really wanted to keep a 3.5mm audio jack and and the S10 was still better than any then new Samsung handset which had one and at the time still got the same software updates as newer handsets, and I feel pretty locked into Samsung's ecosystem having had one since the S4 was current.

Now looking to replace it, still want Samsung and still want a 3.5mm jack which leaves me few options, all of which involve going down the range. Thought I had decided on the A14 5G as the best option having read a few 'best phones with a headphone jack' reviews, it lacks quite a bit from the S10, most of which doesn't bother me but I would really miss the stereo speakers and the CPU and RAM seemed a bit weak.

Then learned of the existence of the recently released A25 5G which does seem much closer to the S10's specs with the benefit of a much bigger battery, and has a headphone jack. And it's a brand new handset which should keep me in software updates for a good while.

Any better options do we think?

I've been through this exact thing. My Pixel 7A does not have a headphone jack, so I use my USB C-3.5 Jack on occasion, but I do primarily use wireless buds when using my phone (More for convenience, as wired connections are better). I think A25-5G might be the best option for you, if you want a reliable phone, that has features you use. Only other option I could suggest is USB C wired earphones, but the ones I've seen are cheap Apple knock off ones.

[WillPS]

How about something like this? Gives you a 3.5mm output and you can still charge too.
https://amzn.eu/d/0jViC0T

Another potential solution for that case is a wireless charging mat (I have one as a backup in case my USB port packs up).

For better or worse, the direction of travel on this is clear. Seems a shame to not get the device you want because of a feature you can workaround quite cheaply/easily.

[cwathen]

How about something like this? Gives you a 3.5mm output and you can still charge too.
https://amzn.eu/d/0jViC0T

Another potential solution for that case is a wireless charging mat (I have one as a backup in case my USB port packs up).

For better or worse, the direction of travel on this is clear. Seems a shame to not get the device you want because of a feature you can workaround quite cheaply/easily.

TBF the cable suggested by Mr Asko looks pretty good. As would your suggestion of wireless charging which I've never really tried before. Don't trust myself with wireless buds as I manage to lose wired headphones so have always liked the idea of being able to pick up some lower range but still pretty decent Sennheiser earphones for 20 notes and accept if I lose them within a year it's been no huge loss. Doesn't help with any non earphone audio situation either.

Direction of travel as regards 3.5mm jacks on phones is obviously clear, just find it a bit weird. 20 years ago many handsets supported some sort of headset but they were almost always some proprietary thing which often wasn't very good in the first place and would be difficult or expensive to replace if it broke or was lost. Adding a standard 3.5mm jack to a phone was actually a sign of progress and showed phones developing to the point of just having a standard audio connection greatly enhancing their utility to use for audio purposes.

If they were to get phased out, you would think it would be something cost reduced out of budget devices first and retained on the flagships for longer, so that if it is being made a niche feature then the niche pays more for it.

Unless anyone actually buys Apple's original 'courage' claim when they started this trend that the small amount of internal space released by deleting the connector from the iPhone 7 somehow translates into significant other features that otherwise couldn't exist, how on earth have we ended up in a situation where it gets deleted from flagships first which pushes those who want it into chasing ever more budget devices...then run the risk that those users might decide they really don't need a flagship handset anymore and even when the jack goes from the budget devices too they still won't go back to buying top of the range?

I feel that is going to happen to me as the more I think about it I'm drawing the conclusion that an A25 will do me just fine whereas I had always previously thought I couldn't live without an S series handset (extending to the point of buying the S10 in the first place when it had already been replaced twice at the time of purchase).