these phone is not niche because they are niche, but because they are sucks
if there are alternative that magically better than Google/Apple ecosystem. people would instantly switch
You don't need told people to switch, just need to prove it
these phone is not niche because they are niche, but because they are sucks
if there are alternative that magically better than Google/Apple ecosystem. people would instantly switch
You don't need told people to switch, just need to prove it
They're not comparable to an iPhone but good enough to be a daily driver for technical people like the HN audience. Yet the latter never even mentions it saying there are no options, https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45589096
> good enough to be a daily driver
Are they, though? I don’t think I’m the most demanding user [1], but a $2000 phone with 4 & 128 GB, a 720×1440 TFT, and no NFC? I guess I don't want my freedom that much. (Although USB 3.0 w/ DP is a very nice addition.) That’s not to mention the general bulkiness and the fact that, afaiu, the software doesn't support either Bluetooth or GPS — which are the most important functions my phone provides.
P.S.: writing this whine, I've realised Purism is not far off from the point where I'd make a happy switch — if they offered something smaller [2, 3] with an OLED display of at least 300 PPI [4], I’d buy it asap.
[1]: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=44590665
[2]: 5–5.5 inches diagonal and up to 10 mm thick.
[3]: I understand why the current models are so bulky, but personally I don't really care for modularity and hardware switches. I'd gladly trade those for optimised dimensions and weight of the device — compare how often I have to repair the device vs. how often I do handle it.
[4]: My current iPhone 12 mini is almost 500 PPI, and it's gorgeous, but I admit that's probably overkill.
I also would prefer a smaller phone. However
> I understand why the current models are so bulky, but personally I don't really care for modularity and hardware switches
These aren't the main reasons. It's more because of the chosen SoC, which came from automotive industry and was the only choice for running free software.
Oh, I didn’t consider that aspect. Is the SoC physically bigger, does it require a bunch of additional components, or is it simply power hungry?
I guess it's all of those. WiFi and modem had to be added separately, too.
I've spent the day revisiting this issue, and, after some research, I think my next phone will be Fairphone 5 with Ubuntu Touch. It's not perfect — too big for my taste and not waterproof — and I'll need a couple of weeks of trial use before fully committing. However, I really believe it could be not just my phone for the next five years but also an ad-hoc mobile workstation running a more or less usable Linux.
If anyone has experience with this setup, ideas, or suggestions, I would be glad to hear you out (if you are here after the comment section is closed, drop me an email, address is in the bio).