Poll: Which abandoned Android phone features do you miss the most?
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Restriction of Network access per app
You can still do it with third party firewalls
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This post did not contain any content.wrote last edited by [email protected]
Openness
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Everybody misses their IR blaster it seems. And why not? randomly turning off the neighbors TV is good wholesome fun.
I remember saving the day while setting up an event we had the TVs on stands but lost the remotes luckily the phone I had at the time had the ir and I was able to turn the TVs on and play the DVDs
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I do not like the power button fingerprint reader.
- Cases need a notch to expose the power button.
- Can't use the power button to lock the screen while fingerprint unlock is enabled, because it immediately unlocks itself with the fingerprint.
- Accidentally unlocks itself way often when putting it in my pocket than with the back reader.
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Open bootloaders, ir blaster, 3.5mm jack, sd card slot, replaceable batteries. The list goes on.
Motorola G series has 3.5mm + SD card slot
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Audio jack 3.5mm!!! I'm sick of buying USBC to audio jack adaptors! Just add a damn audio jack!
IR for remote control. -
I do not like the power button fingerprint reader.
- Cases need a notch to expose the power button.
- Can't use the power button to lock the screen while fingerprint unlock is enabled, because it immediately unlocks itself with the fingerprint.
- Accidentally unlocks itself way often when putting it in my pocket than with the back reader.
My eldest's phone has this. Your second point is valid and a pain in the ass.
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I hate how the camera on my phone blocks part of the screen. Can't they just have the lens a bit higher up
wrote last edited by [email protected]I have never understood this argument. The camera never blocked the screen. The screen moved up and around the camera. It's either that, or you get a forehead/chin.
What do you people want? Pick one.
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Newer TVs don't have IR on them
It is all Bluetooth for the most part
How do siblings argue over TV channels if you can't put your hand over the IR receiver to stop your sibling (who was quickest to get the remote) from changing the channel?
I guess they all have their own screens now.
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Software festure, but I miss being able to turn on and off wifi and Bluetooth in the drop-down menu with one click. Latest android replaced it with another sub menu to select network or device, requiring another action to enable/disable.
I actually prefer this method. I can switch wifi and cellular off/on and even select wifi networks from the single window that pops up. It's really handy. Stock rooted Pixel 9 Pro XL.
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I do not like the power button fingerprint reader.
- Cases need a notch to expose the power button.
- Can't use the power button to lock the screen while fingerprint unlock is enabled, because it immediately unlocks itself with the fingerprint.
- Accidentally unlocks itself way often when putting it in my pocket than with the back reader.
The 2nd and even 3rd point is not automatically true for every phone and setting. I have a combined fingerprint reader and power button on my Fairphone 5, and the 2nd thing has always worked just fine.
It also has the option to only enable the fingerprint reader if the display is on, which addresses your 3rd point completely. It means you can pick the phone up, including having a finger in the reader, and it won't turn on or unlock. You need to press down in the button to trigger the screen, then it can be unlocked. That also means that when locking it and turning off the screen actively by pressing the power button with the phone on, it never re-unlocks. To be honest this part wasn't a problem before the setting became available, as the locking would disable the fingerprint reader anyway, but letting your grip go slightly could trigger re-unlock.
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A keyboard.
I would love a modern phone with a slide out keyboard like the old Droids. Never got used to typing on screen, no feel to it.
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This post did not contain any content.wrote last edited by [email protected]
I used to be able to
unlockwake my phone and see what band was currently playing.OneUI fucked that up.
Edit: wake
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How do siblings argue over TV channels if you can't put your hand over the IR receiver to stop your sibling (who was quickest to get the remote) from changing the channel?
I guess they all have their own screens now.
I remember reading a while back that most gen Z primarily use a phone for everything.
I believe it
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Motorola G series has 3.5mm + SD card slot
Hmmm, that's deffo a contender for my next device, we'll see how many years i get out of my zf9 before getting one though lol
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A keyboard.
Omg yes, i miss Android phones with keyboards, i had an lg one and that keyboard got so much use that a few buttons died.
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The 2nd and even 3rd point is not automatically true for every phone and setting. I have a combined fingerprint reader and power button on my Fairphone 5, and the 2nd thing has always worked just fine.
It also has the option to only enable the fingerprint reader if the display is on, which addresses your 3rd point completely. It means you can pick the phone up, including having a finger in the reader, and it won't turn on or unlock. You need to press down in the button to trigger the screen, then it can be unlocked. That also means that when locking it and turning off the screen actively by pressing the power button with the phone on, it never re-unlocks. To be honest this part wasn't a problem before the setting became available, as the locking would disable the fingerprint reader anyway, but letting your grip go slightly could trigger re-unlock.
Only activating the fingerprint reader when the screen is on is a regression compared to the rear reader. It means I need to squeeze the phone to unlock it, vs just placing my finger in the right spot. It also negates the purported advantage from the comment above mine about being able to easily unlock the phone while lying on a table.
I'm not arguing that the power button reader doesn't work for anyone. I'm saying that it is qualitatively worse UX for me in particular.
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Open bootloaders, ir blaster, 3.5mm jack, sd card slot, replaceable batteries. The list goes on.
Don't forget the notification light.
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This post did not contain any content.wrote last edited by [email protected]
If I could get a Motorola Droid 4 with a modern processor that would be peak.
I miss smaller sizes. I'm currently on the cheapest phone my carrier offers after my last one broke, and it's still way bigger than it needs to be. Shit literally slowly pulls my pants down if I have it in my pocket.
I miss the fingerprint reader on the back. I don't know which brain genius moved that function to the front but it was so much more convenient on the back.
I miss wired headphones. Bluetooth can't go five minutes without cutting out for a couple of seconds, and while I've tried to use a usb-c to 3.5mm dongle that adds an extra failure point compared to just having the port. And if phones are going to be these giant bricks in your pocket anyway they might as well bring it back.
And last but certainly not least I miss a physical landscape keyboard. There are a few gimmicky ass-phones that offer this feature but they all suck for different reasons. Swype is fine but I spend as much time correcting typos and incorrectly predicted words as I do typing, plus the loss of screen real estate to the software keyboard can make some sites and apps totally unusable in landscape mode.
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Pixel 5 has a back fingerprint reader. Think it's the last Pixel with it.
wrote last edited by [email protected]I miss that.
My 5 died randomly one day.
The 9 under screen sensor works nice, heard the 6-8? light sensors were bad.
