I think 90% chance of apple going for the EU-Specific model just like they did for Digital markets act, 10 chance of screws, 0% chance of actually popping the back cover off with bare hands.
For Samsung, 50% chance EU-Specific models 40% chance screws, 10% chance back cover tool-less removal. (Edit: typo)
As for other smaller manufacturers, probably just 50%/50% either screws or tool-less back cover removal.
My genuine hope is that this puts an end of the stupid “thinness wars” and we actually see innovation in devices again. I’m beyond sick of the “tall, skinny, razor-thin rectangle” form factor.
At some point, the super thinness hampers proper ergonomics. Also has to affect rigidity and durability.
Some companies are still trying.
I’ve got a ulefone 27T. It’s the phone equivalent of a tank. It also includes thermal and night vision, and underwater video modes. I would also give it good odds of surviving being used as a self defence weapon.
Downside is it’s a relatively unknown Chinese brand.
Yeah, some are. It’s just unfortunate that you frequently have to pre-order, fund a kickstarter, or roll the dice with some unknown Chinese brand that may or may not ever see a software update/3rd party ROM support. That, or they’re more expensive because of the smaller production runs.
I really like the PlanetCom ones, but they’re a bit pricey and have some quirks that would probably make them not a good fit for me as a daily driver. Not sure I’d want to pay those prices for a secondary device.
I did order a Minimal Phone the other day (July batch), so hopefully should have that toward the end of July/early August.
Until then, I’ll keep using my Cat S22 Flip which I have grown to actually love.
They keep making them taller and thinner but my pockets stay tiny :(
MORE CAMERAS
50:1 aspect ratios!
Too big for one hand and slippery
You’re holding it wrong
There’s Unihertz. They have some interesting devices, but unfortunately they aren’t sold where I live. A lot of them are just screwed together.
I can get it from resellers on places like Allegro, but I am really worried about returns or warranty. I have some specific requirements that I basically just need to try out, and then if necessary, return the device.
Last time I bought 3 candidates before making the final decision.
Never heard of them so I just checked it out and they have phones with DLP projectors built in? That’s some wild shit but I do like to see some actual innovation. I like that they also have phones with real keyboards. Are they US based by chance? It seems like every phone I have marginal interest in over the last decade is only sold in the EU and doesn’t support TMobile’s bands.
Edit: thar DLP phone is 30mm thick?! Also it only supports 4G?
Edit 2: looks like they have a 5G version of this monster phone. 23,000mAH battery!
Chinese.
The projector thing isn’t quite new, actually. Samsung Galaxy Beam did this in 2012. Though that projector was 15 lumens, Unihertz has one with 100 lumen projector. It also has a cooling fan for that, and huge battery that makes it a bit of a brick.
I myself have Ulefone Armor 24, and I do like the brick form-factor, but I know most people probably wouldn’t.
These are listed for the Tank 3 Pro: 2G GSM (Bands 2/3/5/8), 3G WCDMA (Bands 1/2/4/5/6/8/19), 3G CDMA2000 (Bands BC0/BC1), 4G FDD-LTE (Bands 1/2/3/4/5/7/8/12/13/17/18/19/20/25/26/28A/28B/66), 4G TDD-LTE (Bands 34/38/39/40/41/42), 5G NR (Bands N1/2/3/5/7/8/12/13/20/25/26/28/38/40/41/77/78)
You can find band number list on Wikipedia to get the frequency.
Checking T-Mobile US website, it seems to lack 600MHz for both “extended range” 4G and 5G as well as mmWave 5G support.
Keep in mind the possible lack of updates with no custom ROMs available. That just sucks, and is usual with such Chinese brands.
The only one I saw I kind of liked was the Titan, but it seemed a bit out of date (not sure if it gets updates, and I didn’t see it listed as supported for LineageOS).
Yeah, these use MediaTek SOCs, and required source code is not available. Which is why the custom ROM scene is so lacking on MediaTek side. And I wouldn’t expect updates from brands like this, unfortunately.
Innovation is there from other companies. They’re just never being rewarded for it because so many tards only ever see Samsung or apple.