Even if you are into the premium end of the market, I think the reality is that smartphones is a mature market now. They’ve been around since 2007, and even before that it wasn’t like every model was a nokia 3310, so we’re at the cumulation of 16+ years of iteration and for most people it’s well past the point of diminishing returns. So we see companies try new angles like foldables to keep the upgrade cycle going. Their main consideration is whether they can produce something to sell, and if they can do something their competitors can’t so the smartphone doesn’t become a generic thing entirely.
Improving the camera has been a bigger draw for a lot of people so they have a high quality point and shoot constantly with them, or memory/storage, or screen size/resolution, or CPU, or battery life, and I’d assume that’s also getting to the point of diminishing returns.
Exactly! I’m mostly hoping for a better camera, but I’m always interested in any new health features. I don’t upgrade watches bpvery often, but if they do deliver blood pressure sensors, I’m in.
Admittedly my primary reason for upgrading phones this year is my kids. We’ve gotten into the habit of giving them our old phones (with new batteries) so we’re all relatively current but we only need to buy two new ones at a time and I’m not as upset if they break an older one. However Apple is dropping support for my kids’ current phones, plus the kids have been dropping the phones left and right, so it’s time. They’ll get phones that are still supported with updates and that have no physical damage yet, and I’ll get new and shiny
In some aspects, cameras have even become worse. They started optimizing their software for the wrong metrics, which leaves you with heavily over-processed images that always look a little off. This can make otherwise boring images seem a bit more interesting, but if you’re actually trying to take good pictures, it can seriously ruin your shots.
I think Sony is one of the few manufacturers that allows you to choose less aggressive processing.
Even if you are into the premium end of the market, I think the reality is that smartphones is a mature market now. They’ve been around since 2007, and even before that it wasn’t like every model was a nokia 3310, so we’re at the cumulation of 16+ years of iteration and for most people it’s well past the point of diminishing returns. So we see companies try new angles like foldables to keep the upgrade cycle going. Their main consideration is whether they can produce something to sell, and if they can do something their competitors can’t so the smartphone doesn’t become a generic thing entirely.
Improving the camera has been a bigger draw for a lot of people so they have a high quality point and shoot constantly with them, or memory/storage, or screen size/resolution, or CPU, or battery life, and I’d assume that’s also getting to the point of diminishing returns.
Exactly! I’m mostly hoping for a better camera, but I’m always interested in any new health features. I don’t upgrade watches bpvery often, but if they do deliver blood pressure sensors, I’m in.
Admittedly my primary reason for upgrading phones this year is my kids. We’ve gotten into the habit of giving them our old phones (with new batteries) so we’re all relatively current but we only need to buy two new ones at a time and I’m not as upset if they break an older one. However Apple is dropping support for my kids’ current phones, plus the kids have been dropping the phones left and right, so it’s time. They’ll get phones that are still supported with updates and that have no physical damage yet, and I’ll get new and shiny
In some aspects, cameras have even become worse. They started optimizing their software for the wrong metrics, which leaves you with heavily over-processed images that always look a little off. This can make otherwise boring images seem a bit more interesting, but if you’re actually trying to take good pictures, it can seriously ruin your shots.
I think Sony is one of the few manufacturers that allows you to choose less aggressive processing.