May companies like Realme still use Vooc charging and have not switched to USB PD. I think it’s the case with majority of Chinese OEMs.

A similar case is seen in wireless tech where Qi or Qi2(which currently only HMD supports) isn’t the base standard for Chinese OEMs since their propreitary solutions can sometimes wirelessly charge as high as 50W in some cases.

Very few flagship phones offer the first two now. ( I think Xperia series had an Headphone jack). Replaceable battery is almost gone even in mid rangers. Chargers, Chinese OEMs still provide but still not Samsung or Google.

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That’s true. Graphene is majorly Pixel limited, I guess. And even Lineage has a small set of devices when one considers the nos of OEMs and variants they manufacture per year.

Doesn’t’ the fork like Lineage OS or Graphene also need to support those phone models first?

Do you use the official Spotify client or a third party one like ncspot? Not that the latter will remain for long now considering API changes on Spotify’s end.

I have a Nokia C01 Plus. It was very cheap and it’s just kept, only used occasionally by me. It has Android 11, probably Go version only.

Otherwise, my main phone was littered with bloatware(looks at Realme).

HMD, the spiritual successor to Nokia, still produces the odd phone (latest being the HMD Fusion) that is close to stock Android in feeling. The author mentions that folks looking for stock Android are well served by Pixel A series of phones but they are still overwhelmingly expensive, Atleast in emerging markets.

They are a major force in the Chinese market so maybe it might see some traction there, but otherwise, I still don’t see a third mobile OS getting genuine market share.

I could be wrong, but didn’t previous generation of Samsung A series phones come with eMMC storage. I think this has UFS 2.2, so slight increase there as well.

But I agree that overall it’s an incremental upgrade only. And base model of 4GB RAM might not hold in the long term. I had/have an entry level Samsung phone(A05 I guess), but that stutters much

Do Silicon Carbon batteries have a lower lifespan than Lion ones? I know they allow for more dense and higher batteries to be packed in slim packaging but didn’t knew if there is any potential downside.

As for Arc, I have heard so much praise for it as if it’s the next best thing since sliced bread.

Yes, it has a 3.5mm jack.

HMD has committed to only 2 Android upgrades and 3 years of security updates (just like their mid range Nokia series of smartphones they launch(ed)).

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I knew their update policy was bad, didn’t knew it was this bad.

I wonder where they will setup base. For eg, Nothing has factories in the Southern state of Tamilnadu.

A more pertinent question is whether Apple will reduce iPhone’s pricing in India. iPhones have a relatively low market share in India and part of the reason is the very expensive price. However, this premium price also leads people to save up for iPhones since they become to be seen as more of a valuable fashion accessory than just a smartphone. Previous generation iPhones often are on sale for this reason.

Mobvoi’s alternatives always boasted of much longer battery life than Pixel or Galaxy counterparts. The author moans about lack of Google Assistant support and wireless charging but honestly, significantly larger battery life is more than worth any Assistant.

Also, wireless charging might be more convenient but it generates a lot of wasted heat and my Galaxy Watch throttles when charging via WPC mechanism in high temperatures.

One valid criticism is the slow rate of upgrades that this company gives and it’s lesser international availability.

Stock android experience is the exception, not the norm, sadly. Some manufactures like Motorola or HMD have a light touch and close to stock but other ones don’t. The worst offenders are Chinese brands who twist it so much and without much benefit(Atleast, Samsung’s ONE UI is customizable as heck, can’t say the same for Realme’s).