Beyond the lights. Does the for the techies approach work?
They’re really nothing. If it wasn’t for the marketing, there’d be nothing of interest. I’m honestly tired of hearing about this brand all the time.
Want to make a phone for techies? Make one with a relockable bootloader, documented hardware features, available spare parts, removable battery and SD card.
fairphone would be so good if it had a headphone jack. but it seems really weird to me to launch a “sustainable phone” without a jack
Sorry to tell you but the headphone jack is dead. You can plug headphones into USB C if you don’t want batteries.
Personally, I think that one standard port for everything on every phone is a good thing. That way everyone’s efforts for development and optimization are bundled.
It’s literally just the OnePlus business model from scratch and people are eating up like it’s new as if they won’t be hating the brand 5 years from now. The founder is even the exact same guy. I don’t get how people are falling for it a second time.
i don’t think that’s necessarily falling for it, it’s appreciating it for what it is. i personally don’t see the nothing as equivalent to oneplus[1], but if it was the modern equivalent to the op1 or op3 i think it’d be worth getting. i have no brand loyalty to 1+ (i doubt i’ll ever buy another 1+ phone) but damn if the op1 wasn’t the best value for money phone i ever bought.
the only similarity is the “close-to-stock” rom as far as i can see, and oneplus didn’t even do that until all the issues with cyanogen ↩︎
Nothing isn’t for the techies, its for people who think they are techies but actually they are middle managers who like apple but have a shred of self-respect.
They’re OK phones but tbh making an OK phone in this stagnating landscape is not exactly rocket science. The lights are cool, I guess. The current landscape basically has everyone trying differentiators to get sales from people who have a 5+ years old phone and are pushed to upgrade by software. Samsung is going on screens, apple has their walled garden and everyone besides the giants needs to figure out something that will keep them relevant in a sea of latest snapdragon chips and high-res Samsung or LG screens. Lights are that for Nothing.
Apparently I’m going to be a bit of a dissenting opinion, but I think they’re interesting as an option. The appeal of “as-stock-as-possible” Android on a mid-high range phone is where I land in what I want. It’s why I had a 1+ 5T and now a 1+ 8Pro, but continued software and OS issues with their version of Android and just continued price climbing and parity with the shitty OPPO OS they are using has me searching elsewhere.
I left Samsung with the…Galaxy S3? I think? And have had no will to return to their bullshit. I had an LG Nexus 5x that bricked itself, which isn’t a glowing review of the brand in my eyes. Pixel is the next closest competitor, but I don’t care for camera power, so it’s large selling point is way down on my priority list. Nothing is as good an option as any for what I am usually looking for, tho I may wait for this cycle to complete and see what Phone 3 looks like.
The 5x brick event was what put me off LG for good. I was happy to see them exit the market.
I’m ok with my pixel 7 but I really want a phone that does USB c video out so I could make my commute less annoying. Hmds have come a long way and watching a 1080p movie on a large screen while riding the train sounds great.
Apparently the Pixel 8 will support USB-C video out.
https://9to5google.com/2023/06/24/google-pixel-8-display-out-usb-c/
I’ve been very pleased with the xreal air. I originally picked one up to play games sitting next to my partner and would love to expand their usage.
I’m not finding enough worthwhile things to do on any smartphone. Can’t be bothered to buy any new phone. Lights and marketing gimmicks just aren’t working.
I think of them as “design” company, although they are really an aesthetics company. They simply make bog-standard devices with outstanding aesthetics and “features” and custom icon/widget packs for the Pixel Launcher that ships with the phone, for people that want something “different”. I have always contemplated the innovative-ness of the glyph system and if it even makes the phone experience any better.
