Phones
Robb posted about the phones he’d owned over the years, and it reminded me of a note I’d started a while back and never finished, chronicling all the devices that have occupied a place inside my pocket.
I know the timelines of some of these are blurry, and I’m confident I’m missing a couple somewhere in there, but I think I got most of them. I’m ignoring all the pre-smartphone devices I’ve owned, but for the record, my first phone was a Nokia 6110.
These are as chronological as possible.
"Smart" phones
- Blackberry Curve (8310)
- Blackberry Storm (9530)
- iPhone 3GS
- iPhone 4
(Mostly) Android phase
- Samsung Galaxy Note 3
- Nexus 4
- Nexus 5
- OnePlus One
- Moto X (1st generation)
- iPhone 5
- iPhone 6 Plus
- Nexus 6
- Nexus 5X
- Nexus 6P
The big iPhones
- iPhone 7 Plus
- Nextbit Robin
- OnePlus X1
- Essential PH-1
- Pixel 2 XL
- Pixel 3
- iPhone XR
- iPhone 11 Pro Max
- iPhone 12
- OnePlus Nord N1002
- iPhone 14 Pro Max
- iPhone 15 Pro
Phew. Quite the list. Let’s break down some high (and low) lights.
Best “fun” phone
The OnePlus One was such a great phone to mess around with. Flashing different ROMs, swapping out the backplate, etc.
Worst phone
This was, without question, the Samsung Galaxy Note 3. The plastic phone felt cheap, the TouchWiz UI was sluggish and ugly, and the battery was terrible… I used it for a couple of weeks and returned it. This was where I first felt intrigued by “phablet” devices, but it was otherwise a brutal experience.
Best Android phone
My “panda” Pixel 2 XL was the best Android phone ever, though the Nexus 6 was a close second because of the size and stock Android.
The Pixel 2 XL was a big, sturdy, gorgeous piece of hardware with a smooth, pure Android experience. Using the devices I did, it was as close as I ever felt that Google got to replicating the iPhone experience.
Best iPhone
This is a really tough call. The iPhone 4 had the best design, but the iPhone 6 Plus stands out because I’d been waiting for a giant iPhone for so long. I never liked the rounded sides of those generations of iPhone, though, so I think the iPhone 12 would be where I’d land. It had a great design and tons of power, and iOS was firing on all cylinders then, too (iOS 14–17).
That said, the iPhone 15 Pro has been great, but I don’t think it would be where it is now if not for the evolution we saw from the 12.
In closing
Now and then, when I’m at Best Buy or wherever I check out Pixel phones, I am a bit tempted, but I wouldn’t say I like the direction Google’s taken with their Android UI. The performance of those devices has come a long way, but I just can’t see myself wading back into the Google ecosystem at this point. Nothing is doing really cool stuff with their hardware, but, again, anything involving Google or the Play Store at this point is a non-starter.
The iPhone does it all for me. I’m deeply rooted in the Apple ecosystem and happy with what I have there.
On the outrage around the higher price of the new iPhone
Get real. Unlocked buyers won’t care. It will cost everyone else $10/mo more. This is the dumbest argument in history of Apple pricing.
I’m really not sure why it took so long for something like this to be said or why it had to be said at all. People are so upset by the price, not realizing that’s what they’ve been paying for years without knowing.
New images reportedly show black next-gen iPhone
Nick Salerni for iPhone in Canada:
The black colour on the iPhone looks incredibly stylish, complete with little details like the shade of the antenna bands. Another thing we can clearly see is the absence of a 3.5mm jack on the bottom of the unit and a total of two speakers.
My concern here is the “S” badge that appears on the back of the device. This goes counter to almost every report and doesn’t add up with Apple’s naming structure at all. That said, this looks really sharp. I’m really hoping that we end up with this colour option when the phone is presumably announced sometime in September.
2016 iPhone reportedly being called iPhone 6SE
What is Apple going to name the next iPhone? According to the latest rumour from Apfelpage.de, Chinese supply chain sources cite the next smartphone upgrade will be called ‘iPhone 6SE’, not ‘iPhone 7’.
This makes total sense, given how little cosmetic changes are apparently going to be coming to the new device(s). Not to mention, the prior leaks that Apple would be abandoning the tick-tock update schedule in favour of a three year update cycle (6, 6S, ?).
While the next iPhone will certainly be worthwhile for users to update to, I’m thinking we see the big changes arriving next year, including OLED screens, potentially an edge to edge display, and more alongside a logical naming jump from iPhone 6SE to iPhone 7.
iPhone 6S and iPhone 6S Plus features new 3D Touch
There’s a consistent use case for 3D Touch: “peeking” into the thing that’s being linked. So you can peek in camera functions from the camera icon, you can peek at an email without opening it from your inbox, and you can peek at a website when somebody sends you a link. I expected that 3D Touch would be a slew of hidden menus and options, but so far Apple is always giving you hints about what you’ll get: a peek into whatever it is you’re pressing on. Smart.
This looks like such a cool feature. I can already imagine many exciting ways to implement on the phone, both by Apple and third-party developers. It’s really nicely implemented on the phone, at least from the coverage I’ve seen of it. Apple’s making it seem pretty enticing to be upgrading on the S cycle.