but iSheeple!!! :bellyroll:

I guess it depends how much you're looking to spend and which features/software you want as well.

So something I was thinking about is people cringing at the price of 800-1000 for a phone.

But I think people forget that years ago when the smartphones were still growing in popularity, they were actually about as much, if not a little less, in cost.

Like you'd buy an iPhone or a Galaxy for $399 but the real total cost of the phone was closer to twice that. But then the rest of the phone's cost was subsidized so you still paid per month on your phone plan the rest of the cost of the phone.

Nowadays it's kind of hidden how subsidizing does or doesn't happen since most carriers do the special "upgrade" financing thing. Take AT&T Next or even Apple's Upgrade Program. Which basically means you can upgrade your phone every year if you've done the $X monthly payments for at least 12 months.

Plus now it's much more common to get unlocked phones, which means you pay full price for them unless you're in one of those special carrier programs.

Just a thought.

everything is too expensive. I bought my 5 because it was the first with 4g lte, and I am on virgin because it is 32 and change a month including taxes. I paid way the hell too much for the phone and then a case that makes it virtually indestructible. At this point it is slow and can't do much of anything without being plugged in, but I just can't see spending this much money for features that are useless.

Well, yeah. That's always the pisser. In fact, I typically pay more to get what I want because half the time it's not available in the US (currently using a Sony Z5 which I had to import...)

The hard requirements:
Works on T-MoUS

No Apple, no Samsung. Both fail most other requirements anyway, but they also have additional specific reasons for being on the 'hell no' list.

* No pentile (I'd consider it if it approaches 600ppi but even then would be nervous - it gives me visual migraines on short use, and that translates to full blown migraines with extended use)

* Headphone jack - I listen to music and/or conference calls a LOT, and don't want to start carrying adapters (I also use my IEM's for work calls, losing an adapter constantly would be a very real problem). In fact, this is probably just as important as having data connectivity for navigation and browser stuff. I have expensive monitors, and when these give up the ghost will be going full custom.

* FLAC support. Not really a problem with Android, but it's still a requirement.

Probably deal-breakers, unless maybe everything else is so incredibly amazing that I can give up on one of them:

* No rear fingerprint sensor / power button (physically painful for me to try to use, just... terrible placement for me.)

* Needs to have 'soft' corners. I learned the hard way - I like so many things about my current Sony, but it has now cost me >$400 in jeans due to holes in the pockets... yes, I have a hard time finding jeans that fit, and even with the big sales I end up stuck with slightly more expensive options...

Things that will really piss me off, so should be on the list but I might not have a choice:

* Bloatware I can't get rid of and crap UI. Current phone has 2 apps that are super stubborn and frustrating. Huawei has EMUI, which would be rought (I'd use a custom launcher so probably be reasonably OK but... oof.)

* Camera should be decent. Doesn't have to be awesome, but I don't want to feel like it's pointless to have.

* Really want IP67 rating, half my commute is walking and it's useful to be able to keep tabs on transit schedules and delays in all kinds of weather.

So... at the moment, the Huawei P10/P10+ only pisses me off a bit with EMUI and bloatware. LG has G6 or V30 might do OK except for that sensor placement (and there's a risk with the screen on the V30) and probably bloatware. OnePlus 5 fails on the screen - I've tested one, because I was hopeful. No go.

The Nokia, on the other hand, appears to be vanilla Android, nice camera, good sensor placement (and it's fast), standard screen, headphone jack, nice rounded corners and edges... in other words, it's the only potential that actually checks all the boxes. Now, if only it were available here...

C

I think it all stemmed from Google who fucked with the smartphone pricing by selling the rather decent spec Nexus 4 and Nexus 5 at dirt cheap prices (pretty much at cost). Once they upped the pricing again back to normal, it no longer made any sense to people who got used to the cheaper price points.

Of this whole thing I understood "headphone jack" and "camera"

Cell phones are pure technology. Technology either gets cheaper over time, or price stays the same and functionality/features of value improves.

There is nothing in the iPhone X that makes it worth $1,000 to me. As I said earlier its a decent $600 phone with a $400 logo.

The "of value" for me is the key part. There is very little of value that can be added to a modern cell phone that isn't already there.

I don't need higher resolution. Current screen resolutions are more than is really needed for a 5" screen.

I don't need faster processors. I'm not planning on doing flight simulation or quantum physics on my phone.

I certainly don't need augmented reality. I can barely handle real reality at times.

I never use Nav on my phone and 99% of the time I have the GPS turned off. It's a nice to have but don't need it.

A decent camera is nice, but I don't need 3d. I could use decent low light but that's hard to get in a small package.

Ah, but I think you missed my point. It's rather obvious that the worth of the X (and the technologies it uses) will vary from person to person.

My point was quite simply that in terms of cost, it's not that much different now from how it used to be; the difference is _how_ the phone is paid off.

Yes and I was taught this would happen when there is little to no government involvement or subsidy.

Rarely a new product is exciting anymore since it does't really offer anything new just repackaged bs. Recent decade has been especially bad since we are now into retro-ing where pretty much everything old is somehow cool again.

Moore's Law FTW!

My biggest use for my phone is off-line games. I have just bought a brand new Lg G5. This was last years top model. It is now passé. Significant saving on an equivalent current model.