So yes the Motorola synthetic back is definitely more durable than glass.

I was thinking more in terms of durability relating to general wear and age rather than short-term drops, scratches, etc. I’ve seen some images of people claiming their Motorola back wore out within months (could be a problem on their end, mine is fine after a year) and we all remember those older plastic devices with the soft touch finish that “melts” after a few years.

I have a Sony Xperia XZ1 and the aluminium finish on that is so good. Definitely my nicest feeling phone, though it is still slippery of course. In terms of modern phones I like the textured backs Motorola has been using. Not sure about their long-term durability but they are very grippy and comfortable.

Part of it (at least historically) was also related to wireless charging and reception.

The third panel turns it into a proper 16:9 display, like you would find on many tablets and laptops. The pointless part is the second panel, which has a weird aspect ratio that is not natively supported by media (letterboxing in basically all videos) and many apps.

The FE series doesn’t make much sense to me at that price. The A55 is already a really good phone and it’s much cheaper with some extra features like an SD card slot. How many people are there in the world who cannot afford an S24+ but for whom the A55 is not good enough? I feel like the FE series cons people into thinking they’re getting value for money (because it has an S in the name) when they’re actually overpaying for a phone that isn’t much better in day to day use than the top A series model at half the price.

As in, you regularly see the same art? Or you just find the style repetitive?

I use Muzei, so it’s a different work of art every day.

As much as anyone, I get wrapped up in an enthusiast’s mindset, falling prey to aggressive update cycles and phones offering “new” features.

Too many users upgrade who don’t need to, and more extended software support will eliminate people feeling pressured into spending money they don’t have to.

Okay, so it matters…just not to you. But you’ll still write an entire article about how the rest of us should be using our phones for longer. Rules for thee, but not for me?

People have little fears about lots of unlikely scenarios, it’s not that deep.

I have been waiting for a story like this, it was always a little fear in the back of my mind while using wireless earbuds.

Some apps can be updated through the Play Store, others only through the Galaxy Store. Last I heard Good Lock had been introduced to the Play Store but had limited functionality.

I thought that Cyrcle phone sounded interesting but it appears to have never actually released. They also just used the normal Android UI so all kinds of stuff gets cut off in the corners of the display. So dumb.

Exactly. “Sparking backlash” just means these people whined for 2 minutes like they always do, before reaching into their wallet once again.

Sometimes I search for important apps like web browsers on the Play Store to see what people are downloading. It’s disturbing how many people scroll past all the mainstream and safe choices and instead download these absolutely terrible, tracker-infested browsers I have never heard of. Those are the same people who would download one of these no-name virus apps. It’s at moments like that when I realise how many tech illiterate people there are in the world. Some people are genuinely a risk to themselves and those around them if you give them web-enabled devices.

No one is copying ASUS, they are an irrelevant company with a tiny market share.

Probably because no one here cares about ASUS. It was only relevant because the Zenfone line was small. As soon as that returned to a normal (massive) form factor, any reason to buy an ASUS phone disappeared.

I think the ThinkPhone line gets more consistent update support than others. Motorola promises monthly updates on their website, whereas other devices (like the Edge or razr series) only receive bi-monthly update promises. I have heard from ThinkPhone owners that Motorola pushes the updates out relatively quickly too, which is not the case with its other devices.

Corbyn was also good friends with Ken Livingstone, who said some very strange things about Hitler and the Jews.

It’s not that strange, I have a friend who literally said the same thing today in reference to one of his favourite channels shutting down. He preferred to call the stuff on this channel art, rather than content. I agree with the person above too, the term has always bugged me. It makes it sound so mass produced, like your job is to just produce meaningless “content” for people to mindlessly consume. And to be honest, that’s exactly what the mainstream YouTube culture is about.

Confucius is that you?