We’ve reached peak phone

After seeing Apple’s keynote this past week, it has occurred to me that smartphone’s have reached their peak. Apple is all marketing speak for their phones; faster phone, better camera, longer battery (although that A12 Bionic chip leaves Qualcomm in the dust).

Same goes for the Android side. The Google Pixel 3 will be 650+ dollars and you can get 80% of the experience from that phone for 2/3 or even a 1/3 of the price from different Android manufacturers such as the Oppo, Huawei P20, and Motorola.

Although cell phone battery technology isn’t where it needs to be. Companies have only worsened our buying habits with planned obsolescence by not letting our batteries be replaceable. Thus forcing us to upgrade when we don’t need to.

What more can we ask from our phones though? Samsung throws everything at the wall and pushes their phones to limit with a  bunch of features that I find pointless and leaves it full of cruft. So I am not sure where the middle ground is. Do these companies have to release a phone every year? Yes and no. The majority of people upgrade on a two year cycle so you’re catching customers every year in some form. There are people who like to have the latest and greatest phone so capitalizing on them is good for market share as well.

I myself am currently in the market for a new smartphone. I have committed to the Android ecosystem so I’ll more than likely be looking at the Oneplus6T or the LG line of phones that don’t get their respect.