It's not like it's hard to carve out a niche now that literally every flagship phone is functionally identical. There have been so many novel features that have been tried since the birth of the Android ecosystem that there are bound to be dozens of useful, now-unique features to choose from that only failed to be adopted because the phone they debuted on was fatally flawed in other ways.
In my opinion, there are 3 major features that are immediately obvious, yet always overlooked by OEMs that are such low hanging fruit that I'm constantly amazed that no manufacturer has put them all together. They aren't even all that interesting either, the only reason they haven't caught on is that all the also-ran's have tunnel vision about playing copycat with Samsung and Apple.
1. Battery life. Seriously, we could have phones with 4+ days of battery life if we'd only stopped making them thinner to the point where the rear camera sticks out, effectively ruining the aesthetic of thinness. We've also sacrificed the 3.5mm jack in the pursuit of the most anorexic phones imaginable and all for what? A feeling of awe when we open the box of a new phone which only lasts 10 seconds before we throw it in a case which makes it as thick as an OG Motorola Droid?
2. Stock Android. Stock Android. Stock Android. I will never buy anything but a phone running stock Android (or maybe a dumbphone once Big Brother Google pushes me over the edge). Even the most technically illiterate users recognize that stock Android (whether they know what that means) is vastly superior to the Samsung Galaxy Whatever they just traded in.
3. Durability/Ease of Repair. Modern phones have become less fragile in many ways (waterproofing) but the screens and batteries are still weak points. Glass can never be made shatter-proof and lithium ion batteries will always lose a significant amount of charge capacity after being cycled several hundred times (a fault made worse by fitting a phone with a battery that often requires 2+ charges a day). So how do you fix this? Easy, just make the screens and batteries easy to replace like those of older iPhones. This works directly in conjunction with point #1 as we've been forced to accept bonded screens and sealed back panels as a result of the thinness wars.
Extra Credit: You know how you can get my money as well as the money of everyone I know? Bring back the landscape QWERTY keyboard. There hasn't been a phone since the Droid 2 that could lay claim to being anything more than a lower midrange design. The first company to do all of the above will make waves, I promise you.
“Even the most technically illiterate users recognize that stock Android (whether they know what that means) is vastly superior to the Samsung Galaxy Whatever they just traded in.”
Not even close to reality. Tech savvy users recognise stock android occasionally however when I worked telco sales frequently the thing that got the sale across the line was some kind of gimmicky feature/addition the manufacturer had integrated. The average user couldn’t even tell iOS and Android apart as long as it had the Facebook app installed.
Manufacturers should of course recognise the massive saving to be had by developing only minimal customisation and being able to quickly roll out updates/new features in the latest Android releases.
I guess I should have phrased that as "even the most technologically illiterate users will come to recognize the superior user experience of a phone running stock Android after getting comfortable with it. This effect works regardless of their ability to understand exactly what the reason for the improved user experience is, it's just so immediately apparent they can't help but notice."
You're right in that gimmicks move phones in a retail environment. When a consumer will only give ~1 minute's worth of attention (at best) to each phone in the store, selective pressure rewards flashy gimmicks that leave the greatest immediate impression. The thing is, there is a huge portion of consumers who have moved to buying phones online based on research conducted entirely through online sources. The tech-savvy reviewers who these consumers are likely to come across are always vociferously supportive of any attempt to use stock/stockish Android. That bullet point always gets a favorable mention even if the total sum of the phone's features leads to a poor review. Build a following among those who make informed and objective decisions and eventually you'll get the attention of the retail/tech illiterate consumer.
That's how Samsung managed to become the king of the Android world, the Galaxy S was the first decent phone hardware-wise that could be flashed to stock or custom ROMs that fixed the issues with early versions of Android. The Galaxy S, S II, and Galaxy Nexus became the phones for the tech-savvy Android crowd and their objectively supported recommendations to less savvy friends and family created a sales tsunami that kept rolling long after Samsung abandoned the key feature (making flagship quality phones that were hacker friendly) that led to their success in the first place.
Engineers make up a tiny percentage of phone buyers, and a feature list that will excite engineers has very little in common with a list that will make most consumers hand over money.
"The first company to do all of the above will make waves, I promise you."
I highly doubt it. For one, hardware keyboards are expensive to do right, and they add to the repair costs and warranty costs of the phone. Doing it means either making your phone more expensive (read: Fewer people will buy it) or using cheaper parts elsewhere (read: Most people who claim to want hardware keyboards will complain about this, and then not buy it).
I have two cheep Chinese Android phones and both have stock Android. I'm writing this reply from $49 100g 4GB "myPhone pocket". But I'm not gonna lie, I had to write my own browser to make it usable.
My Asus Zenfone 3 has a lot of flaws, but the battery life is awesome. After a day of very heavy usage, I'll still have over 50% battery life. Light usage usually leaves me with 80 to 85%. It makes up for the flawed custom android they put on it. If only it was stock android, as you say.
I've had a Moto x4 Android One (Project Fi) for six months and I am still very impressed with its battery life. Right now it's at 75% after 15 hours of admittedly light use, but even under heavy use it easily lasts a full day. Great phone, especially as a "mid-tier."
I've developed a strong loyalty to Motorola because of this. I've owned several Verizon exclusive models (Droid Turbo, Turbo 2, Z Play Droid) and all have featured incredible real world battery life and stockish Android. I'd kill to have received another one for work even though they are decidedly "mid range" in terms of features and specs. Instead, I've been saddled with a Galaxy S7 which is a complete turd despite its supposed status as a "flagship".
"I've developed a strong loyalty to Motorola because of this. I've owned several Verizon exclusive models (Droid Turbo, Turbo 2, Z Play Droid) and all have featured incredible real world battery life and stockish Android."
Ny past three phones have also been Motorola, because they are basic, well-made devices with close to stock Android. I really hope that Motorola keep differentiating themselves by shipping phones that don't have gimmicks.
I just dumped my s8 because of all the custom Samsung software. Great hardware crapped up with their bullshit. It's like they go out of their way to make an inferior product by adding their garbage software to it.
> HTC is selling one too, I think. Motorola also maybe
The entire Nokia (HMD) line is Android One. With LTS commitments on every android phone they release.
I picked up a cheap Nokia 6 a couple months ago and was pleasantly surprised to see it actually OTA updates with no nonsense and actually works on voLTE.
Nobody but technically inclined users care that much about battery life anymore. For most people, you can throw a rock and hit a phone that has all day battery life. People are used to charging their phones nightly.
People will take a battery life improvement, but it's not a driver. Many manufacturers have slapped in giant batteries or included battery modules, removable back cases that allow for double life batteries. None have caught on, because really. If I have to charge it once a day or twice if I'm using it for games all day or something, then what is the difference? Have a charger at work, a charger at home and a decent phone, and you'll never have a battery life issue. I don't think I've depleted my iPhone X once and I've owned it since day one.
> Stock Android
Another thing nobody but techies care about, and even they are mixed. I know plenty of people who prefer modern TouchWiz, or more likely, simply don't care. Caring about stock Android really only applies to those who spend most of their time in the launcher or OS, which isn't most people. For most, their phone is a gateway to apps, and this goes double for Android phones.
If the primary use of your phone is launching Instagram, Snapchat, WhatsApp, Gmail & Facebook, then who the hell cares what the launcher interface is? Most younger and less technical users don't even use the dialer or contacts or other apps people typically leave stock.
> Durability/Ease of Repair
I can't believe people can actually say this with a straight face. Once again, the last thing on people's list. It's far and away a nice to have, not anything that actually influences a purchasing decision for a significant number of people. For those that it does matter to, they'll just slap it in a case anyways. It also requires a boatload of design compromises to make things easier to repair.
> Bring back the landscape QWERTY keyboard
The icing on the cake. I don't know who you know, but seriously, nobody wants a hardware keyboard. Most people under 30 (y'know, the people who buy new phones frequently and use them as primary computers) would actually be significantly slower on a hardware keyboard, regardless of layout.
What you've described is a giant phone, double or triple the size of any other normal between the massive battery, use of durable materials and durable slider mechanism. Nobody wants this. You might, and some of your friends might, but any company that took a run at actually making this phone would have abysmal sales.
You make a ton of assumptions here, all of which smack of someone who hasn't spoken to a normal consumer or someone under 30 in a long time. I suggest hanging around retail for a little bit, because you're in for a rude awakening.
Things people actually care about in a phone, in rough order:
1. OS - This is tied for the next two for number one. Nobody gives a shit about stock Android, but most are pretty set in one camp or the other in regards to iOS v Android at this point. People do switch though, so its not the highest priority for all.
2. Screen Size - Massive consideration. Many want a giant screen, many want a manageable screen, both are pretty set in their ways.
3. Camera - I can't count the number of times people have asked me for a phone recommendation and had this as their number one concern. I put the other two first because they tend to have those decided before speaking to me, so they are typically more important. Camera quality, as subjective as that can be, can really sell a phone.
4. Design - Gasp! Weight, thickness, materials. Actually really important. It may not show up on a spec list, but people do make decisions based on this even if they aren't acutely aware.
5. Price - For many this is the number one factor, but for many it's not even on the list so it's hard to know where to place this one in terms of order.
6. Cool new features - Hugely important, triggers upgrades. The giant OLED screen & FaceID sold plenty of people on the iPhone X. "What can this phone do that my phone can't" is a strong driver of upgrades that aren't required due to a failing/broken phone.
>Nobody but technically inclined users care that much about battery life anymore.
That is very far from the truth. Just look at the scramble around power outlets in all sorts of public places from cafes to trains. People are desperate to recharge their phones.
Stories of phones running out of battery are now as much part of folklore as not having coins for payphones was a few decades back.
Go to any Android or iOS support forum and you will find that battery draining questions are a major category. And it's plain to see that it isn't just techies asking these questions.
Battery is also _the_ limiting factor for the tasks phones are suitable for. CPUs, especially on iPhones, are capable of so much more than what the battery allows.
I never said people don't have issues with battery life. I said it's not a driver for most phone purchases, and I stand by that. Good battery life or better than average is a nice to have.
> Go to any Android or iOS support forum
The average consumer will never post to any support form in their entire lives. /r/iOSbeta was all battery life posts until they were banned because they cluttered up the subreddit, because of course that will be a common issue.
> Battery is also _the_ limiting factor for the tasks phones are suitable for.
But we don't have an answer for that. All GP is suggesting is slapping in a giant battery. That won't solve the problem at all. If someone has a breakthrough solution for multi-day battery life that isn't just "throw in a bigger battery and to hell with design" then that would be a game changer.
However, is it a major driver in purchases? No. Like I said, there have been plenty of "big ass battery" devices, none have been successful, because it's not a significant driver of sales.
> The icing on the cake. I don't know who you know, but seriously, nobody wants a hardware keyboard.
Not true. If it were true the Blackberry KeyONE wouldn't have been the moderate success that it was. Clearly TCL believe that QWERTY phones are viable as they've just announced the Blackberry Key2.
My better-half has not one, but two, KeyONEs - one for work, and one for personal use. They are very nice, well built phones with a pretty good spec. If you type stuff all day, then they are a great option.
Your experience is anecdotal. So is mine, and I haven't seen a single hardware keyboard in use -- not a single one, from any manufacturer -- since Nokia N900 was a thing almost ten years ago.
It's not actually. What I didn't say, is that my other half works for a large Law firm. Most of the Partners there (100+) have switched from iPhones to Blackberry KeyONEs as they can actually work on them because of the proper keyboards.
At the end of the day, keyboardless and keyboard phones CAN co-exist. I was just disagreeing that with the point that no-one wants a keyboard phone.
> I was just disagreeing that with the point that no-one wants a keyboard phone.
Perhaps glib. I could have clarified further but "a keyboard phone could carve out a small but somewhat lucrative niche amongst people who refuse to get used to software keyboards, people over 30-40, and people who owned devices that sport hardware keyboards in the past but they are ultimately doomed to irrelevancy in the long run" is less pithy.
I can’t find anything even close to “moderate success” for the KeyOne. Most of the articles I pulled up describe awful sales although Blackberry had an optimistic outlook. Most outlets citing sales numbers say that Blackberry only managed to outperform one company: the now-deceased Essential.
> the Blackberry KeyONE wouldn't have been the moderate success that it was.
Ok, well I come from the land of BlackBerry, and I have seen maybe one person with this phone in the wild. Keep in mind that BlackBerry was still a significant force here until years after it was dead everywhere else.
Just out of curiosity, how old is your better-half? Did they have a hardware keyboard device in the past?
I don't think age has anything to do with it. People either prefer hard keyboards or not. Technology should be an enabler, and allow people to use the device formats they want. Just because 90% of people are now used to touch keyboards, doesn't make the remaining 10% wrong.
i would buy a phone with a good hw based keyboard immediately. I was just thinking tonight, after correcting my 400th mistake, how weird it is we as consumers put up with this inefficient on screen keyboard.
>Another thing nobody but techies care about, and even they are mixed. I know plenty of people who prefer modern TouchWiz, or more likely, simply don't care. Caring about stock Android really only applies to those who spend most of their time in the launcher or OS, which isn't most people. For most, their phone is a gateway to apps, and this goes double for Android phones.
Umm, I want a phone with the latest security updates, since it holds very personal information I don't want it to have unpatched access. Phones with Stock Android - on average - get more updates/faster updates [1] (if at all). Also Stock Android gets rid of manufacturer code which can affect apps, for instance some Huawei phones, on Nougat, have USB-OTG disabled in the skin, accessible otherwise with LOS.
I actually based my recommendations off of the most common areas of complaint I come across and specifically the areas the younger set complain about most often.
Battery Life:
You can find someone tethered to a wall outlet in almost any public space these days. The apps which the younger set use most frequently (photo, video, and data heavy social media apps) are also enormous battery hogs. Facebook and Snapchat in particular are the source of more "my phone is on 2%, can I borrow your charger?" requests than anything else.
Durability/Ease of Repair:
Go to any high school or college campus and count the number of phones you see with cracked screens. I can't even count the number of people I know who have been stuck using a phone with a busted screen until they're eligible for an upgrade or able to afford a new one. Back in the days of the iPhone 4, a broken screen was a $50 fix. Now it is a mark of shame that lasts until you buy a new phone because replacing a screen is either not feasible at all or far too expensive to justify (this applies more to phones in the $250-300 range)
Bring back the landscape QWERTY keyboard:
I'll admit this is heavily biased by my curmudgeonliness because I loved my OG Droid and Droid 2, but there's something to be said about a feature that helped those 2 phones rack up huge sales figures but hasn't been seriously tried ever since. In relation to its appeal among the younger set, the amount of horrific typos and "oops, autocorrect screwed that up" I see across all forms of content generated on software keyboards is enormous. People may be "faster" with software keyboards but the speed means nothing when they either butcher their point or have to edit/send a second message to correct their mistakes. Also, the proportion of smartphone users who actually use swipe style predictive input and those who hunt and peck is skewed heavily toward the peckers.
You make good points in relation to camera quality and cost but I see those as inherently "solved" problems in today's smartphone market. There are dozens of phones with great cameras, copying what they're doing is both easy and not a real differentiator. Any feature I neglected to mention can be covered under the heading of "just don't screw it up", there's no excuse for fucking something up when you have dozens of examples of how to do things right. As far as cost is concerned, it's obviously factor #1 these days as the "mid range" is continually eaten away by pressure from unceasingly good budget phones and the "flagship" price point becomes unattainable to startups that can't create an entire supply chain to support the latest whizbang innovations. I still think there's room for a phone like I've described at the $400-500 price point, whether that's achievable with the landscape QWERTY is the real question.
I think the closest thing to what you want is a Blackberry keyone, great battery life, nearly stock Android with unobtrusive changes and a great qwerty.
I would have bought/requested one of the Blackberry offerings a long time ago if I could manage landscape keyboards with my large hands. They're just too damned small.
Are there still phones being made with stock Android and a headphone jack? That's a big part of durability to me since the USB-C adapters seem to constantly break.
Not sure if it's still made, and it's barely still a phone (it's 4mm total height away from not letting me sit down if I have it in the front pocket of a normal, male jeans), but the Lenovo Phab 2 Pro serves as a nice tall (3:4 [sic]) 80-col (exactly) terminal... In portrait mode, using JuiceSSH, but any reasonable terminal should do the trick.
As far as I know they just skipped the budget for a custom firmware, at least for the most part. It doesn't feel branded. The ToF sensor is nice, but the tracking algorithm seems borked, as it often looses registration, leading to shifting artifacts in any scan, and I have not yet found any software that allows the user to only do a very rough recontruction live, and do high quality post processing offline.
In my opinion, there are 3 major features that are immediately obvious, yet always overlooked by OEMs that are such low hanging fruit that I'm constantly amazed that no manufacturer has put them all together. They aren't even all that interesting either, the only reason they haven't caught on is that all the also-ran's have tunnel vision about playing copycat with Samsung and Apple.
1. Battery life. Seriously, we could have phones with 4+ days of battery life if we'd only stopped making them thinner to the point where the rear camera sticks out, effectively ruining the aesthetic of thinness. We've also sacrificed the 3.5mm jack in the pursuit of the most anorexic phones imaginable and all for what? A feeling of awe when we open the box of a new phone which only lasts 10 seconds before we throw it in a case which makes it as thick as an OG Motorola Droid?
2. Stock Android. Stock Android. Stock Android. I will never buy anything but a phone running stock Android (or maybe a dumbphone once Big Brother Google pushes me over the edge). Even the most technically illiterate users recognize that stock Android (whether they know what that means) is vastly superior to the Samsung Galaxy Whatever they just traded in.
3. Durability/Ease of Repair. Modern phones have become less fragile in many ways (waterproofing) but the screens and batteries are still weak points. Glass can never be made shatter-proof and lithium ion batteries will always lose a significant amount of charge capacity after being cycled several hundred times (a fault made worse by fitting a phone with a battery that often requires 2+ charges a day). So how do you fix this? Easy, just make the screens and batteries easy to replace like those of older iPhones. This works directly in conjunction with point #1 as we've been forced to accept bonded screens and sealed back panels as a result of the thinness wars.
Extra Credit: You know how you can get my money as well as the money of everyone I know? Bring back the landscape QWERTY keyboard. There hasn't been a phone since the Droid 2 that could lay claim to being anything more than a lower midrange design. The first company to do all of the above will make waves, I promise you.