Smartphone sales down 22 percent in Q2, the worst performance in a decade::North American sales are bad for everyone, except, miraculously, Google.
Who would have thought that the stagnation in development means people don’t want to buy a new phone for a 2% better camera every year. I recon we gonna see anti repair hitting new heights tho cos u gotta squeeze money out of people somehow.
Stagnation in development, wages, >$1000 flagship pricetags.
Rise in inflation, cost of living.
Weird!
Perhaps at that point the consumer will opt for the repairable options.
Hmm its crazy that almost like rampant consumerism isn’t the most efficient thing to do
I think thats whats going to happen. Fairphones are mid-range, but a midrange phone is enough for everything nowadays. The only reason I want to switch my phone right now is because the fingerprint sensor is broken
Wouldn’t really say it’s “midrange”, it’s expensive AF.
Price wise maybe not, but they were referring to the hardware specs being mid range. Updates have always been Androids biggest issue and continue to drive people to the major brands.
Exactly, price is higher of course but specs are midrange. But buying a phone for 700€ and then using it for 5 years is a lot better than buying one for 400€ for 2 years
Same. I’m hopelessly addicted to unlocking with my fingerprint!
Happened to desktop PC’s a couple decades back. Once there’s no reason to buy a new PC or phone, you stop buying a new PC or phone. Before that buying a new PC every few years meant less lag and needed ram/hard drive space.
Something not long ago reminded me of Weird Al’s “It’s All About The Pentiums” from 1999. And I went through it line by line to see what holds up and what doesn’t. Best line: “Your motherboard melts when you try to send a fax.”
There’s an entire verse dedicated to the joke of how quickly computers became obsolete, which just isn’t a thing anymore. A decently spec’d desktop can last a decade in service now.
I remember a great AMV to that song. Always loved me some W.A. White n Nerdy was a real banger. Also, I heard “I think I’m a Clone Now” way more than “I think We’re Alone Now.”
A sign that the smartphone has reached maturity, I guess. People don’t feel the imperative to upgrade any more. That’s good for the planet!
Time to start development on rectal computers.
It’s internet capable!
Does it have Bluetooth?
It’s all about the vibration alert
Those are called remote controlled sex toys and already exist :)
Neuralink!
(Shudders)
Analink?
For an in depth analysis of your shit
Monitor your shit cycle with the new iFart
That could actually be useful (IBD gang)
Thats the fountain pen I keep in my butt
Isn’t that essentially what that one chess player was accused of?
Those are called remote controlled sex toys and already exist :)
Wait… a few days ago I read something about smart toilets using anal prints and internet connectivity. So rectal computers are not too far off.
I don’t understand the use case of such an invention
For example you have a a bidet, and several people in your household. Each person likes the water temperature differenr, or their anus is in a different position. Usually, one has to configure those settings manually each time they poop. Well, no more with the anal print identifier (API). You can sit, relax and do your business, the API will read your anus print and adjust the temperature and water aim automatically.
Thank you!
I keep talking about how my API makes my defecation that much better and truly understands my shit better than I could have hoped for and my coworkers keep slowly backing away from me. I don’t understand why they are so scared of what an API can do for them and the ease of their work on the toilet.
That’s what happens when you keep increasing the price without adding value.
You mean removing a headphone jack, SD storage options, and removable batteries aren’t added value? I know they claim it makes your phone more waterproof, but I don’t wanna use my phone in the pool, I just wanna listen to some headphones without charging them.
No no no. Your phone might be waterproof, but we don’t condone the usage of the phone near bodies of water. Intentional submersion of the phone voids the guarantee (actual language on the guarantee of a IP67 waterproof phone).
I find hilarious* that they claim their phones is waterproof while shoving a water sensitive sticker that triggers with the small hint of humidity to deny warranty.
*infuriating
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I miss the jack, and I can still replace a battery if need be (have the equipment and know-how) but no SD card slots is a real kick in the nuts. I’m keeping my n20U.
The new Google 9 comes with 4 wheels so you can drive it without carrying it. We had to remove a bunch of features to fit the wheels and rc antenna, stuff like the phone capability, installing non-Google content, and anything that could prevent ads, Firefox is no longer something you can use, but it’s worth it for zoomy phone functionality.
Also there’s a subscription fee now or you have to listen to ads before your call.
Oooo does it have a foldable screen that no one asked for?
I had a non-waterproof iPhone from 2009-2021 and never had an issue. I hate apple’s BS excuse to sell airpods.
And coming out with a new one every year despite it being the same as last year’s
The ea fifa sports of consumer electronics.
Everyone is currently poor as shit.
Or, maybe, people realized that there is no reason to get a new phone every year.
They are not mutually exclusive, tbf.
True, but the calculation probably include also less expensive models, which make probably the big part of the market.
And even for a low price smartphone there is no necessity to buy a new one every year.Then I agree, actually probably there is way less people that can put 1000 or more $/€ on a phone every year.
poor people are poor as shit
rich people who are richer off the backs of poor people are not poor as shit
Sure, but even rich people don’t buy more than two phones, if they have one for personal and one for business.
And one for infidelity
I have plenty of disposable income. But why would I spend hundreds and hundreds on a new phone when I just got a Pixel 5 off eBay for $100?
Pixel 5 was peak pixel… I have a 7a now but TBH preferred the 5 just for its size and rear fingerprint reader.
On the iphone side I picked up an iphone SE 2020 for £120 (no an ios fan but it’s good to have around for development and testing).
There’s really not justification for £800 phones any more when the older ones are this good…
Non essential spending is still through the roof. People are buying all the extra shit still.
“The average sell price is up from $663 to $738 year over year, indicating it’s the premium phones that are selling, and all the cheap vendors are getting shut out.”
Totally disagree with the article’s assumption, I’d say you are more correct. No one wants to or has that much money to pay for ridiculous prices, so sales are tanking. The few who can, or must buy a new phone certainly aren’t going to buy something with no staying power when hundreds of phone makers have coke and gone in the last decade.
Blame greedflation. Phones should be cheaper now, not thousands of dollars.
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I told everyone that once contracts for cell phones were replaced with payment plans, companies would start gouging their customers with higher phone prices because the customers could now “afford” it.
Greedy ain’t the right word imo.
I don’t know why people still use the big carriers. Subsiding the phones and getting an upgrade every 2 years was the reason to use them. Now they just add the cost of the phone to your bill.
The brilliant thing is they’ve gone from “We’ll buy the phone, but there’s a $200 ETF” to “we won’t buy the phone, and there’s no ETF. But now if you cancel you owe us $1,000.”
If you think you’re not using “the big carriers” in the US I’ve got news for you: you are using the big carriers. They are all either owned or leasing bandwidth from the big carriers. It’s nothing more than an illusion of choice.
If they are cheaper or different in any meaningfully way, it’s still worth it. Not sure if would be considered an illusion of choice or not, unless you want to boycott them of course. Not American though so not sure how different they are.
But for example I am on a cheaper carrier owned for the most common carrier here in Spain which is quite expensive. And it’s cheap as fuck compared with the main one and unless you want their tv deal it has 99% of the same services for a fraction of the costs.
I’m using their towers, but paying 1/3rd the price. My point is why pay the premiumto use them directly if they took away the only advantage of doing so.
Exactly what I was coming to write. Who could have thought that rising notably the prices would have led to less sales?
You can still buy a Moto G for like $200 that is better than an old high-end phone in every way and runs Android like a champ. Only flaw is short support lifespan.
Phones is basically cheaper now. Features that only found on high end now on low end. SD 4 is insanely good (4g2 is an underclock 730). Very few reason to shell out 1000$+ for phones now
Phone price keeps going up but my paycheck keeps going down with inflation
They should really stop over saturating the market by releasing new models every year with little to no meaningful upgrades.
Even mid-range phones nowadays are good enough to last long after they stop receiving updates, it makes little financial sense (for the average consumer) to buy the newest model every year, not even touching on the environmental impact.
They could try innovating, I couldn’t give a shite about the cameras really. If I want to take proper photos I’ll get a DSLR. I’ll never want their smart processing of pics either.
Give me cool features again.
For me the camera was a selling point. I was tired of hauling around a dslr on my trips. I find that the smart processing is good enough 90% of the time and I don’t want to both haul the camera and handle the post processing anymore. I’d rather just have 90% quality photos of my family and spend more time with them. Hire a photographer for weddings, etc, but really the smart processing is pretty impressive for day to day and even trips.
I mean this right here: I miss those glorious days in the late 2000s when phones were fun. You could buy a phone that fit your lifestyle. If you text and email a lot, get a phone with a keyboard. Take a lot of photos? Get a camera phone. Like listening to music? Here’s a media phone. Like games? Here’s a gaming phone. Just want a thing that can make phone calls that will last a month on a charge because you don’t use it much? Here’s a regular old flip phone.
Nowadays you don’t even have a real choice in size. Want a small phone that’s easy to fit in a pocket because you usually have a laptop with you anyway? Get bent!
Yeah I won’t be buying a new phone until they return to a reasonable size. I have a tablet and laptop for real work.
I was considering getting a mirrorless camera and a compact lens setup for traveling with my family. After a week of researching I stayed with my phone. It’s a huge pita (especially once you consider post processing) and the only situations where you will really need one is low light or evening pictures, and nature photography.
So no, hauling a dslr and 3kg of lens is not really a solution, especially with a kid in one arm. My phone is several years old (Oneplus 7 Pro) and the only thing I wish it had was modern camera and software to match.
My phone’s camera is complete shit and I still don’t bother with my DSLR for the reasons you describe.
You can get way more compact mirrorless, my Fuji X-E3 + 35mm f/2 is 550g and the difference in image quality is very clear.
Unfortunately for you, you’re in the minority. People have proven they’ll upgrade for better cameras.
See how I said “I”, that means it’s a personal view so the statistics for the masses don’t matter…but also this post is about declining sales.
You made zero substantive input to this conversation.
No need to be rude.
This is the reply of someone with nowhere else to go, there is no need to be rude just as there is no need to be relevant I guess.
You were snarky initially and it was unnecessary, you get back what you put out.
My intention wasn’t to be snarky. Sorry you took it that way. 🤷🏼♂️ Get outside and enjoy the day instead of bickering with me. I’m just some stranger on the interweb. Let it go. I’m not worth it. lol.
I had a lovely day, it was a stunning day on the Danube. Hope yours was just as nice.
Like what, though? What is a need you have that your smartphone does not currently serve?
In 2017 I bought a Lenovo P2. It had a midrange processor, 64gb of storage (pretty decent for the time), amoled screen, audio jack, 5100 mAh battery, and a price tag of €350.
I only had to charge it every other day, video looked amazing and it was decently prized.
I want my phone to be usable with a dock where I can put in a keyboard, mouse and screen to use as a PC like the steam deck.
Isn’t Samsung DEX exactly that?
Wow you are right, I never heard of that.
We’ve hit the wall of diminishing returns. How much power do you need to run lemmy?
Ive got a 4k oled 144hrtz panel in my phone… to read lemmy.
And my pixel 6 is considered aging.
Pixel 6, look at Mr. Monopoly over here. I just got a 5 off eBay for $100. In fact, my last 6 or 7 phones came from eBay. Can’t imagine why I would pay for the latest and greatest.
Do you put something like lineage on it? I replaced my 5 with a 7a just because it no longer gets updates as of this month I believe it is
GrapheneOS, definitely worth checking out!
No way in hell I’d trust some rando from eBay with selling me a phone not riddled with Malware.
Wipe that shit with a new ROM and you’re golden.
better hope the bootloader isn’t infected as well
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Tmobile gave it to me for free after they shitcanned 4g during the Sprint merger. They had to give out new shiny 5g phones to appease users.
I got an iPhone 14 pro as an upgrade (contract). Had a pixel 6 before, wish I had stayed on the 6 to be honest, the 14 pro is amazing but I barely use it for anything.
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Pixel 6 has 1080p90 OLED but ok
Its a 6 pro my Bad
That’s 1440p120
it’s amazing that in capitalism a company has to always show numbers rising like there is no physical upper boundary. The most logical and efficient economic model
It drives me insane how many people turn a blind eye to the funny numbers needing to always go up. Every “investor” will tell me how the market has never not recovered; how I’m the fool and surely not them for trusting in the system.
I hate that my retirement depends on a 401k, or money that constantly depreciates.
Constant growth at all costs. In the short term at least. Whether that works out in the long run or not…
I understand ‘worst sales’ but ‘worst performance’ doesn’t really fit. It’s in my opinion this is a fantastic performance on the market. With right to repair, longer software support, some models with replaceable batteries, we can use the phones longer and make the industry more sustainable and consumer friendly. For the last years already, the model feature upgrades were marginal and it’s fine that way.
In the future, I’d hope for further technical and regulatory development in that direction, resulting in further reduced annual sales numbers.
When the whole western society has been force fed that “we must consume else our economy will collapse”, not continously outselling (and throwing away barely year old work) is bad, this is the result.
Worst performance of trying to get your money.
Have they considered releasing another hard to hold glass slab exactly like the previous one?
Good. We should be using our phones for longer.
It’s almost as if, they haven’t fundamentally updated smartphones in almost a decade, and now they want $2000 for them.
Also, it’s almost as if we’ve been in a recession for a year. Regardless of whether or not the government wants to call it a recession, we’ve had numerous back to back quarters with negative GDP growth. That’s literally a recession.
And with one graph that argument is out the window.
Well there are foldables, which are growing as category, but I don’t know if it makes a net difference and anyway they’re too small to make a difference currently.
"There are some of you who want phones that are easier to fit in a pocket, but we’ll break the deal we made with Satan if we ever build 4 inch phones again, so here’s a 6 inch phone that bends in half. The screen is so soft your stubble will ruin it and the Earth’s atmosphere is too coarse for the severely complicated hinge to survive a month. That’ll be $9900.
Except whenever a manufacturer, including Apple, tries to market a phone that’s smaller than the average size, nobody buys them.
The only people who actually want smaller phones are some very loud people on the internet.
They doubled the price while removing core features like headphone jacks and microSD.
The people who bought phones as a status symbol ran out of money and the people who are advanced users are sticking with their old phones that are simply better until planned obsolescence forces them to buy another older model.
I haven’t felt the headphone jack removal as much as I thought I would, though I’ve had a few sets of Bluetooth headphones for traveling since about 2014 or so
Phone plateaued 5 years ago for the average user.
I have a one plus 6. I’m on it for hours everyday. Reading. Browsing. Listening. No gaming. Lots of pictures.
My online data ran out long before my phone data - for pictures.
Phone runs fast. No more updates so nothing changes on me anymore.
I have zero reason to update. Would I like a better camera? Sure. But not for 1200$ I don’t.
Could my battery last longer? Yeah. Sure. But I can replace it if I want for 20-40$
My next phone will probably be a refurbished last Gen phone. Nothing more then 400 I imagine.
I upgraded from a 7 to a 14 pro and while it doesn’t hang up on the newer OS as much (a problem the 7 developed over its lifetime), it’s not really an appreciably better experience overall. The camera is nicer.
On the 7 Pro, stuck on the oneplus navigation gestures, pop up front facing cam. Fully working phone, still no other phone to replace it when it comes to having a screen without a bump. And I can get a free phone through work, but there isn’t one I want yet…
I switched from the 7 pro to 10 pro just to double my storage and have a better camera. For actual use as a phone, there wasn’t a need to upgrade whatsoever.
Plus you can probably run stock Android on the op6 if you wanted to run Android 13
