For me its the ‘Knock Code’ that LG had on their phones (I really wish LG still made at least the V series phones)
Basically there was a four-square area and you set up a sequence of where you would tap to unlock the phone. That set of squares was only shown when you set up the code
Then, to unlock your phone, you would tap those areas in the sequence you set up (even with the screen off).
Fingerprint readers are nice, but I really do miss the knock code
Edit: did find this article with a way to do the knock code, but if done wrong, could brick your phone I guess.
Plus, article is from 2014. When I looked at XDA’s info on it (they also being the developers) it looks like development on it is over, but individual modules may or may not still be supported by their devs
Unlockable bootloader, removable battery, headphone jack, being assembled with SCREWS rather than GLUE.
Love the first answer as, I have to get on my Linux soapbox here.
I remember first using Linux (Ubuntu 9.10 for those curious). One of the big ideas behind it was ‘its your computer, do what you want’. That’s why you can have access to Root or the Super User. Since its open source, root can do what it wants.
Android was initially built on Linux, but they have taken Root and turned it into a way to restrict users not just from sensitive things (like necessary system apps), but also from bloatware (looking at you Samsung). Years ago I had a phone that came with the NFL Network which I didn’t want. Could I remove it? Of course not, I would have to be Root to do that!.
Sorry for the rant, but really, I should have access to anything on my phone if I want it. Give me a warning, make it so people can’t get to it ‘accidentally’, but then let it be on me.
You want to… own the phone you bought???
You can still buy Android phones that have manufacturer support for unlocking the bootloader. Once that’s done obtaining root is trivial. Pixel phones notably support this. Personally, I only buy phones I can unlock the bootloader on to show the demand for this feature. It doesn’t matter to me how great a phone is otherwise. Can’t unlock the bootloader? Not buying it.
That said, I completely agree with you. We all pay for and own the hardware, but let the manufacturer dictate what software it can run. That’s like buying a car and letting the car company tell you what roads you’re allowed to drive your car on. I don’t really blame the average use for not giving a crap because end users will never care about this stuff as long as their basic needs are met. It’s a failure of the people in the software industry to stand up for the open systems that built everything we have today. Without that constant fight for openness companies are going to be more than happy to take advantage of a locked down system to create a competitive advantage. Hell, look at what Google is currently doing with WEI in Chrome. If they have their way, the web will become just as locked down as smartphones are now.
Android was initially built on Linux
For the record, it still is.
Only problem is all the apps that won’t run in a rooted environment. I’m not sure why they should even know that information…
there’s some projects that exist that try their best to hide root from specified apps to make them seem as if they aren’t running in a rooted environment of course, they can’t completely hide all traces but most of the time they’re usually actively updated to make most apps seem as if they really aren’t running in a rooted environment
Shits me off that rooting the phone immediately blocks most banking apps.
After a few years of playing cat and mouse with the workarounds for safety net I finally said fuck it.
If they’re going to force me to live with an unrooted phone, I might as well have shit that works with the rest of my families eco-system and go iPhone.
To be fair, there still is quite a bit that can be done using ADB and no root, much more than you’ll ever get with iPhone.
But yeah, I agree my banking app is 100% of the reason I stopped rooting my phones.
Yeah, but I mostly did it for ad blocking.
I was able to strip ads out of games too, super effective.
iOS does everything else, and I still have an android tablet
Lucky Patcher strips ads without root.
Yeah, but that needs to patch each app.
Root level ad blocking was apply once
Spot on, my daily driver is a PinePhone Pro with keyboard case. It ticks all the boxes. It also covers the “physical keyboard” feature which is a few comments down.
It has its downsides, but it’s a full fledged Linux computer in my pocket. What’s not to love?
This isn’t an Android thing. First-party Google phones can do this. This is on other Android OEMs.
Many midrange phones still have headphone jacks, and removable battery has to come back if they want to continue selling in the EU.
Slowly going away though. Samsung took them off in the A53, and Xiaomi did the same with the T series phones.
wait phones have non-unlockable bootloaders? I’ve never seen that before although you do have to do some annoying stuff on some to unlock them which isn’t necessary
Plenty of phones have unlockable bootloaders and it used to be pretty much an expected thing on Android phones until manufacturers and carriers started locking it down and being more Apple-like. You can’t run most custom ROMs without an unlocked bootloader as being able to run a custom kernel requires an unlocked bootloader. Being able to use non-Android Linux operating systems like postmarketOS also depend on unlocked bootloaders.
On most it’s just a matter of toggling an option in developer settings and using fastboot to unlock. Some make it more difficult than that, others completely prevent unlocking (and thus become e-waste after the official software stops getting updated).
Removable battery is the big one. I had a phone where they only cost like $15, so I could take 2 of them on a trip and last a week w/o charging.
The next administration will just revoke it
Not really how the EU works.
Every president does it
What are you talking about? The EU doesn’t have a president.
Removable batteries may come back since the European Union has mandated all smartphones have them by 2027
I did see that, of all phones and manufacturers, the Kyocera DuraForce Pro 3 on Verizon actually has removable batteries (and an sd card slot).
I don’t understand that argument, power banks are widely accessible nowadays, you can charge your phone without downtime, also can’t imagine charging this additional battery, like shutting the phone down jest to charge the second one? I’m all for user replaceable batteries tho in case of battery degradation and prolonging device’s life
The only phone I had to even consider changing the battery was a Windows phone in 2015 and the replacement battery was the same age (and degraded state) as the old one. I don’t get the need for quickly swappable batteries.
I used to carry a backup battery so if I was away from a charger camping or so ething I could just pop a fresh battery in
The real key to making this work properly is standardized battery sizes. You know, like the AA and AAA standards we’ve had for one hundred years.
“Real” batteries would be too big because they need casing. Phone batteries on the other hand are fragile, because: no casing.
As I said, there’s no need for quick-change batteries like in an xbox controller, because most people can go years on a single one.
But a self-service battery change when it’s ruined should be a thing. Preferably without glued-in parts.
User-replaceable batteries.
They’re coming back!
Maybe a better term is field-replaceable batteries. It’s great for the longevity of a device to be able to install a new battery in a few minutes with just a screwdriver, but I miss the earlier days of cell phones where you could keep a spare battery in your bag while out and about and swap it out with the dead battery in your phone in just a couple seconds.
Well, in my opinion battery banks works better for this (and they weren’t available in early days). And they are much easier to recharge :P
EDIT: and works with every device
If you have a Fairphone that’s still the case
Fairphone being locked to /e/ to keep warranty in the US is a big detractor for a lot of the types of people that would want one.
I didn’t know this, and am disappointed.
Samsung Galaxy XCover 6 Pro gang!
IR Blasters!
I feel like I’m the only one who used them or cares that they were quietly phased out of phones.
You used to be able to use your phone as a universal remote. Being able to control my TV, sound system, ceiling fan, and lights all from my phone was so convenient! Plus if you were stuck in like a waiting room and they had ads or garbage like Fox News on, you could change the channel or turn it off completely. It was an incredibly useful feature to me, but I guess barely anyone else used since it was removed from phones without any complaints.
Except me. I’m complaining!
Back in the day, I discovered I could i) print over IR to our office’s HP laser printer from my Psion organiser, ii) print control codes from the built-in OPL language to change the display message on the printer. I would occassionaly send messages like “insert coin”, “too much paper”, “grammatical error”, etc. when colleagues were printing.
I love it! Those messages are hilarious!
Still had one on my previous phone - LG V20. Loved when people starter looking around confused when I started browsing the channels on the public TV on gas stations, waiting rooms, gym etc.
I loved my LGV20!! The last phone of mine I 100% enjoyed using.
Put me down for another complainer about the lack of IR blaster. I used my Huawei P30 as a remote for 3 different TVs, two different office ACs, and a workshop radio regularly. I also used it a lot when doing tech support for family for basic stuff like ruling out the remote not working on an AC for example, or accessing TV setup menus you can’t access with physical buttons on the TV and of course mums lost the remote again.
Smart home systems will replace that, and it’s more secure for everyone involved.
Redmi Note phones still have (or at least had) them.
Wing night at the pub took on a whole new danger. The IR blaster was a total selling point for me on a few devices.
I remember transferring files via IR. It was convenient.
I remember, pre-Wifi, setting up a network over IR between two laptops to play C&C Red Alert.
Infrared Alert
My Xiaomi from 2020 has it
My Xiaomi still has one, but reviewers actually complained about that.
Still have an ir blaster phone, they can tear this old phone out of my cold dead hands
Headphone jack
And its buddy SD card slot.
Why phone manufacturers? Why?
You condemn us to dongle life.
It’s all about selling the solution to a problem they created.
No SD card slot? You are forced to upgrade since you cannot store anything more than what they allow.
No headphone jack? Hope you like buying our inferior first party wireless earbuds or the shitty dongle thing.
Next up on the chopping block will be the charging port in favor of wireless charging, I swear.
By that point, I think I would rather just buy a phone that has all of those features and replace the components as needed instead of upgrading while also having a burner phone I can transfer whatever “e-sim card” they force upon me.
I stopped buying Samsung phones because of this bullshit
Ironically I just stopped buying Pixel and bought a Samsung just to get an sd slot.
Yeah, I sacrificed my SD slot in favor of the headphone jack when I chose my Pixel.
Remember when buying a phone meant they added new features instead of taking them away from you? Those were the days.
Hope you like buying our inferior first party wireless earbuds
You don’t have to buy phone brand headphones. There are other wireless ones.
Yes but you’ll always see the phone manufacturers advertising that you should get their product since it’s guaranteed to work or all the other products are inferior or some other excuse, even if you decide to go with another brand.
My first smart pocket device had two SD slots, a full-sized one and a mini- one, accessible at all time with no bullshit attached. I remember using it to share photos between people’s cards right at the end of parties. I thought it can only get better from there.
Now I’m typing it from the phone that’s twice the size and if I were to attempt ejecting my microSD card / SIM tray, it’ll shutdown.
I got the Xperia 1IV specifically because it still had a headphone jack and an SD card slot :)
I wont buy a phone without one out of principle
How come? The issue is solved
Yeah, the lack of hardware features issue is solved by buying superfluous crap, and that’s lame
It’s funny really. When the iPhone 7 came out, without a headphone jack, I’d been using Bluetooth headphones for years with iPhones 5/6 for a few years, so the lack of a jack in my next phone didn’t bother me at all.
My last couple of iPhones haven’t had a port, and instead of using a dongle, I’ve wandered back to using an iPod instead, so the lack of a port still doesn’t bother me. I have used a dongle, but only occasionally.
Fingerprint sensor on the back of the phone. So you’d pick it up and your finger would naturally fall on the sensor, so that by the time you look at the screen, it’s unlocked.
I’m still on the original google pixel, and I am dreading the day I’m forced to upgrade. It has the backside fingerprint sensor, and is in general pretty much the platonic ideal of a smartphone.
On my Samsung fold 3, fingerprint sensor on power button is awesome.
Works really fast and it’s very reliable. Much better than fingerprint sensor under screen in my old oneplus 7 pro.
Is this discontinued? My phone does this.
I think the most logical placement for a fingerprint scanner is power button>back>bottom screen=on screen
Except at current screen sizes, holding your phone such that the index finger is firmly in the middle of the back of the phone means you have barely any screen reach with the thumb.
You don’t have to leave your finger on the sensor while you use the phone.
That’s my whole point… It’s an extra move.
This may sound dumb… An old Samsung phone I had years ago, came with alarms that gradually faded in. The most memorable, started with the ocean, and the seagulls… Then there was a fog horn in the distance. Slowly the horn got closer, and closer… Until it was all you could hear, and your alarm was going off.
I’ve looked everywhere for the sound file… It must be Locked away in a basement at Samsung somewhere.
One day I’ll find it
Do you want the exact same tone, or are you willing to try something new? My OnePlus has some tones similar to what you’re looking for I think. They start off gradually and gently and I’ve been using the same tone for years now and haven’t started hating it, which says a lot!
Not op, but… yes please
Sorry my app wouldn’t show me your comment to reply to, but it was updated yesterday and now I can see it. This playlist has the oneplus alarm tones. The one I like the most is called Dawn. I find it to be the best suited for my preference. There are lots more on that channel if you want to have a look.
That absolutely does. As much as I loved the ship one, and would love to find that one, I found the concept a very healthy way to wake up. Didn’t panicked you, just got you up. Sorry, I may be living under a rock, is a one plus a phone? Or app?
I absolutely know what you mean and feel the same way. I hate being woken up to something that scares the shit out of me. This playlist has the oneplus alarm tones (it’s a phone company, not an app). The one I like the most is called Dawn. I find it to be the best suited one for my preference. There are lots more on that channel if you want to have a look.
The sleep as android app has that feature. Set your alarm tone of choice and you can allow it to fade in. I have used this for years
Physical keyboards.
Or even just the navigation buttons being separate from the screen.
I really miss how the blackberry volume rocker buttons would seek media on a long press
My oneplus does that when the screen is off. But you just reminded me how much I miss my blackberry curve, that thing was rad. One gripe was the trackball would get filthy, then they released the touch track thing.
Preach it, brother!
What sucks is it would be easily doable.
Before smartphones were big I had a Samsung Messager (I think) with a slide out keyboard). Why not? A slide out keyboard would be sweet, and then you could choose to enable the digital keyboard if you wanted.
Wonder if they make a phone case with a keyboard (they certainly make the bluetooth keyboards for phones)
Edit: did some looking. It looks like they used to make these in a way I was thinking, such as this one
They don’t seem to make them that way now (at least not for phones). I did run into a phone that has a new-ish phone that has a physical keyboard
I’ve seen such keyboard, packaged neatly into a folding case. Problem is the keyboard doesn’t have enough weight to support the phone so it becomes awkward trying to hold the weight of the phone with your fingers while typing.
PinePhone with keyboard case!
I do miss the tactile nature of it. However, I honestly don’t think I’d trade screen space for it again.
I still have my G1 and G2, both in their original boxes. I adored the G1 so much.
Headphone jack, dedicated fingerprint reader, removable battery, physical sim card trays
Edit: expandable storage
Definitely miss the dedicated fingerprint reader. Had a metal case once that came with a fairly thick (tempered glass I think) screen protector. Everything worked great except the fingerprint reader.
Removable batteries may come back since the European Union has mandated all smartphones have them by 2027
Samsung xcover pro
https://www.gsmarena.com/samsung_galaxy_xcover6_pro-11600.php
physical sim card trays
Seems like a backwards move IMO. honestly haven’t needed a tray in ~6 years
That tray is important to me at least since my last couple phones used that same tray to also hold the SD card. I can’t speak for anyone else, but a phone without an SD card for extra storage is a huge NO from me, so that tray is an absolute make or break for what my next upgrade is gonna be.
I find them VERY useful because if you break your phone, you can just swap your sim into a backup immediately.
But honestly it’s not a huge deal, I swapped an esim in under 3 minutes last week
- iris scanner
- Dedicated MicroSD card slot
- 3.5mm headphone jack
- Removable/user replacable battery
- Metal backs
- Front firing speakers
I’m loving my Xperia, has 3,5mm jack, SD card slot (which I don’t use atm, 256GB internal is plenty), stereo speakers in the front.
Don’t forget the slot is tool less!
Ah, yes. I don’t know what to think of that one, there is a microphone hole right next to the slot, and ofc I poked it trying to get the slot open. Luckily I didn’t use that much force and didn’t break anything… 😅
I just the Xperia phones weren’t ridiculous expensive. Why is it impossible to get all these features on a modern smartphone <$600 USD that’s not from a Chinese manufacturer?
I feel the best-of-both-worlds move nowadays is to get an iPhone SE and something like the Sony NW-A306. Just embrace a small dedicated media device, iOS for privacy but still getting to use the stupid iMessage and FaceTime features all of your asshole friends use, and an awesome DAP that you can install that one Android app you need for whatever reason.
Rather have Dedicated NVME slot
What would you do with that much storage?
In tablets yeah sure why not but in phones?! That’s a big no
Charging once a week.
A battery which lasts up to a week.
This sounds like such an impossibility nowadays, but a whole week would be amazing!
3.5mm headphone jack.
3.5 jack
Notification LED.
This was super handy, but these days you have to carefully prune your notification permissions, or it would go off all the time