HEADPHONE JACK - I scream into the void
IR transmitters
Miracast (in base open source Android, especially access to the ability to receive)
Scrolling notification text in the notification bar (seriously, that was sooooo much better than the obnoxious new default pop-up notifications)
A bunch of permissions that’s been too locked down (stuff used by Tasker, networking tools, etc)
The core apps (like messaging, and calendar) being free software and open source.
I liked the little led light at the top that would blink for notification
I don’t remember which phone, but one of mine had an rgb led that could be set to blink different colors for different apps. I really miss that!
I remember my OnePlus One had that
And you could customize the color depending on the message/notification!
no headphone jack is shitty but god i fucking loathe typing on a touchscreen keyboard
Being smaller than a phablet in 2010s. Bring back 4 inch phones for fuck’s sake. You can price them at the same level as your gigantic six-inchers, I’ll happily pay for it as long as the insides of the phone are premium otherwise. I should know that my phone is in my pocket by putting my hands on it, not because it’s sticking out or making it impossible to sit down.
A 4" Pixel 9 Micro running GrapheneOS. I’d pay a thousand euros right now if such a thing existed.
But of course they have fucked up the UX of the operating system in such a way that a regular-sized phone like that cannot be practically used anymore. Oh well.
- Headphone jack.
- Removable batteries.
- Sidekick/Palmtop form factor with the full width keyboard.
- MicroSD Card slot, and OS support for executing software and accessing data on the card.
I’ve been holding onto my Galaxy S20 because of the SD slot.
Control over it.
it is mindboggling how having root access is treated like an illegal thing to do, rather than the default. the phone should have the root password in the documentation you get in the box.
does the average user needs root? probably not.
however, it’s a piece of hardware you legally own, you should have access to it.
it’s like buying a car and not being allowed to open the bonnet and checking the oil voids the warranty.
The triangle / circle / square (or back / home / app tray) navigation system.
I’ve had to re-enable it on my last phones because they come with the much less usable new gesture navigation, and I dread the day it’s not an option anymore.
The classic app drawer.
If I wanted an iPhone (with their cluttered, unusable, and extremely user hostile design) I’d get an iPhone.
I don’t want my screen cluttered with random icons, I want multiple sliding screens with widgets for the apps I need to be able to check at a glance, with a row of quick access apps / app folders at the bottom (slidable and hidable if possible), with an icon to access the list of less used apps on the top right, where it used to be back when android was useable instead of a cheap iOS clone.
Luckily third party launchers are still a thing.
Neither of these were abandoned
Physical keyboards, easily removable backs and batteries
Being able to take out the battery so that I can swap it with a pre-charged one. Those were great times. Then you can just throw the nearly-dead one on the charger.
This is identical to having the super power of being able to restart your phone to get a full battery charge.
Even just being able to easily replace it with a new one was nice.
Replaceable battery
AUX plug
Expandable storage by SD card
Did I say replaceable battery already?
Edit: oh and non-edged screens (the roundings on the side, don’t know the official name… But it sucks and almost all flagship phones have them, or at least when I bought mine 3 years ago, don’t know about now tbh)
Did I say replaceable battery already?
Fairphone, Samsung Xcover.
Don’t forget about the IR blaster.
Most useful gimmick on a phone ever. I never had to deal with an annoying TV in public throughout most of the 2010s. It was nice; it was one of my most-used features and I miss it dearly.
OnePlus still offers this one on some of their phones.
Rounded screens have mostly fallen out of style. I kinda like them tbh
They’re only nice if you can afford to run without a case. All curved screen cases suck and add unnecessary bulk for questionable protection.
They’re only nice if you can afford to run without a case.
In this economy???
finger print scanner being on the back of the phone not under the screen. and headphone jack
Remember folks, What you know is protected. What you are is not.
Cops can force you to use the fingerprint scanner.
i use graphene os and have 2fa fingerprint and pin on stock android ifs bad
Luckily you dont have to give up using the fingerprint scanner if you believe in your ability to shutdown/restart your phone before you are taken into custody (it should require the passcode again in this case).
Modern android OS has an optional lockdown mode that you can enable access to alongside restart/shutdown. And it disables all biometric access until your pin is entered again.
Going from my old pixel 5 rear-scanner to an in-screen scanner ahs been a nightmare. I have dry hands and i have gone from a <0.5s unlock to a 3-10s unlock depending how many times i need to scan or lick my finger, wipe it off then scan, or usually failing scans/giving up and typing in pincode.
“Oh my child is doing something funny or i quickly need to gake a photo of something…aaaaand its gone”. It is really fucking frustrating missing something, or even just trying to check a notification or timer quickly and having to stop and go through the whole dance of just unlocking the phone.
Seriously considering just going back to typing the fucking pincode 50 times a day.While I fully sympathise and agree, most android phones have a camera shortcut that doesnt need you to unlock with fingerprint. just swipe up the camera icon usually bottom right on lock screen
My shortcut is to double-tap the power button. Works to bypass the lock screen for the camera, though going anywhere else including the gallery then asks for a fingerprint or pattern/etc.
I liked it on the power button more. My Xiaomi had it there and it was incredibly fast.
Just worked. Pixel 7 is nightmarish, plus blasts white light into your eyes late at night
Nexus 5 had the best finger print reader i’ve ever used. I still miss it to this day.
physical home button row.
give me those clickety clicks, i hate accidentally hitting back/home/whatever, whenever I’m typing or scrolling
Unimpeded root. You can still get it on maybe a handful of phones but apps are getting harder and harder to run with it enabled.
