What phone feature can't you do without ?

Dazstoke

Dazstoke

Dazstoke

Associate
Joined
22 Nov 2012
Posts
555
I was looking at a review of the latest Motorola G8 power and it said it doesn't have a notification led.
I couldn't believe it,I've never owned a phone that didn't have it and wouldn't buy one that didn't.
I thought it was standard on all phones....and then I read iphones don't have them either.
No wonder batteries don't last long if you've got to keep waking the screen to see if you've missed a call,text,email etc.
 
Yeah I used to think like that. Not sure if the Motorola has it, but many these days have AOD (always on display), which greatly surpasses a simple notification led, and actually uses very little battery! It's probably up there as one of my fave features.
 
Used to love the notification LED on my old Blackberries, but since always-on display and smart watches to see notifications it's not an issue.

Personally I'd hate to be without fingerprint readers these days, so convenient.
 
I haven't used (or wanted) a notification led since I think my Galaxy S5, that must have been 5-6 years ago now. Never saw the point in it personally.
I guess the ability to make calls would be fairly important to me :p
On a more serious level it's hard to pinpoint one single feature I could go without, everyone wants the entire package these days. To settle on one I'd maybe have to say fast charging, it's the one thing I certainly wouldn't downgrade when it comes to changing from my 7T Pro.
 
Squink said:
Just goes to show how hard it is to design the perfect phone.
Click to expand...

And this is the thing. Almost everyone moans at some point about how manufacturers are not making their phones right, because the feature they think is essential isn't included on a phone. I used to think a notification LED was esstential, but I agree now with AOD and smart watches, it doesn't matter. I never used the Mute switch on my OnePlus. I prefer face unlock over a FPS. I charge overnight, so no need at all for fast charging or wireless charging for that matter. I hardly ever actually call people, so I wouldn't even say I need that as long as I can message them. In fact, take cell connection away, we can call over WiFI now anyway. Even top end specs don't actually matter as long as it's fast and smooth, which can often be done on mid range.

Maybe I'm being too obvious, but for me a camera. Maybe you could argue that's going to be part of it and it doesn't count though.
 
For H/W then the core functions obviously can't live without. Ability to call and message people, take photos, and mobile data. They are the only must haves.

In terms of want to have features but not deal-breakers, then I'm old fashioned I guess. I would like to keep my RGB Notification LED and 3.5mm Headphone Jack and, to a lesser extent, the IR Blaster.

RGB Notification LED: AOD is fine and obviously provides richer information but is not nearly as visible as a good notification led. I guess it depends how much you use your phone. I try not to let the thing control my life and will happily leave it on a desk and do other things. LED is much more useful at these times when I don't have my phone on me. I can easily glance at the phone from a distance and see if I have missed calls, WhatsApp messages, SMS etc depending on the colour and then can decide whether to ignore it or not. With an AOD, at least the ones I have seen, you need to be pretty close to see the notifications. So with no LED I know I would be constantly checking the phone incase I have missed something. That's just me though :)

Although I agree, a smartwatch would solve this but I really don't need/want one.

3.5mm Headphone Jack: I have a great pair of Sennheiser wired headphones I bought around 4 years ago. They still sound great and are in spotless condition. I can't see any reason why I would need to replace them for the foreseeable future. Not really interested in wireless ones. I don't like using headphones when I'm out and about. But if I did, I could use them both. Nice to have a choice. Also, what happens when the battery dies after the warranty period? Buy another, into the landfill.

Dongles are just a pain. Some work some don't. Quality varies. Easy to lose and damage. Can't charge at the same time as using them at night.

IR Blaster: Ok, this one is really just a nice to have. I use mine maybe just a dozen times a year, but when I need to use it I'm very grateful to have it (for air con when batteries dead, hotel/gym tvs when the remote is missing or broken etc).

That's why I'm stuck with my Xiaomi Mi 5 :D
 
I think a finger print scanner for me. Never had face unlock on a phone, although I've got it on my laptop and it works pretty well. Going back to typing in a pass code everytime would be annoying now. I also read the review of the G8 and was also put off by the lack of a notification LED, although I think you'd soon get used to not having one. I always found the silence switch on an iPhone useful, but been on android for years now so it's not really a feature I've encountered for a while.
 
I've also almost always had headphone jacks, currently on my S9+, going to upgrade to a S10+ next month for cheaper and avoid the 20 series.

I have this policy as I actually had what I believe one of, if not the very first smartphone WITHOUT a headphone back in 2010.

I had the now little known Google G1, long before the Pixel series, which wasn't great to begin with, having to use USB headhpone and not charge at the same time was a total pain. I still have the phone though as it's almost a collectors item or at least a curio.
 
The stuff I cant do without is what they keep removing.

1 - Notification LED, basic on the old nokia phones, didnt appear until I think the samsung s3. Before then had to rely on custom apps to use the soft buttons as a notification LED.
2 - Contact profiles, so basically work numbers etc., bypassing silence, Finny enough not a feature in on my first smartphone, basic feature on nokia's, even now days its barely implemented, no one touch profile switching, rely on tasker to implement with widgets.
3 - Call recording, removed in recent android versions.

Every new android version is a fight against the developers as they keep removing important stuff e.g. they want to replace the soft buttons now with a horrible gesture system. They are dumbing down the quick toggles further as well, as well as other features been cut.

Notification led's seem to be on their way out because of some silly obsession with thin bazels.
Notches are horrible.
Glass cases are meh, much prefer plastic backs that are removable so I can swap batteries.
Prefer thicker phones as they easier to pick up and hold, yet they keep getting thinner.
 
USB-C, used to hate having to check the cable was the correct way. The charging port for many devices used to become loose because of trying the force the cable in.
 
NFC and IP68 rating.

These are a most. Very rarely i carry my wallet. And the amount of time my phone has had water all over it and in ktchen sink...:p:o
 
Top priority is the always-on screensaver. My first phone to have that was the Nokia 6600 in 2004. Fast forwards 13 years to 2017 and the Samsung S8+ had it too, as with my current Samsung A70.

NFC for contactless.

The biggest screen available as I have almost zero vision. Samsung A70 had the biggest as of 2019.

An SD slot and 3.5mm headphone jack.

Angry Birds :)
 
Same as other similar threads - 3.5mm headphone jack - like someone above I have a nice pair of Sennheiser wired headphones that I like to use with my phone. SD slot, removable battery and a plain rectangular screen are close to things I can't do without.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom