https://gizmodo.com/google-s-pixel-8-sim-slot-esim-only-iphone-1850759671
What happened to daring to be different? What happened to having options? What happened to creativity?
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Why do Android manufacturers keep turning their phones into iPhones? If I wanted an iPhone, I'd buy one.
Prolly cos they sell like hotcakes.
True, but they shouldn't be the only option. A big part of why they sell the way they do is brand recognition.
At this point I dunno anymore why they sell the way they do. Sure, hardware is really great. But the OS is lagging behind Android, CoreAudio aside. Apps are fine if you work around iOS's limitations. Still people really like the ecosystem or are they poor brand followers? Dunno.
Vendor lock-in is a big one. Losing access to your purchased games/apps and having a harder time bringing over your music and video libraries could turn people off, even if F2P games and streaming have made these less relevant. There's also the matter of switching cloud storage providers
Product design and BOM. Less parts. Easier to integrate. Easier IP ratings.
Are you forgetting that the Galaxy S5 had a removable back and still had an IP rating?
Watches can be waterproof to hundreds of meters deep and they have removable backs. It's not about the waterproofing, it's about not letting you change the battery so you have to buy a whole new phone when the battery stays dying. It's forced obsolescence.
Yet they still did it. So regardless if it's easier or not, they can still do it that way.
Are you saying it's not easier to just not have a hole than it is to seal a hole?
I'm not thrilled about it either, but it's obvious why they prefer it.
They need microphones and speakers. There's gonna be holes regardless.
Yeah. But you remove the sim card assembly (BOM), connector/solder pads (system design and internal space) and remove potential ingress points. It's just easier and cheaper from engineering through to production.
Dude, they have under water cameras , you can swim with fucking whales with a huge ass cameras, I'm not going swimming with my phone. Fick all these ratings, it's not like they would make it cheaper for you. Give me back changeable batteries, I'm not fucking fish.
They're chasing IP ratings. I like not losing a phone when I make a dumb, but prefer lightly sealed or unsealed with a replaceable battery. My LG V20 was the bees knees.
You can still change the batteries, it just takes a heat gun now.
Yes, and you can travel to space with a rocket. Common what kind of argument is that. You forgot the steps in between.
Thanks for sending me to space in this rocket, but how do I get home.
The step in between is to spend $20 on a heat gun.
Idk, apple replaced their sim card slot with..... Plastic. A plastic insert. "Internal Space"
They're making SIM and non-SIM versions so that let's them use the same tooling for both versions. It's still a BOM reduction, but yeah, the other points would be a much smaller impact.
I don't think it would make that big of a difference.
I'm not entirely sure how much of a difference it would make in reality, but they're probably doing it for a reason. Though, with google devices, they may just be trying to nudge other manufacturers in a direction for their own reasons. Google phones help them set and maintain certain standards without trying to force other manufacturers to do what they want.
Is there a motive you see for Google to do this that isn't per-unit cost savings?
As users in this discussion have said, Google just wants more control.
Keyword is easier
Yep. More of the restrictions of Apple but with less of the QA.
Because people go out of their way to buy iPhones. The overwhelming majority of android users are just on the cheapest thing.