Are high end smartphones worth the money (to you)?

[connda]

I can't grasp why anyone wants a computer with an itsy-bitsy tiny screen, no keyboard, and no mouse, i.e., a high-end smartphone.

[KhunLA]

4 minutes ago, connda said:

I can't grasp why anyone wants a computer with an itsy-bitsy tiny screen, no keyboard, and no mouse, i.e., a high-end smartphone.

Does come in quite handy.  But agree, using it all the time ... hell no. 

 

I need proper websites with real info, not crappy mobile sites, along with a real mouse & real keyboard.  Though speech to text comes in handy when I need to use the phone.

[Centigrade32]

3 minutes ago, connda said:

I can't grasp why anyone wants a computer with an itsy-bitsy tiny screen, no keyboard, and no mouse, i.e., a high-end smartphone.

 

They want a camera and the ability to upload the pictures together with applications that make their life easier.

[jaywalker2]

3 hours ago, VR333 said:

Something like a Samsung A15 is good enough for many people, it's why so many are sold. My niece always has the latest and greatest Samsung at five times the price. In her job, she makes use of the premium features it comes with. I don't game, and I'm not making videos for YouTube, so while I can afford $2K for a phone, it would be a waste of money. A bright high-res screen with a snappy processor, maybe a step up from an A15 is all I need.

I have an A 13, which is okay. The main camera is basically the same as higher end models and battery life is good. I don't need more ram or storage but the processor is slow and I wouldn't mind a better screen since I do a lot of reading on it. For my next phone, I'll probably get the A35 or maybe the A54. My girlfriend had the S line. It was faster, the screen was bigger and brighter, but the battery was the same. The camera had more functions but that wasn't important to me. What it comes down to is that if you have a much better phone, you'll probably spend more time on it. So you have to factor that in.

[impulse]

21 minutes ago, Centigrade32 said:

 

iPhone have features those cheap and mid-price Android phones don't have, such as OIS on both cameras. Cheap Android will have no stabilisation at all and possibly poor cameras and of course they are limited to one or two Android updates. Mid-price will have limited stabilisation, possibly EIS rather than OIS.

 

Not meaning to be adversarial here, but how often do you really use that in real life? 

 

My take is that my smartphone is for casual shots.  Works great.  If I need serious photography or videography, I need to pull out the camera with lenses, optical zoom, a full range of controls, and more bells and whistles than a smartphone costing 2x what my DSLR cost.

 

That's why I claimed there's no wrong answers.  Some people may do serious photography with their phones...  I'm genuinely interested in diverging opinions.  (And more interested in why someone would choose a 40,000 baht iPhone than a 25,000 baht iPhone, staying away from the range war over Apple vs Android.)

[The Fugitive]

11 minutes ago, connda said:

I can't grasp why anyone wants a computer with an itsy-bitsy tiny screen, no keyboard, and no mouse, i.e., a high-end smartphone.

Good question. I've thought that way myself about phones versus tablets. If you could only have a phone, tablet or a laptop, which one would most people opt for do you think?

[impulse]

30 minutes ago, connda said:

I can't grasp why anyone wants a computer with an itsy-bitsy tiny screen, no keyboard, and no mouse, i.e., a high-end smartphone.

 

I've got my fingers crossed for a phone that has a Mini (Micro?) HDMI port and either USB or Bluetooth, to plug in a monitor, keyboard and mouse.  But I don't claim to know the power required to drive video and whether that's feasible without overheating, battery drain, etc.  I have several small cameras with Mini or Micro HDMI output, so it seems doable in a small device.

 

 

[dinsdale]

Fools and their money. Flagship phones aren't flagship phones for long but some people just need the new one for some reason. Show off would be high on the list I reckon.

[Centigrade32]

1 hour ago, impulse said:

 

Not meaning to be adversarial here, but how often do you really use that in real life? 

 

My take is that my smartphone is for casual shots.  Works great.  If I need serious photography or videography, I need to pull out the camera with lenses, optical zoom, a full range of controls, and more bells and whistles than a smartphone costing 2x what my DSLR cost.

 

That's why I claimed there's no wrong answers.  Some people may do serious photography with their phones...  I'm genuinely interested in diverging opinions.  (And more interested in why someone would choose a 40,000 baht iPhone than a 25,000 baht iPhone, staying away from the range war over Apple vs Android.)

 

Every day. Most people use their smartphones to take photos, as opposed to a standalone camera.

Smartphones also have optical zoom and half decent lenses.

Okay, you take a photo on your DSLR and want to send it to a client, friend or family member. How do you do that?

 

People use Smartphones because you can do everything on them. You don't have to find an Internet Cafe or wait until you get home to your PC.

You can call your mum from anywhere 😊

 

Personally, I don't buy new phones and usually I get one when someone else upgrades. Bought a second hand iPhone for around US$35.

[scubascuba3]

1 hour ago, KhunLA said:

I need proper websites with real info, not crappy mobile sites

You can select that on the phone, i use my smartphone for everything, no need for a pc or laptop or tablet

[bkk6060]

No.

[scubascuba3]

51 minutes ago, The Fugitive said:

If you could only have a phone, tablet or a laptop, which one would most people opt for do you think?

100% phones for under 60s

[bkk6060]

1 minute ago, scubascuba3 said:

You can select that on the phone, i use my smartphone for everything, no need for a pc or laptop or tablet

What about porn?  Much better on a larger screen.

[scubascuba3]

Just now, bkk6060 said:

What about porn?  Much better on a larger screen.

definitely not for me, phone is so easy to use

[scubascuba3]

3 minutes ago, bkk6060 said:

What about porn?  Much better on a larger screen.

you could even cast your porn from phone to TV if you really wanted, great quality 

[Centigrade32]

3 minutes ago, bkk6060 said:

What about porn?  Much better on a larger screen.

 

He uses a TV for that. Phone connected to TV. et voila!

[Centigrade32]

Just now, scubascuba3 said:

you could even cast your porn from phone to TV if you really wanted, great quality 

 

Erm...only if the source/porn is great quality in the first place.

[scubascuba3]

Just now, Centigrade32 said:

 

Erm...only if the source/porn is great quality in the first place.

Erm... obviously 

[Hummin]

Just bought Iphone 15 for my wife birthday, must say Im jealous of the the camera she got now. 

 

Worth 29K ? Well I never ever thought I would buy a phone for that price, and I will most likely wait a bit longer, but when my Samsung dies, I guess  I will follow

[sometimewoodworker]

5 hours ago, hotsun said:

The cheap androids work just as well and last just as long as the iphones that cost 5x as much

They may well work for as long as the iPhones but they only get system updates for half the time that iPhones do, so as long as your banking apps continue to work and don’t need the current or last system updates then you are OK. But the banking apps usually will stop working if you can’t update the OS so you are stuck.

 

If you are happy making calls and taking pictures the android obsolescence is no problem.

[GammaGlobulin]

1 hour ago, KhunLA said:

If paying attention, I unplug mine once in the 80% range.   Try not to go under 50% before plugging back in.   Easy for me, as I really don't use a phone much, unless O&A.

 

No NEED to unplug.

 

Android 14 has this function....by which it....automatically....

Stops charging at 80% of full battery.

 

I could never remember to unplug or plug...just on my own...at exactly 80%.

 

So many years since I was called upon to do plugging and unplugging...by myself...

It seems.

 

 

[impulse]

19 minutes ago, bkk6060 said:

What about porn?  Much better on a larger screen.

 

Not necessarily, especially recently with all the razor stubble. 

 

What's that all about?

 

[GammaGlobulin]

1 hour ago, connda said:

I can't grasp why anyone wants a computer with an itsy-bitsy tiny screen, no keyboard, and no mouse, i.e., a high-end smartphone.

 

Not.."anyone".

Only those who do not know how to use computers, or never did use one properly.

 

Just try posting a Topic using a smartphone....IMPOSSIBLE...really!

 

Also, try doing a search for some academic Topic...IMPOSSIBLE with a tiny screen, no matter how fast the phone.

 

Maybe, though, the tiny screen is still adequate for viewing PORN....

On the go.

But, I don't know.

 

[kwak250]

I used to buy the latest phones and started to not see much of a difference 

I had a Samsung S2 all the way up to S21 and now kept the S21

My son has a S24 and yes the camera is better but what else is really needed?

My wife has a new iphone and mainly has tiktok/Youtube  running so not sure it is needed

 

[phetphet]

51 minutes ago, Centigrade32 said:

ou can call your mum from anywhere 

You may literally be able to do that soon.. I know Apple has an Energency Satellite call system in the US, but I read this article bellow from Vodafone: where it should be possible to make calls  and use internet from the back of beyond.

Will probably not even be restricted to high end phones.

 

https://www.vodafone.com/news/technology/vodafone-makes-historic-satellite-video-call-from-a-smartphone

[impulse]

10 minutes ago, phetphet said:

Will probably not even be restricted to high end phones.

 

I'd bet the cost per minute will be eyewatering until there's some competition.

 

[ignis]

Some of use are a bit old, eyes are not what they used to be,  my Smartphone is 7.4"  my PC Monitor is 32"

 

Smartphone is must because of all the sites and silly security things these days you need it to get anywhere on the internet  otherwise would be happy with a 200 - 300 baht  non smart phone

[jaywalker2]

56 minutes ago, scubascuba3 said:

You can select that on the phone, i use my smartphone for everything, no need for a pc or laptop or tablet

Disagree with that. I have access to a lot more websites on my PC that I can't see on the phone because of the paywalls, I'm not inundated with ads like I am on the phone, and obviouisly the phone isn't much good for watching videos of playing music for that matter because of the small screen and since it eats up battery life. I tend to open most websites in Firefox to avoid the ads, which just doesn't work as well on the phone. And I don't have to worry about data harvesting as much either. And forget about typing. The camera is convnenient but now I have hundreds of photos I never look at.

[scubascuba3]

20 minutes ago, jaywalker2 said:

Disagree with that. I have access to a lot more websites on my PC that I can't see on the phone because of the paywalls, I'm not inundated with ads like I am on the phone, and obviouisly the phone isn't much good for watching videos of playing music for that matter because of the small screen and since it eats up battery life. I tend to open most websites in Firefox to avoid the ads, which just doesn't work as well on the phone. And I don't have to worry about data harvesting as much either. And forget about typing. The camera is convnenient but now I have hundreds of photos I never look at.

Not sure why paywalls are an issue on the phone? also using Brave on the phone no ads, watching videos great on the phone also, millions of thais are doing it right now, cast to TV if you prefer a big screen

[scubascuba3]

30 minutes ago, ignis said:

Some of use are a bit old, eyes are not what they used to be,  my Smartphone is 7.4"  my PC Monitor is 32"

Hold the phone closer, get better reading glasses