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
Headphone jacks and the ability to expand available memory using SD cards.
Unlockable bootloader, removable battery, headphone jack, being assembled with SCREWS rather than GLUE.
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).
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.
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
Fair phone seems to be doing it… except their last phone removed headphone jacks and introduced “fair ear buds” or some such… even the open company wants to increase sales.
Yeah that’s why I have the fairphone 3, also the 4 is REALLY expensive. And fairphone isn’t really an open company but more open than others
Aux ports are nice for versatility, even if I was already using wireless earphones. Along with being able to listen to FM right on your phone. It’s features I don’t use often, but occasionally. I wish the USB-C connector had the option with a clip. IR-blasters were useful and much fun. I never even used the actual remote to manage my LED strip.
I never realized notification lights just kind of stopped existing. But I don’t miss them in light of always on displays. Under screen finger print readers is basically a dream come true. Having multiple cameras is nice. OLED screen is an absolute godsend. Overall I’m not unhappy.
I had an htc one that could transmit IR signals meaning you could mess with TVs and other simple wireless electronics. You could also use the headphone wire as an actual radio antenna.
I used the IR blaster all the time. I really miss that feature and the headphone jacks
I still have an IR blaster on my Xiaomi Redmi note 11, never used it though
The one with the radio antenna! I remember it but from my Galaxy S2 mini or something from that generation. I never used it, but it blew my mind back then.
3.5 jack
Physical keys that you had to type multiple times to get letters. I could write a whole text message with my hands in my pocket.
T9 .
It’s funny how people didn’t have to write ‘lol’ anymore and fight with the onboard dictionary … but still did. Losers.
Fingerprint readers are a bad idea for a variety of reasons. So this does seem like a loss! What a cool concept.
Replaceable batteries.
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!
IR blaster. You could have a universal remote app and control any tv from my palm PDA
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.
Here is an alternative Piped link(s): https://piped.video/playlist?list=PLbxUYYPfrGGkdwPLyPQ1wvL8lQtCCLtm9
Piped is a privacy-respecting open-source alternative frontend to YouTube.
I’m open-source, check me out at GitHub.
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.
Here is an alternative Piped link(s): https://piped.video/playlist?list=PLbxUYYPfrGGkdwPLyPQ1wvL8lQtCCLtm9
Piped is a privacy-respecting open-source alternative frontend to YouTube.
I’m open-source, check me out at GitHub.
Hardware keyboards on mobile phones
Bluetooth keyboards
Not the same thing :(
There are still some smartphones that have hardware keyboards. Unihertz makes a few (I have the very unwieldy OG Titan). There’s also the Fxtec Pro1 X.
Thanks, I’ve looked at all of those but they either have substandard, Microtek CPUs that are so far below adequate that the productivity hit would impact me more than the loss of physical keys (Unihertz) or have problems delivering actual phones altogether (Fxtec Pro1) or aren’t really phones but more micro-laptops (Planet Computer).
I’m just looking for a nice, mid-ranged phone with a mobile keyboard. Actually I think the closest to achieving that goal is the Fairberry mod which fuses a surplus BlackBerry Q10 keyboard on to a Fairphone with a 3D-printed case, but that requires electronic assembly and soldering.
It really depends on your use case. My Titan’s MediaTek is enough for me as I don’t do super intensive tasks on it. In a pinch it does the job. If I’m away and need to quickly SSH into my servers, I can do that, no problem. I can make calls and text people and it has a huge battery. Right now it’s as de-googled as it can get with the stock ROM.
The drawback is that due to the wonky 1:1 aspect ratio display, a lot of apps either have bugs or bad usability, because they were created for taller scrrens. To me, it doesn’t matter, as I cut down on smartphone usage and just have a handful of apps.
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.
Hope you like buying our inferior first party wireless earbuds
You don’t have to buy phone brand headphones. There are other wireless ones.
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
Small sizes
Multicolour notification LEDS - customisable for each app
Smaller camera bumps and less cameras in general - not everyone wants or needs to be a professional photographer.
Plastic bodies, with removable batteries via covers.
I don’t know how many current phones support it but mine doesn’t… Extendable storage via micro sd
Customisable vibration patterns for different contacts and apps - I remember how super old early Android Xperia phones being able to do this (alongside the LED mentioned above). I used to think this was stock android, I guess not. But if it was, why did they remove it, same guess for LED
I missed how I could set an alarm and then shut my blackberry off overnight and the phone would turn itself back on in the morning to alarm
Any PC can do that
