Which abandoned Android phone features do you miss the most?

[ZLoth]

Source Android Authority: Which abandoned Android phone features do you miss the most?
Do you hopelessly wait for the return of any old smartphone feature?

[Bruce]

The ability to add more storage with an SD card in a flagship phone. I really do want the latest and greatest hardware, but all the photos I take really do add up.

[Scott5114]

Physical. Keyboard.

The notification light was nice too. It was nice knowing before I unlocked my phone that I had a text waiting from the blue light.

[freebrickproductions]

I don't miss the 3.5mm headphone jack yet because my current phone still has one. Definitely something that should be required on all new phones though.

[kphoger]

Physical. Keyboard.

The notification light was nice too. It was nice knowing before I unlocked my phone that I had a text waiting from the blue light.

My phone (not a smartphone) has a blinking notification light.  It's really nice———during the daytime.  But when a text message comes through a half-hour after we fall asleep, and then my wife wakes up and can't get back to sleep because there's a light blinking non-stop in our bedroom, it becomes less nice.

[Scott5114]

Physical. Keyboard.

The notification light was nice too. It was nice knowing before I unlocked my phone that I had a text waiting from the blue light.

My phone (not a smartphone) has a blinking notification light.  It's really nice———during the daytime.  But when a text message comes through a half-hour after we fall asleep, and then my wife wakes up and can't get back to sleep because there's a light blinking non-stop in our bedroom, it becomes less nice.

Does turning it face down help any? At least on my last phone that had a notification light, that would have been enough to block it. But it was a smartphone, so the front of it was basically flat.

[formulanone]

I switched to iPhone a little over a decade ago; while I knew I'd lose the removable storage option right away, the notification light was literally quietly a great feature I missed.

I had an HTC Evo 3D with a dedicated exterior camera button which was great if I needed a snap while doing another task...but most of the images were unfortunately overly-saturated by default (and the 3D feature was an in-phone gimmick).

[kphoger]

Does turning it face down help any? At least on my last phone that had a notification light, that would have been enough to block it. But it was a smartphone, so the front of it was basically flat.

I suppose turning it buttons-down might help some.  I don't know.

[vdeane]

I voted for the removable battery since, as was mentioned before, I don't miss the 3.5 mm headphone jack since my current phone still has one (I think it's mainly Samsung that has gotten rid of it?), although those should be mandatory.  Removable batteries have utility - if, for some reason, your phone completely freezes, you have a way to cut the power and shut it off.  Also useful if you're trying to circumvent the surveillance capabilities of the phone and you don't think turning it off is sufficient.

[kphoger]

Removable batteries have utility - if, for some reason, your phone completely freezes, you have a way to cut the power and shut it off.  Also useful if you're trying to circumvent the surveillance capabilities of the phone and you don't think turning it off is sufficient.

That's not the main utility of having a removable battery.  The main one is the ability to replace the darned battery.

[ZLoth]

I voted for "Removable Battery". It was really nice if I was at a day-long event, and was able to swap out the battery when it was low, not to mention easy replacement of the battery should it swell up.

"Expandable storage" is kinda of a moot point in my opinion. For photos, I have Immich installed on my phone and server so that I can upload them to my NAS server. Also, some media applications insist on downloading the movie to the main storage on the phone and do not allow downloading to a microSD card. Modern phones (the good ones) now have internal storage  capacities of 256GB, 512GZB, and even 1TB.

"3.5mm headphone"... why? There are Bluetooth headsets available for $20-25. I paid a little more for Active Noise Cancellation, and have frequently worn earbuds in the swimming pool while listening to an audiobook.

"FM Radio"... tossup. There are apps available, including Radio Garden, that allow me to stream radio stations, and usually at better quality than over-the-air.

[kphoger]

"3.5mm headphone"... why? There are Bluetooth headsets available for $20-25. I paid a little more for Active Noise Cancellation, and have frequently worn earbuds in the swimming pool while listening to an audiobook.

Because I already own a pair of headphones, so why would I want to spend more money on another pair?

[MikeTheActuary]

Of the items listed, I miss removable batteries the most, although the headphone jack is a close second.

Not listed -- my most recent set of gripes have been:

• Android no longer letting apps see the SSID of the current WiFi connection.  (I want VPN to auto-connect on WiFi, but only if I'm not at home.)
• ISTR that you used to be able to set Android to wipe the device if a passcode was mis-entered 10 times in a row.

I used to be an iPhone user.  At the time, there were several things that I wished I could do on iPhone that were possible on Android, but the thing that finally pushed me to change ecosystems was that my otherwise perfectly good iPhone's battery degraded such that a run to the grocery store would leave me with a nearly-depleted battery.

I switched to Android because at the time it was still pretty easy to find Android phones designed for the batteries to be user-replaceable.

That, of course, has changed.  My last two phone upgrades would have been skipped or at least delayed, AND I wouldn't have to lug around a power bank, if user-replaceable batteries were still common.

I miss the headphone jack, but a couple of years ago I finally found a wireless headset that works well for me, easing that annoyance (and gaining the ability to simultaneously be connected to laptop and phone).  Even so, I had some ham radio uses back when I had a phone with a physical audio jack that just don't work as well wirelessly, or by attempting a USB connection.

[mgk920]

I don't really miss the 3.5 mm headphone outlet in that I was able to get a 'type C' connector <-> 3.5 mm outlet adapter quite cheap and with zero problems.  It does the job when I'm alone and out eating lunch somewhere.  Interestingly, Apple is ditching their 'Lightning' iPhone connector (I've always thought that they'd be somewhat fragile) for the 'type C' under an EU directive.

Mike

[WillWeaverRVA]

I voted for removable battery (it's the one thing I miss most from when I used to use Android phones), but expandable storage is a very, very close second. My iPhone 12 Pro Max is a 128 GB model, and sometimes I really wish I could expand its storage space without resorting to weird third-party flash drives with Lightning connectors. Sadly both Android phone manufacturers and Apple know that people will pay a premium for extra storage and allowing expandable storage would defeat the purpose of that.

[vdeane]

Removable batteries have utility - if, for some reason, your phone completely freezes, you have a way to cut the power and shut it off.  Also useful if you're trying to circumvent the surveillance capabilities of the phone and you don't think turning it off is sufficient.

That's not the main utility of having a removable battery.  The main one is the ability to replace the darned battery.

I don't think I've ever run into that.  By the time my battery noticeably starts degrading, I'm usually dealing with an OS that no longer gets security updates and performance/storage issues.  Maybe it's different on feature phones rather than budget phones?  I don't think I've ever had a smartphone last more than 3-4 years without issues.

Oddly enough, despite the storage issues, I've never missed not having removable storage on my current phone.  The storage issues were always with respect to OS/apps (since, after enough time, even updates to your pre-installed apps will more than eat up your storage capacity), which a micro SD card won't do anything to help with.  I did keep my music library on there, but even that was of limited utility, since replacement phones would require me to reformat the micro SD card before they would use it anyways, so I couldn't even use it to transfer data (at least modern phones have a way to do that, but the only C to C cable I have is my laptop's charger, oddly enough; my phone's charger is an A to C).

[kphoger]

I don't think I've ever run into that.  By the time my battery noticeably starts degrading, I'm usually dealing with an OS that no longer gets security updates and performance/storage issues.  Maybe it's different on feature phones rather than budget phones?  I don't think I've ever had a smartphone last more than 3-4 years without issues.

My wife and I have each had to replace at least one phone in the past because the battery was starting to swell but we had no way of replacing it.

[Scott5114]

"3.5mm headphone"... why?

Because my car doesn't have Bluetooth, and I shouldn't have to replace my whole damned car because the CEO of the phone company is a useless stingy asswipe.

[ZLoth]

"3.5mm headphone"... why?

Because my car doesn't have Bluetooth, and I shouldn't have to replace my whole damned car because the CEO of the phone company is a useless stingy asswipe.

You know, they make Bluetooth to 3.5mm adapters. I can see the reasons why they eliminated the headphone jacks for environmental concerns (dirt and water entry points), plus the other manufacturers like to play "follow Apple". Perhaps you can put the blame more on the phone manufacturers rather than the phone carrier or even the vague "phone company".

Of course, I'm not a Apple fanboy for several reasons. But that is another thread.

[JREwing78]

I would (and did) complain about the non-removable battery on my Galaxy S21. But I've had it since its debut in early 2021, and at the 4.5 year mark it's working perfectly fine. It likely doesn't hurt that I normally keep it to 80% charge or less using the battery care settings. 

Mine came with enough storage (and enough options for cloud storage) that it was a non-issue, but I do miss having the SD card.

The lack of headphone jack is thoroughly irritating though. I can't listen to music through my nice Grado headphones without spending more money on a stupid adapter that I'll inevitably lose. 

[ZLoth]

I can't listen to music through my nice Grado headphones without spending more money on a stupid adapter that I'll inevitably lose.

I checked the price of those Grado headphones, and yes, they are a tad expensive, but good headphones based upon your experience. If I were going out of my home, then no, they won't accompany me. I prefer the cheaper (but still pretty good) headphones/earbuds so that if I lose them, I won't feel as silly as a more expensive model.

Then again, I purchased some Edifer R2000DB Powered Speakers back in late 2018 for my computer. They now go for $330, but were going for $250 at the time. I have them hooked up to my computer via an optical cable, and sound much better than any previous speakers. But, then again, a $16 USB Soundbar sounds better than the built-in monitor speakers.

[Scott5114]

"3.5mm headphone"... why?

Because my car doesn't have Bluetooth, and I shouldn't have to replace my whole damned car because the CEO of the phone company is a useless stingy asswipe.

You know, they make Bluetooth to 3.5mm adapters. I can see the reasons why they eliminated the headphone jacks for environmental concerns (dirt and water entry points), plus the other manufacturers like to play "follow Apple". Perhaps you can put the blame more on the phone manufacturers rather than the phone carrier or even the vague "phone company".

Except I can't use that because it would conflict with my wife's 3.5mm-to-lightning adapter, which we already lose all the time. That would just give us two adapters to lose, to solve a problem that wasn't a problem before the phone company decided to make it a problem.

(A phone manufacturer is a company that makes phones, ergo they're the phone company.)

[vdeane]

"3.5mm headphone"... why?

Because my car doesn't have Bluetooth, and I shouldn't have to replace my whole damned car because the CEO of the phone company is a useless stingy asswipe.

And not everyone wants to have their phone and car sharing data, either.  I've heard about how phone contacts and the like are found on used cars and don't want to deal with that.  Especially since the car industry's approach to software security is "what is software security, and why would we ever need it?".

"3.5mm headphone"... why?

Because my car doesn't have Bluetooth, and I shouldn't have to replace my whole damned car because the CEO of the phone company is a useless stingy asswipe.

You know, they make Bluetooth to 3.5mm adapters. I can see the reasons why they eliminated the headphone jacks for environmental concerns (dirt and water entry points), plus the other manufacturers like to play "follow Apple". Perhaps you can put the blame more on the phone manufacturers rather than the phone carrier or even the vague "phone company".

Of course, I'm not a Apple fanboy for several reasons. But that is another thread.

Some of us are using other things because of disagreements with things Apple has done (similarly to how I can't ever see myself ever having a Tesla, even if the company kicked Elon to the curb).  And honestly, if I need to have an adapter for something core like that, the problem is the device for not having the port in the first place.

[kphoger]

And honestly, if I need to have an adapter for something core like that, the problem is the device for not having the port in the first place.

This is the correct answer.

[ZLoth]

And honestly, if I need to have an adapter for something core like that, the problem is the device for not having the port in the first place.

Oh?

Bluetooth integration in vehicles began in 1999, although the various vehicle manufacturers didn't introduce the feature until the late 2000s. My 2005 Chevy Malibu did not have either Bluetooth or 3.5mm jack as the smart phones didn't exist yet. When I got my first Android phone in 2010, I tried playing music first through a cigarette lighter FM transmitter (extremely bad) before getting a FM retransmitter in my car (somewhat better). 

When I was searching for a new vehicle in 2014, some of the lower-end car models didn't have Bluetooth and only have a 3.5mm jack. Part of the driving force was the iPhone (introduced in late 2007) and Android (introduced in 2008) smartphones and the associated audio application. A forced car purchase in 2006 had me making sure I had a CD player as a feature, a second forced car purchase in 2014 had me wanting Bluetooth as a key feature.

One car feature that I want in my next vehicle is Android Auto integration, and if I was a iPhone user, it would be Carplay. Neither is worth replacing my current vehicle over. While there are aftermarket kits available, again, I don't feel like spending the money or effort.

As stated previously,

I can see the reasons why they eliminated the headphone jacks for environmental concerns (dirt and water entry points), plus the other manufacturers like to play "follow Apple".

The same goes for the replacement battery packs. While I understand the feelings behind losing the 3.5mm jack, there are Bluetooth headphones and earbuds that are not only good replacements but are better in that they have additional functionality. I personally would not pick up a headset unless it includes active noise cancellation... quite handy in noisy environments such as an airport, plane, or public transit. I rarely go out without my earbuds in my pocket in case I'm stuck somewhere and want to listen to something while waiting.

As for that adapter, here is one that I carry with me just in case. It's also rechargable.