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As Smartphone Industry Sputters, the iPhone Expands Its Dominance
(www.nytimes.com)
This is a most excellent place for technology news and articles.
Unless an iphone becomes literally the only option, I don't see myself ever getting one. I'm deeply morally opposed to their walled-garden approach, and I won't even get one Samsung's Androids for the same reason. It would be nice for me if there was more people like me, but regardless, as long as there's a freer option, I'll be taking it.
It's too bad Android didn't lean more into it's relative freedom. Instead, almost all Android manufacturers have followed Apple's lead closely. I have to believe there'd be a sizeable market for a flagship Android phone with, say, a removable battery, headphone jack, SD card slot, and an easily unlocked bootloader.
They exist, they just aren’t popular because most people don’t care.
They don't exist. Believe me, since I finally put my old LG V20 out to pasture, I've been waiting. The closest thing is the Fairphone, but it doesn't support all US LTE bands.
Aside from maybe the headphone jack, those are all features that enthusiasts want but average consumers don't care about enough to compromise on size, waterproofing or price.
Smartphones depend so much on economies of scale, and a limited pool of cutting edge components, it would be hard to sustain a niche market just for enthusiasts.
Bootloader a are usually pretty easy to unlock, it's Safetynet that is the biggest problem these days. Though you can generally sandbox it a little bit with a custom ROM. If, however, you try to keep it stock and have it rooted with Magisk it can be a nightmare depending on the manufacturer.