I knew this would happen around the S21 series when they removed the last hardware item of consequence, the SD Card slot. After that, Samsung focused on being Android's iPhone, except they imitated all of Apple's shortcomings instead of playing to their core values that got them here in the first place: hardware supremacy. Now that the only discernable difference between Samsung and Apple is the OS (folding screens aside), people's choices became binary (iPhone or equally expensive iPhone clone) instead of multifaceted (headphone jacks, SD card slot, etc. vs iPhone). Actually, scratch that - Apple actually added more hardware features* (action button and USB-C) on their latest model, making Samsung look dumber for regressing.

On top of that, other OEMs, like Google, caught up with the only hardware that Samsung has been improving on - the cameras and folding screens - and soaked in customers that feel spurned by Samsung (myself included as of 2 weeks ago), for a lower price. If they don't reverse course and begin concentrating on hardware advantages, especially in an era where consumers are so starved for features that Nothing Phone made a living out of glowing back lights, this may be the beginning of the Korean giant's death knell since younger generations are choosing iPhones.

*Side note - I'm even more pissed about the removal of expandable storage on Android since Apple actually brought them back for the recent MacBooks! So people who claim it's an outdated technology can try and explain why it's making a return on $2K laptops, but not mobile devices other than for greed.

Nope, CA doesn't recognize non-competes.

Speaking for my favorite game of all time, New Vegas, you need to push through until you find something that captures your attention. There's nothing you can really reach in the first 2 hours (for a first play through) that will pop out at you. But once you get that first "whoa" moment, you're completely immersed. But you definitely need to be a patient gamer in the beginning, because a vast desert provides a lot of empty, forlorn landscape (a lot of people hate this, but I love the desolate atmosphere).

Even if they manage to get big players like Spotify to develop apps for them, a lot of people - at least on the Android side - have smaller, niche apps for audiobooks and podcasts that would never bother to port their apps to GM services. Heck, even Apple Music and YouTube Music wouldn't bother. I smell an upcoming BOGO deal on their overstocked dealerships, just before they get another bailout check.

Funnily enough, I had this conversation with some friends that Taylor Swift would probably sweep the electoral college. Highly popular, progressive, white (to get a few of the Republican voters whose vote is base on the way their rep looks), and has a fan base that can potentially outmatch MAGA if her name was on the ballot.

Whether she would be a successful politician, on the other hand, can be cleared by the fact that we survived 4 years of Trump. So it can't be worse than that fiasco.

A lot of comments in this thread defending OEMs from customer's benefits, which is disheartening to me, but I'm sure joyous for shareholders. I see comments saying you should buy premium phones that have SD cards, but there aren't many options. The only one is a $1400 Xperia I V. I would love nothing more to have the SD card on only the "ultra" variants, if costs are too much of an issue for those who don't use the feature, but there's not much "ultra" in the "Ultra" variant besides an extra camera or two.

For those who are baffled by what we hoard on our devices, why does it matter? Do we ask what you do on your phone when there doesn't seem to be anything on them? "I barely use 50GB on my device" and "128GB is more than enough for me" seem to be the prevailing notion here, and it's frustrating since your demographic is already highly represented on the market. It's similar to those who wish there wasn't a selfie cam because they never used it, ignoring all the video calls millions use on a daily basis.

But maybe an answer might stop the "curiosity" of the sparse data hoarders, and they might understand our plight. On my 1TB SD Card, I currently have:

220GB Audiobooks 18GB Music 34GB Pictures 330GB Videos, Movies, and TV Shows 10GB Work and Project Files 12GB Podcasts 14GB Games

As someone who is frequently in low-signal areas, especially while driving, streaming is not an option. My media has entertained me during flights, public transit commutes, working out, jury duty, and the DMV. I also don't want to transfer my media in and out of my device (I do back up my data wirelessly to my own server), nor do I want to bring an adapter when the technology is already embedded inside.

So OP, I feel you, and I'm hoping SD cards comeback.

Currently on chapter 85 of Pierce Brown's Light Bringer, the latest installment of the Red Rising series! Granted, I'm listening to the audiobook, but audiobooks are still books. And man, like the rest of the series, I can't put this shit down!

After this? Not sure yet. Still waiting on Sanderson's next book in his Stormlight Archive series. Maybe I'll re-listen to The Wheel of Time again while the final books of these two series wrap up.

Cookies & Cream is my go to, but so far this summer, I've been eating more high-end strawberry ice creams from local shops, and the fresh strawberries make all the difference.

I said it before and I'll happily say it again. Removing hardware features while increasing prices will always cause stagnation down the road. When software features, camera bumps, and folding screens are all you have to offer, people will just keep their phones longer and use a $3 app to fill in the missing "feature" on One UI 6, Pixel's exclusive feature drops, or even Apple's Dynamic Island.

Not surprising, and many Android enthusiasts called this a few years ago. Other than folding devices (some of which costs enough to buy an Iphone Pro Max + iPad), how is Android differentiating themselves from Apple on the hardware front? The few things they could have done to separate themselves, like SD cards, headphone jacks, etc. are now gone with some niche exceptions. And now that Apple is finally adding some customization on iOS, plus being dragged kicking and screaming by the EU to conform to universal standards, the feature set differences continue to diminish.

Copying Apple only benefits Apple, and we're seeing this occur quarter by quarter. Pixels may be the exception simply because they cost two-thirds (half, during their generous sales) as much as Samsung's. But if they continue their trend of raising prices, I think their sales will eventually stagnate too.

As someone who exclusively used Samsung flagships as their daily driver (GS2 > Note 4 > Note 8 > Note 20 Ultra), I was a Samsung absolutist and fanboy. But their decisions since the N20U has been frustrating, and has had me eyeing other brands for the first time.

To start about what I love about them: fantastic hardware with solid software. I don't mind their excessive features, because they become so useful, Android/Google adds them to stock 2-3 years later. So it's like a decent beta test for some awesome utilities, like saying "smile" to take a photo with the camera when you can't reach the shutter button. I think several phones now offer this.

What has me eyeing something else for my next phone: shitting on their hardcore power users and greedily taking away options. The removal of the SD card (critical for my usage), the dilution of their features across different models (base, plus, ultra), removing the magstripe, etc. are all anti-consumer with NO benefit to their customers. Even if your typical customer doesn't use a specific feature, it strips the option away from those who do, and it's not like the savings go towards the consumer. If not for these decisions (among other, smaller infractions), I wouldn't be contemplating other brands.

Summer League threads are usually pretty low volume even on r/nba. Unfortunately, we missed the big-name free agency and trade deadlines to foster discussion, so the real foundation for this community will probably be opening week (pre-season is also low volume or a bunch of low-effort overreactions anyways).