• trubedour@lemmy.world
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    1 year ago

    Not so much a gimmick, as much as something that seemingly went extinct that I miss: rear fingerprint sensors. I loved them on my Nexus/Pixels, and the in-screen one on my 6a is way less consistent and convenient.

    Also it flashbangs me when I try to unlock my phone at night.

    • CmdrShepard@lemmy.one
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      1 year ago

      Not a gimmick. It was great to control TVs, air conditioners, audio receivers, and even electronics projects using something like an arduino and an IR sensor. Such a shame that our smartphones have been stripped of so many features as companies have run out of good ideas to increase demand.

      • phx@lemmy.world
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        1 year ago

        I feel like the implementation was a bit gimmicky. I first used an IR transceiver as a remote on a late-model palm and the interface was much better than most apps I found on Android.

        I wonder if it would be possible to pack that functionality into a smart-watch

  • Elektrotechnik@lemmy.world
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    1 year ago

    Easily notification light. People always say “oh, it’s totally obsolete with always on displays”. But with a notification light I could focus on other stuff and the blinking light got my attention better. With the AOD, I always catch myself glancing at my phone. Also, the light’s color clearly indicated which app caused the notification. I had White for calls, Green for Whatsapp, Yellow for the ebay app, Red for GMail and so on. “You can do all that with an OLED screen! It only lights up the pixels that-” Can you, though? All apps that I tried were utter garbage. Buggy performance, very battery hungry and very cumbersome to configure. I don’t know if custom firmwares actually have that feature in a usable state nowadays, as I cannot root my phone anymore without losing core functionalities like online banking.

    Yeah, everything tends to go to shit with time. I miss my Galaxy S2.

      • gamermanh@lemmy.world
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        1 year ago

        Mine has one too but I still miss when they were putting them on the back of phones

        Was just an easier spot to me

        • RandysGut@lemmy.world
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          1 year ago

          Back of the phone was the best. I could pull my phone out of my pocket and unlock my phone in single motion and decent grip. Plus the swipe gestures for accessing the notifications bar…

        • DontTreadOnBigfoot@lemmy.world
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          1 year ago

          Same. The back sensor on my pixel 4a was positioned perfectly for me and didn’t leave one big thumbprint smudge like the in-screen on my 6.

          It was also much more responsive

  • colonial@lemmy.world
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    1 year ago

    Power button fingerprint sensors. I had one on my S10e, and I loved it - with the way I held the phone, my thumb naturally rested on the power button, so it was pretty much auto-unlocked.

    Now they seem to have fallen by the wayside in favor of in-screen sensors - which are cool, but ever-so-slightly more cumbersome. Ah well, still better than facial recognition.

  • Flax@feddit.uk
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    1 year ago

    FM radio. Also my old Motorola had a “karate-chop to activate camera” which was very useful

  • Zebov@lemmy.world
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    1 year ago

    Apparently nearly everything I look for in a phone. Others have said IR blaster, side squeeze, notification light, and pop-up front camera, all of which were amazing.

    I’d add an unlocked bootloader (I bought it, it’s my phone to do what I want with), removable battery (hello instant charging), and a small form factor (so sick of needing two hands to do anything).

    Edit: Forgot one, on the back fingerprint reader.

  • Klaymore@sh.itjust.works
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    1 year ago

    Idk if this is a gimmick but I love swiping on the rear fingerprint scanner to pull up/down the notifications and quick settings. I also got an app that lets me swipe left/right on the sensor to adjust the brightness.

    • epygots@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      Adjusting the brightness with the fingerprint scanner sounds super practical, how’s that app called?

  • Dylpickles@lemmy.world
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    1 year ago

    That pop up camera on the OnePlus 7 pro.

    That thing was cool as fuck. My roommate got the phone and I was VERY jealous even though I had a OnePlus 8T at the time.

  • WolfhoundRO@lemmy.world
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    1 year ago

    Nokia N95 flipping both up and down. I really liked those music player buttons when flipping it down

  • UESPA_Sputnik@lemmy.world
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    1 year ago

    Material You. I wondered why they wasted resources for … colors. But it’s so nice to have a consistently colored UI across apps and across dark/light modes, and I wished that more apps would support it. Also, those pastel colors are less stressful for the eyes than the previous grey/blue.

    I know it’s not everyone’s taste but I really like it.

  • rDrDr@lemmy.world
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    1 year ago

    Folding phones.

    I was so skeptical at first, and even now it seems most people still are. It’s a complete game changer though. There’s almost nothing I can’t do on my phone anymore, due to the multitasking and the larger screen. I can comfortably use desktop websites when necessary for banking etc. I have watched many dozens of movies and tv shows on it. It’s just nicer for reading and browsing the web, and makes your phone feel so much more powerful to have the tablet form factor. I’ve actually been travelling for over a month with no laptop, just my Fold and a Steam deck.

    I’m also appreciating having what is essentially a 5G-connected tablet where in the past I’ve always dismissed the LTE-connected ipads as a gimmick. It’s hard to justify paying extra for the device and then a monthly fee, but now that I have it I can definitely see the appeal of a tablet that just works anywhere you go. Except since it folds you can put it in your pocket too.

    • Overzeetop@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      I’m on iOS. In 6-7 years I will have the chance to buy the iPhone 20 Pro Mega Butterfly - one of the first folding screens in a phone [with: insert apple technicality] at barely a 40% markup over the Android versions and with some fatal flaw that will be my fault for noticing. I’m just giddy with anticipation.

  • sab@lemmy.world
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    1 year ago

    On my motorola: quick shake side to side to enable flashlight. So easy to use, it’s become second nature. I’ll have to find a way to replicate that on the next phone I get.

    • keanu0396@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      Oh man, I forgot that even existed! I used an app for it for quite a while, I didn’t realise how long it must have been since I used it

    • toothpaste_sandwich@feddit.nl
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      1 year ago

      Still using it myself, in fact! LMT is still going strong, though I imagine it would work better if I were able to root the phone I’m using at the moment.