Tell me about it. An over 3 year old chip and still flogging it as if it’s new. Which means all the phones in that segment will still be only as powerful as 3 year old budget phones.

That is disgusting. Shame on them.

I understand. You have to do what you have to do to survive. In that case make the best of the Windows pc and do your work to their satisfaction. Making a living is more important than what OS you use.

Sounds like they are giving you crap hardware. Also, the IT guy should set up the VM and make sure it works.

Also, as a dev you should INSIST that you MUST HAVE Linux available as well. You are the dev, you know what tools you need, it’s not up to the IT guy to decide what software you need

I say this as an IT Tech/Admin who was responsible for running all the IT at my company offices. I had about 350 users/PCs to administer plus servers, printers, telephone system, door entry system, switches, WiFi system etc…

If a new guy started they told me what software he would run and what spec was needed and I’d get the right pc for the job and deploy the software needed. Not tell them what to use.

If work let’s you run VM’s you could run Linux in a VM on your pc

You should try a Mac. You’ll be surprised at how good it is.

This is a great point. I’ve switched between Android and iOS over the years. The past 4 years I’ve been on Android but later this year I plan to switch back to iPhone because they’ve leapt ahead again. Google has let Android languish. They don’t add user delight features anymore and what they do have is poorly implemented.

Apple is constantly adding features that people USE in real life, like Accident detection, fall detection, satellite calling, memoji, Facetime, iMessage, Find my devices, UWB shows you with an arrow on the screen exactly where your loved on is in a crowd or your airpods behind the couch etc

Apple fitness is the best out there and Watch is hands down the best fitness device. And it works great with iPhone.

There are too many things to list but the general rule of thumb is that apple adds delight and useful stuff but Google only adds things that benefit IT like circle to search. That’s just a way to get you using Google search instead of a different search engine.

When an OEM like Samsung’s One UI is better than stock android, you know you have a problem. Plus the fragmentation: something that is on my android device may not be on my wife’s or my friends, or in a different place or whatever.

Average Android users don’t know quick share exists at all. So it’s always off on their phone so if you want to quick share something it’s quicker to send it on WhatsApp than to teach them what quick share is and how to enable it… Whereas every iPhone user knows airdrop and that’s nothing to turn on.

Even the recent customisation additions Apple has made are better implemented than on Android where it’s a clunky process to add a widget, they look terrible and Devs have limited access. Even the bedtime feature where iPhone displays a clock on the screen when docked and charging is excellent for the average user. Why hasn’t Android had this year’s ago??? And still doesn’t!

Plus magsafe is genius. The incredible accessories and ease of use is fantastic.

I can’t wait to switch back to iPhone later this year!

Yes it’s great because now Siri can live up to its potential. And it’s done on device and privately. And if you need to use chatgpt your IP will be obscured it so they cannot create a profile of you.

Reenember though that on device needs iPhone 15 Pro and newer. Plus we don’t know if current iPhones will get the chatgpt functionality or not.

I agree, from a user point of view, however from Google’s point of view guys only job is to make money for the company, which he seems to be doing.

Android has been left to languish and especially the mid range and budget segment. Google had let OEM’s use the largest sales market to keep selling junk low spec phones year after year with the same specs and no meaningful improvements. If you wanna really great cameras or wireless charging, your only choice is to buy a premium device. That locks out billions of people from having a great Android experience.

Even the premium segment hasn’t seen that much improvement from Google. It’s basically only Samsung who are pushing things forward through OneUI and through hardware Innovations like folding phones and zoom cameras to make the experience better.

I for one am tired of it and have decided that my next phone is an iPhone. For the same price as an A55 I can get a brand new iPhone 12 or for less I can get a refurbished model and have far superior cameras than any Android below €750 as well as years of OS updates and enjoy all the great user features Apple has added to iOS recently.

The last iPhone I had was the 7 and it was ok but my S7 Edge was better. I’ve been on Android since then but now iPhone has finally made some great improvements in both hardware and software which I think should offer me a better experience than budget Android.

The article says “manufacturers” but then only mentions Samsung in the article…

Not exactly a surprise tbh because they have to compete with iPhone. And I bet it’s only for flagship devices. I can’t see the budget devices getting this.

I bought a Sony Xperia 10iii back in December 2022 for the headphone jack, SD card slot and IP rating. Plus it’s Sony and one of my all time best phones was my Xperia Z2.

When it comes time to replace it I will first look to see which phone offers a jack. I use it several times a week.

However the downside is that the only premium phones with it are Sony but very expensive. I can’t afford a 5v when though I’d love it.

If you get a midrange phone you always lose out on a great camera. Which is crappy. So you have to choose between headphone jack with poor cameras Vs no headphone jack with good cameras.

Or somehow get enough money together to buy an Xperia 5v.

Ps don’t bother with ZenFone. Asus is known for poor quality and very, very bad support

Here in Cyprus they don’t let you buy it.

Yes exactly. But the pixel isn’t available worldwide whereas Sony could make their phone available everywhere.

I live in the EU and Google don’t sell the pixel here. The won’t even let you buy it online because they can see my location.

Yes the 2a definitely stands out with it’s design and cameras in this segment.

Ok some reviews I’ve seen and the camera was really bad. Others said it was ok. Another said it was inconsistent - sometimes they got great shots and other times terrible shots.

They definitely have work to do in the camera department but tbh all OEM’s struggle with this. It took Apple and Samsung years to make their cameras good so Nothing will need time with that.

They’ve removed that banner mentioning the Ai offer all together now. It’s no longer there

But how good will the cameras be? That’s what is missing at this price segment. There are enough powerhouses but all with junk cameras.

Sony will be a niche phone no matter what. Dropping 4k and 21:9 won’t increase the customer base.

Price drops, better OS support and selling in more markets might help.

I have the Xperia 10iii and love the 21:9 and design. It’s also very fast and with Nova Launcher 8 it’s very fluid.

The cameras are good but not as great as I’d hoped considering they typically position themselves as photographers phones. That seems to be reserved for the expensive phones.

Given that they make the lenses they have a chance to position themselves as phones with great cameras when at the budget and mid level and that might generate sales.

The big problem with the budget and mid range is poor cameras. The 2a is trying to change that but e what’s needed is Samsung s series level photography but at budget and mid market prices.

People really want that but keep being disappointed. Only Samsung A34/A55 kind of gives a decent experience but better is needed.

I feel like Sony could do well there if it manages to get S series/iPhone quality photos on those prices.

I don’t think it will be a loss leader because phones at this price are specced the same or better. Plus they are making them in India, which is super cheap. I think this is aimed at filling up the bank account with much needed cash as well as massively expanding the customer base.

This is what I said they should have done last year when the 2 came out. Many times I commented and complained on socials and YouTube, even directly to Carl, that the 2 was way too expensive and not many will buy it. What they needed was a cheaper, mass appeal phone to build the brand and customer base.

Well I was right. They sold 60 000 in the first hour and revealed that phone 1 AND phone 2 sales COMBINED never reached 100 000 units…

That phone 2 barely sold. Exactly as I said. He had to lick his wounds and learn his lesson. He thought he could just come out and compete with Apple, Samsung and the rest just because his phone looks like an iPhone… Think again.

They subsequently went on to sell 100 000+ of the 2a on that first day, which is a very strong start and injected massive cash into the business.

Let’s see if the sales continue but at that price they are least will be looked at by consumers as an option, which wasn’t the case with 1 or 2 due to their high pricing.

Must have been very uncomfortable explaining himself to investors after the phone 1 and 2 failures…

Yes. If takes me to the home page of nothing

This offer only seems valid in some countries. I live in Cyprus and if I click on the offer I get a 404 not found…

Definitely. It’s good that they exist and are an example to others for sure. They just shouldn’t expect lots of sales. Hopefully enough to keep them funded and pay wages.