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Dmitry Kurtsev
Dmitry Kurtsev

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Seems like new != better. I don't want to upgrade hardware anymore

2025-01-01

I remember a decade ago every year we were surprised by a new iPhone. Smartphones got thinner, screens got bigger, cameras got better, not to mention the power. Just remember the time when the whole world was excited about Apple's new presentation. Remember the time when the iPhone 6 came out and what innovations it brought compared to the previous model, now the smartphone could be the size of... the pocket of your jeans!

Do you remember the iPhone X? It seemed that this version was created by the aliens themselves. A phone without buttons!? What!? Is this even possible!? And what is that weird thing on top of the screen? Very unusual and... strange?

Now try to remember the innovations in smartphones after the iPhone X. To be honest, it's hard for me to remember anything. Yes, every year the CPU improves a bit, the camera improves a bit, and this weird thing on top of the screen decreases a bit, and finally the transition to the old style is now considered an "innovation" (last one sounds like a joke actually).

It feels like we've exhausted this vein of "Oh, something new! I need it!". And I'm not just talking about smartphones but computers in general. The hardware has become enough to run any software, the size of smartphones became more or less acceptable and the cameras of these smartphones generally seemed to approach professional photo cameras. At one point the need for updating seems to have disappeared and the only exception may be specific cases.

Nowadays when you're buying a new smartphone or a computer you can be sure that it will definitely last you at least the next 5 years. Although in the case of a smartphone you are more likely to have to replace it due to the fact that the battery almost exhausted. I think the only exception here is when manufacturers slow down the device themselves in order to force the customers to buy their new products.


Written using 4½ years old Huawei Matebook D15 laptop (Ryzen 5 3500U, 8gb RAM), viewed on a 4 years old iPhone 11 (battery health 75%).

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