Techie Ramblings

Category: Tech

  • Smartphone Specs – How much is enough?

    As I’ve discussed previously, Smartphones are now what we’d consider a mature product. The days of rapid innovation are over, and we are very much at a stage now where year on year improvements are minimal. As a result of this, companies shift to marketing strategies to sell their products, rather than letting the specs of the product sell itself. You can easily be mislead into believing you need a new phone, or that you need a more expensive one than you actually do.

    I’ll approach each market segment separately, budget, mid range, high end and Premium tier (dropping the flagship name, I’ll explain later). We’ll take a look to see who each type of phone might be suitable for, what offers the best value for money and what’s just overkill.

    The budget phone

    This is quite a broad range, devices can range from around £75 up to £200 in this bracket and have massively different offerings. Generally features will be missing and/or specs will be very basic. A “budget phone” will be best suited to elderly people who don’t ask much from their phones, children or teenagers that won’t look after their phones or someone who’s willing to make compromises in the name of saving money. As I’ve self imposed a limit of £200 and below for a budget phone, this segment is getting smaller. Devices like the HMD Pulse are at the bottom end, with phones like the Samsung A17 and the Moto G56 being at the top end.

    In reality the latter 2 devices would serve the average user fine, some of these devices offer features their flagship counterparts don’t such as headphone jacks and Micro SD cards. The main compromise on budget phones these days is camera quality, if that’s of no concern to you there are some good deals to be had here. At this point we can’t be too fussy on performance, but aim for more than 4GB RAM and avoid anything with a “Mediatek Helio” range or “Unisoc” branded chipset. If you find something with a “Mediatek Dimensity” or a “Snapdragon” chipset, you’ll generally be in for a much better time. Obviously the more storage the better, but most of these devices will have a Micro SD slot, so it’s not too much of a concern. For screens in this segment you can expect to see some LCD panels on offer, however there are an increasing number of budget phones getting OLED panels. OLED’s are generally better, but are more expensive to repair, can have burn in issues and some people are sensitive to the way they dim the screen.

    Midrange phones

    As there are no clear definitions of what a phone is, I’ll define this segment to be anything over £200, up to £600. Initially I had set this to £500, but this didn’t allow for any devices from Apple, so I’ve raised this to £600 For most people, this is the segment that most people will find the device that meets all of their actual needs. At the bottom of this range we have devices like the Motorola G75 and the CMF Phone 2 Pro, and at the top of the range we have things like the Google Pixel 9a, the iPhone 16e and the Samsung S25 FE.

    Aside from intensive mobile gamers, extreme power users and photographers there is a device suitable for most people here. The specs in this price range are generally at a level where they’re a non issue. 8GB RAM and 256GB storage is the norm, most if not all of these devices will have 5G networking and chipsets in all of the devices I’ve mentioned will be sufficient for most people. They will be snappy in day to day usage, shrug off multi tasking and even handle some gaming well. Cameras will be marginally better than the budget segment, expect to see optical camera stabilisation and better processing, however sensors will still be small at this price. They will produce serviceable photos, but I wouldn’t rely on it as a sole camera.

    On the flip side, at this price point the headphone jack will be a very rare sight and Micro SD support will be hit and miss. If there is no Micro SD slot take note of the inbuilt storage, if it’s only 128GB like on the base model of the Pixel 9a or the iPhone 16e that device might not seem such good value when you have to step up to the 256GB version.

    High end phones

    I’m putting device between £600 – £1000 in this category. If you’re an intense mobile gamer, avid mobile photographer, or extreme power user the device for you is probably in this segment. I’d still advise you to look at the mid range segment to see if you can find a device that meets your needs there, but if not there’s plenty in this “high end” bracket.

    Devices like the Samsung S25, iPhone 17, Pixel 10 can be found in this bracket. It might seem strange when most seem to consider these to be standard phones these days, but the reality is that this is just marketing at play normalising very expensive phones. These device are much more than the average user needs, and cater more to niches. All devices in this segment are more powerful than your average laptop, and most people lured into buying them will underutilise them by just scrolling social media and using navigation. For those that do genuinely require the features that these devices provide though, this still represents better value for money than what I’m calling the “premium” tier.

    12-16GB RAM is the norm for devices in this segment, and 256GB is still the norm, with more expensive models with more storage being offered. Either top tier chipsets will be offered here or just one step below, these SOC’s will not break a sweat in day to day usage.

    Premium phones

    I’m choosing to call this price bracket premium rather than “flagship”, the definition of a flagship has naval origins, and the flagship of a fleet would be the best they have to offer. This term is too liberally used in tech as used correctly there could only be one “flagship” per company. Bad terminology aside I’m putting devices that are £1000 and above in this category.

    Devices like the Samsung S25 Ultra, Samsung Z Fold 7, Pixel 10 Pro XL, iPhone 17 Pro Max are firmly in this category with some configurations hitting and passing the £2000 mark.

    I’d argue that there is nobody out there that actually needs one of these phones. Tech enthusiasts buy them because they want the best, regardless of whether they need it. Some people buy them as a status symbol. Others buy them because they’ve been lured to believing they need one through marketing or have been mis-sold them.

    At this price point a gamer would be served by something like a steam deck, a photographer better served by a mirrorless compact or a DSLR, and someone needing ultimate productivity better served by a tablet or a laptop.

    Smartphones are limited by their form factor. A rectangular object with limited physical inputs that needs to fit in a trouser pocket, whilst being durable. There comes a point where cramming huge amounts of expensive technology into a device that needs to meet these requirements reaches a point of diminishing returns. I’d argue that any device over £1000 is the textbook definition of that.

    The amount of people I know personally that have rushed out to buy iPhone 17 Pro Max’s or Samsung S25 Ultra’s is far too high. None of those people use a quarter of what these devices offer. I can almost guarantee that they’d all have a comparable experience with the iPhone 16e or S25 FE respectively. They’ve been mislead into spending more money when it wasn’t needed. Something we see far too often these days in all areas of life.

    However, despite my opinions I pass no judgement onto people that choose to do this. Everyone is free to spend their hard earned money however they see fit, and if that brings them joy then so be it.

  • Android phones with expandable storage in 2025

    As far as I’m aware there has never been an Apple product that runs iOS that has had expandable storage. Apple realised that by fixing the storage amount, they could make a lot of money by selling versions of their devices with more storage built in. Even with the original iPhone which released in 2007, there was a 4GB model and an 8GB model, with a £100 difference in price.

    In contrast a Micro SD slot in an Android phone was almost a given up until around 2020. Using Samsung as a reference point the Note 9 was the last “Note” device to have an SD slot, and the S20 was the last “S series” device to have one. Just as Samsung copied Apple when they removed the headphone jack in an effort to sell wireless earbuds, they eventually stopped offering a Micro SD slot to push buyers into more expensive models with higher storage. Pixel’s have never offered expandable storage, pushing buyers towards their “Google drive” cloud storage instead.

    Excuses are made by manufacturers that SD cards are slow, SD cards are insecure, they’re unreliable etc etc. None of these points are false, but it doesn’t justify not giving us the option. For me a Micro SD card is a perfect solution. I don’t need fast storage, I keep photos, videos and music on it so I don’t need blazing fast read and write speeds. It doesn’t need to be secure for me, it’s holiday pictures and music… The portability saves me a lot of time, rather than having to wait for all this data to transfer I can simply swap the SD card into a different device.

    Fortunately there are still some new smartphones being released that still have a Micro SD card. I’ll list below in groups of brands, devices released this year that have one. Note I’ll only include phones in this list that are readily available in the UK. If you’re in the market for one, hopefully this can help steer your purchase:

    • Fairphone Gen 6 – £499
    • All Motorola Moto G range. Pricing from £79.99 – £299.99. Moto Edge 60 – £349.99
    • Nothing CMF Phone 2 Pro – £219
    • Oneplus Nord CE5 – £249
    • Samsung A17 – £169, Samsung A26 – £299
    • Sony Xperia 10 VII – £399, Xperia 1 VII £1399

    It’s immediately apparent that we haven’t got many choices here, especially if we were looking for a premium offering. This is now a feature aside condemned to the budget market segment, where getting the customer is more important than how much they spend, aside from the Fairphone 6 and Xperia 1 VII which are niche devices anyway.

    For me I would be avoiding the cheapest devices on this list, those with dated chipsets and 4GB RAM are going to cause more frustration than they’re worth. Some of the higher end Moto G range are good, as is the CMF 2. However, if I were paying full retail price and had to choose one phone with a Micro SD slot I think it would have to be the Oneplus Nord CE5. It’s spec sheet way surpasses the other devices on this list bar the £1399 Xperia, and also has a fairly substantial update promise (4 OS, 6 Security).

    I would be purchasing now with the intent to keep the device for a long period of time, so choose one with a good update promise, over the next couple of years Micro SD slots will become more and more scarce.

  • iPhone 12 Mini – Was I wrong?

    I’ve been using the iPhone 12 Mini as my sole phone for about 2 weeks now. My original review of the phone is here. These are my thoughts and feelings on the phone after using it in the real world for a while.

    With its new battery I’ve always made it through a full day, I think the lowest I’ve been by the time it goes on charge for the night was 19%. That’s lower than I’d ever normally go in one day on a standard sized phone with a 5000mAh battery, but this little phone only has a ~2200mAh battery so I think that’s perfectly acceptable.

    I’ve also been using an Apple watch for the past week or so too, and have synced the phone up to my Mac Mini. Everything is fully up to date on the latest software versions, so I’m getting a fairly full experience of the modern Apple ecosystem.

    I will say the ecosystem quality and integration is unmatched by any other company. The way the phone syncs back to my Mac relaying calls, messages, reminders and syncing files is seamless. It creates a local, encrypted backup of the phone every time I connect it which I really like and generally just feels very well thought out.

    As Maroon 5 once said though, it’s not all “Rainbows and butterflies” with this setup:

    I’m missing the USB-C port, and having to dig out my old lightning connectors and now having double the amount of cables everywhere is a negative side effect. I’m also unable to use my USB-C storage devices, and accessories.

    I also have to admit that I’m no longer a spring chicken. While I appreciate the form factor of this device, loving how it feels in the hand and it’s dimensions and lack of weight make carrying the device a dream the size is a limiting factor. Apps and mobile versions of websites are no longer designed with sub 6″ displays in mind, and my eyesight is not what it once was. I’m finding myself holding the device closer and closer to my face while using it to be able to read clearly on it. A lot of apps and iOS have buttons to small and close together for me to accurately select them, a few times I’ve had to resort to prodding with my pinky finger to select what I need.

    Finally I dearly miss having a proper file system, and being able to access that file system from another machine. I’ve grown accustomed to being able to move and save files wherever I want, and more recently I’ve been running an FTP server on my Android devices which allows for really fast file transfers between machines using WiFi rather than relying on slower USB standards. Having all this ripped away from me in favour of “iTunes sync” and “import photos” has not been pleasant. For years I have used Advanced File Renamer and Free File Sync to keep my photos and videos library syncronised and backed up to my backup storage.

    Unfortunately I think this means that ultimately I was wrong. When I said Android is becoming iOS that wasn’t true. What’s happening is Android is locking itself down in an attempt to look more mature and appealing to investors. Make no mistake this is still bad for us consumers, but Android is still very different to iOS. Having MTP, OTG and a working file system still makes Android much more friendly to an enthusiast or power user than iOS. For me at least, this means I’m stuck with Android. Unless iOS loosens it’s grip on users and allows more access, which is unlikely as it may impede their “it just works” ethos I don’t think I’ll be able to comfortably integrate an iOS device into my life.

    However, this doesn’t spell the end of the iPhone 12 Mini for me. I have zero intention of getting rid of this device. I’m still very fond of it for all the reasons I listed above. I will keep this as a secondary device, and I can always throw my SIM into it from time to time when I need a break from Android, and I’ll try out the iOS updates as they’re released as it seems this phone will get a couple more years of updates before it’s retired.

  • Samsung A26 – Knox Tripping

    This post is a bit of a double whammy. On one side it’s my experience with the Samsung A26, and on the other it’s a commentary about Samsung and their “Knox”.

    The Samsung A26 is a device I’ve had for a while, as a backup device. For the money I paid (£140) it offers a lot. A high resolution, large OLED display, good battery life, a seemingly good performing Exynos chipset (1380), 8GB RAM and 256GB storage. It also has the almost elusive feature in 2025 that is expandable storage via Micro SD card. The cameras are reasonable, and it has OIS. To top it off it comes with a 6 year update promise. For that kind of money you really can’t go wrong.

    The phone has an easily unlockable bootloader, and doesn’t put many road blocks in the way of you doing so. When I was playing around with the device I rooted it, played around with multiple “Super user” apps, tried out some modules and eventually lost interest. It turns out rooting isn’t what it used to be. As I’ve detailed before Play integrity and various other methods of root detection have made having a rooted phone a game of cat and mouse. You constantly have to keep finding ways of avoiding detection, just to use the phone you purchased with your hard earned money in the way you’d like. Eventually I lost interest in pursuing this and reverted the phone to it’s stock OS, and re-locked the bootloader.

    This was when I remembered the “Knox” e-fuse. I mentioned it in my post here, but the consequences had slipped my mind when I decided to root this phone. The knox status of this phone is now “0x1”, meaning warranty void and certain features of this device won’t work. Among these features are; secure folder, work profiles, enhanced device security, Samsung health, Samsung Pay, Microsoft Intune and various other Microsoft services that rely on Knox.

    Will I need or want any of these features I’m now locked out of? Probably not. But I really do not like being locked out of functionality of a device I own, because I did something that the device allowed me to do. How do I know that in a couple of years time that Google will up their “play integrity” game and require knox status to be 0x0 to use banking apps? I could understand being locked out if I still had an unlocked bootloader and was running non official software, but my bootloader is locked, and the “binary version” listed by Samsung in Download mode is “Samsung official”. They know everything about my device is legitimate, otherwise the bootloader would not be locked. The knox status is simply a control tactic. It’s a permanent punishment and deterrent from using anything except Samsung’s official firmware.

    If a Google pixel can have a custom ROM such as Graphene or Lineage installed, and then revert back to it’s stock ROM, with the bootloader locked again and have no long term consequences, and more importantly not void it’s warranty there is absolutely no reason Samsung can’t.

    I appreciate the ability to be able to unlock the bootloader and install what I like, but having unfixable consequences as a result is unacceptable. I cannot sell this device in good conscience now, as it would negatively affect its new owner. I’m also wary of putting this device into daily use now, for myself or a family member, as who knows what functionality will be further stripped from it as Google and Samsung further lock down their devices.

  • Can this year get any worse? (Digital ID)

    I’m sorry, I know I said I was done being political but what on earth is going on this year?! It feels like we’ve gone into some dystopian, authoritarian timeline that just consists of every conspiracy theory over the past few years thrown in and made into a truth.

    I’m genuinely shocked to read the news. We’re still feeling the aftershocks of the Online Safety Act (let’s be honest most people now just use VPN’s to circumvent restriction), which measured by any metric has been an absolute disaster (I wouldn’t expect any less from the UK government). Now our practically unelected, dictator-lite Prime Minister Kier Starmer has just announced he’ll be introducing mandatory digital ID’s for all UK citizens before his term is over.

    With any announcement you have to read between the lines, or realistically completely outside the lines as you cannot believe a word that leaves any politicians mouth. It’s no coincidence that this announcement comes as we hear Starmer has been taking advice from the infamous warmongering, arms peddling ex prime minister that is Tony Blair. Blair, for whatever shady motive, has been desperate to mandate identity cards for the UK for decades. Blair and Starmer have also been cosying up to Peter Thiel, the billionaire behind Palantir. I won’t go into this company in too much detail but it’s bad news and I urge you to do your own research on both Thiel (just today linked to Epstein) and Palantir (mass data harvester and broker). As the UK government loves to outsource and help fund politicians private interests, we can almost guarantee that it’ll be these guys delivering the product. Up until now Digital ID has been rejected by parliament every time, with the government confirming they were ruling out Digital ID as recently as 2024, but seemingly something has changed.

    It’s being sold to the public as a deterrent for illegal migrants, however anyone with more than just air between their ears can see this is nonsense. The jobs that illegal migrants are currently doing will not care whether someone presents their “BritCard” or not. Sharing an Uber eats, just eat or deliveroo account will not be affected, nor will workers being paid cash in takeaway restaurants, nor will the gangs requiring drug runners or farmers for their Cannabis grow houses. No, this is simply another encroachment on citizens freedoms and one step closer to authoritarianism. Let me explain.

    Currently there are multiple ways for a UK citizen to identify themselves, however none of them are required to be on our person at all times. They are our National Insurance number, our driving license, our passport, or a number of documents/bills addressed to us. Right to work checks and background checks can be performed off the back of this identification. Surely this is enough? No, because this has nothing with our work eligibility. This has everything to do with controlling citizens, and is a direct sequel to the failed implementation of the Online Safety Act.

    The UK government is desperate to control the voices of its population, especially online, and squash any dialog that could stir sentiment they deem undesirable. Even when it comes to social media where people are supposed to register with their real name it can be difficult to link a post to a physical person with absolute certainty. Enter digital ID.

    The government have promised that it will only be used as a way to prove work eligibility but we know from previous implementations that this will just be the way they justify it to get it through the gate, so to speak. Once implemented its use case will expand gradually until we forget the seemingly innocent reason it was originally brought in for. The ID will be stored on your phone, immediately linking you to your Google account/Apple ID and your phone number. As it will be stored in a government app, it will ensure this digital ID is linked to your driving license, your NI number and your passport too. From there you’ll need it to sign up for any utilities, including your home broadband, ensuring any activity from your IP address can be traced back to you. You’ll also need it to “confirm your identity” when using any form of social media.

    All this amounts to the desired effect of absolutely destroying any anonymity on the internet. People are already being thrown in prison, getting criminal records and losing their jobs over seemingly innocent posts on social media. Imagine the amount of Reddit posts, X or Youtube comments you’ve read that could land a person in prison if it was easier to link them back to a real person. Coupled with the fact that we’re suffering rampant inflation with a stagnation of wages in the UK and you have a population that’s much easier to control when people cannot afford to lose their jobs or not be earning. Any critics will effectively be silenced through fear of consequences.

    TL/DR: The digital ID, while not a bad thing in isolation, could prove to be absolutely devastating if implemented in the UK. It has major implications for privacy, free speech and autonomy for all citizens. The acting government has proven their words cannot be trusted, and are currently acting completely outside of their own manifesto. Sign the petition against it here https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/730194 and contact your local MP as a starting point. We simply need to do everything in our power to resist this constant encroachment on our freedoms. Do whatever is within your power and you feel appropriate. If this is implemented, I can guarantee that I will be able to come back to this post in 5 years time and say I told you so.

  • Thank you EU (iPhone 12 Mini Repair)

    I would consider myself an old school Libertarian, in that we should be free to do as we please as long as it doesn’t harm anyone else. I also feel like the government should be involved in as little as possible.

    One thing I am grateful for is the EU’s regulation of tech companies. We have them to thank for USB-C ports on iPhones, 5 years of security updates on all phones sold from 07/2025 onwards and the right to repair amongst other things.

    The EU mandated that smartphone manufacturers have to supply spare parts to the end user within 5-10 working days for at least 7 years after the product is no longer sold in the EU. Apple now have this website: Self Service Repair Store.

    Using this website seemed a little prohibitive, for instance I had to find a code hidden within a repair guide to be allowed to add the battery for my iPhone 12 Mini to the basket. However, I received the battery today, along with a new display adhesive.

    The experience was I’d expect from a genuine product, the repair went very smoothly and my device is as new again. Now the repair is complete I can claim essentially a 50% credit on the money I spent after recycling the old battery. All in all the repair cost me £87.76 and the credit will return £40.80 to me. This means the total cost for repair was £46.96. Apple currently have the repair listed at £85, but that also doesn’t account for the inconvenience of either having to ship the phone off or having to travel to an Apple shop which in my case is over an hours drive away.

    The repair itself was like any other glass sandwich smartphone. Use heat, suction tools, pry tools, isopropyl alcohol and prayers to remove the front screen, clean up the adhesive, remove a few screws to remove the display, have an absolute nightmare removing the battery adhesive, fit the new battery and reassemble. If you’re experienced in smartphone repair, an iPhone is nothing to worry about. 30 minutes and the job is done.

    Hopefully we will keep benefiting from this EU regulation of tech companies from the UK even though we’re no longer a part of it. I would hate for us to go back to not having access to affordable spare parts for our devices. I have essentially been able to make a 5 year old smartphone work like new, without access to these spare parts it would be much closer to landfill than it is now.

  • Unihertz Titan 2 – Kickstarter hiccups

    This kickstarter project has been anything but smooth sailing. Backers were initially contacted with a survey to provide a delivery address, which I completed on the same day. Following that I must’ve received 3 or 4 emails addressed to everyone with various issues around collecting the addresses. Firstly they were unable to work with any of the private relay Apple email addresses. Then it was a lack of responses. Then it was a Google sheet with backers that had issues with their addresses. I’d provided my work address, which I use for worldwide shipping all the time so didn’t even bother to check the sheet. Turns out I was on it, oops.

    Just recently we’ve all received another email that’s quite hard to understand the purpose of, but from what I can gather they’re asking everyone to send their delivery addresses over again. Which I did, for some reason I’m still on the “wrong address” list, and I’ve not been able to get to the bottom of the reason why.

    Expecting this constant attention from thousands of backers is very optimistic of Unihertz, and I’m assuming these emails will be buried in a sea of spam in most of the backers inboxes. I do wonder, and I hope this is just the cynic in me, if Unihertz are hoping to be able to cancel a portion of these orders claiming a lack of response as the reason.

    To be honest I think they’re struggling to meet the production date they gave. On 18/09/25 backers received an email with an update, with the below photo:

    All looks good, but if they were expecting to ship in October I would’ve expected these to be in boxes and Unihertz getting their export documentation together.

    With these delays in production, and Unihertz clearly (from the amount of emails regarding delivery addresses) struggling with logistics I will be surprised if I receive the phone before December.

    Thankfully I’m in no rush for the device, and it’ll get here when it gets here. Watch this space for updates!

  • iPhone 12 Mini

    After using a Oneplus 13, which has a 6.82 inch screen I’m firmly of the belief that a phone can be too big. Width plays a major part in how easy to hold the phone is, and the height has an upper limit too. With the Oneplus 13, one handed I was unable to reach the opposite edge of the screen from the side I was holding from, and could barely reach past the half way mark on the screen. For reference, I do not have small hands. My hand span from little finger to thumb is 9 inches. This is just not practical. There is nothing I need to do on a phone that requires a tablet sized screen. If I need a bigger screen, for media consumption or whatever I already have a tablet for that.

    Even the Pixel 9a I recently received, with a 6.3″ screen is too big for comfortable one handed use. The height is much more manageable but it’s too wide to hold properly.

    Enter the iPhone 12 Mini. A device I bought for £115 in mint cosmetic condition for £115. The seller even threw an official Silicone case in with it. The display of the 12 Mini is 5.4 inches. The size of it’s entire frame is smaller than the iPhone 6, 7 and 8.

    For a bit of fun I used phonesized.com to compare the iPhone 12 Mini to the base model iPhone 17, and the iPhone 17 Pro Max. I think it gets my point across very well.

    The size difference is phenomenal. However I think the biggest improvement to the usability and hand feel of the device comes from the smaller width dimension.

    It is honestly a joy to use. Even with a case and screen protector fitted the device feels manageable in one hand, and the difference in weight makes a huge difference too. This thing really does disappear into my pockets, where the Oneplus 13 was making it look like I’d tried to cram a laptop in there.

    Usability seems surprisingly unimpeded by it’s smaller size. My eyesight is good, and even with my larger thumbs I’ve had no trouble typing, especially when I can use the swipe to type one handed now. The cameras produce good results and thanks to the high resolution of the display, apps run just the same as they would on larger screens.

    There are only two negatives to this device that I can think of. The first is something I can do nothing about, and that is the lightning port. All of my devices for years now have been USB-C, and I have built up a large amount of cables and accessories that rely on this port. My USB drive for example has both USB-A and USB-C, giving me an easy option to access important files and transfer between a PC and my phone, can’t use that now.

    The second, is battery life. This device currently has a health readout of 81%. On most phones this wouldn’t be a major issue, however on a phone with a measly ~2200mAh battery I can’t really afford to be down 20%. The solution for this, thankfully isn’t expensive. Apple have a self service shop available to the UK, so I’ve ordered a new genuine battery, which after the core credit will cost me just over £40. I’ve also ordered a small magsafe battery pack, which should keep me going on longer days away from a power source. For the most part though, I’m not a heavy mobile user, and I will make it through most days without a top up aside from being plugged in for my commute.

    Overall I’m gutted that the market for smaller phones didn’t prove to be big enough to justify continuing the Mini line up. Every single person that has held this phone has remarked how comfortable it is to use and easy to use. It’s not surprising that people skipped it though, bigger is better in most peoples minds, and given the choice of two devices at the same price, one small and one big I think most would choose the bigger one simply because they’d perceive it to be better value for money. For now though, I’ll just enjoy what I’ve got while it lasts.

  • The power of marketing and the opinions of others

    As the iPhone 17 series has been released today, and photos of owners flaunting their new purchases online begin to circulate I spent a moment reflecting.

    I tuned into the keynote. I got hyped up. I got pre-approved for the 24 month plan on a base model. I waited anxiously for the pre-order screen to refresh and placed my pre-order.

    Thankfully the mist cleared fairly quickly and I realised what I’d succumb to. Once I was able to I cancelled the pre-order.

    Yes I wanted an iPhone, I’ve been thinking about it for some time now but did I really need the latest model? And did I really need to pre-order it? Of course not. So what happened?

    The allure of a well marketed product is that they play the long game. “Leakers” (paid marketers) will start to drop “rumours” about the next generation of devices long before they’re due to launch. This time it was that 120Hz will be standard on all models. This starts to generate chatter and a buzz online, people start looking forward to the announcement.

    When the announcement, or in Apple’s case the “Keynote” comes around almost all the features have already been “leaked” and the details are just confirmed. Apple in particular must spend vast amounts of money on these presentations because I’ve seen box office films worse directed than these.

    After that you get around a week before you can have the chance to pre-order. This leaves time for the opinions of others to come in. People start getting excited. Youtubers start building the hype. In peoples heads they start justifying reasons that they need this upgrade. A sense of urgency starts to be formed, after all so many people are ready to buy one this is a bandwagon you need to be on, right?

    The pre-order window opens and you find yourself with an item in your basket eagerly waiting to part with your cash for a new shiny item. The whole experience builds urgency and excitement, ensuring that you don’t have time for rational thought and to talk yourself out of the purchase. Finally you hit that order button, it’s done.

    In my case at least, that was where the bubble popped. The excitement faded and the realisation that I’d just committed to a large unnecessary purchase sunk in. For others that buzz and chatter keeps the excitement rolling until the release date comes around. They receive their new phone, and within a week it feels just the same as their old one. Novelty doesn’t last long and the brain quickly gets used to things and starts seeking out new and shiny again.

    The strange thing with Apple’s release this year is that they don’t seem to be keeping up with the demand. I have colleagues who have expected delivery dates for their new iPhones dating well into October. Surely the point of a pre-order is that you receive it on release day? I wonder if the delay will cause many cancellations? After all the whole sense of urgency technique sort of falls over when met with a 3 week delay.

    With a much clearer mind, devoid of hype I searched out an iPhone 12 mini. I’ve been gravitating towards smaller devices recently, these 6.8-7.0 inch behemoths just aren’t practical. The Oneplus 13 actually ripped a hole in my jeans pocket because it’s so large, but that’s getting off topic. I paid the princely sum of £115 for a mint condition 64GB (ouch) model in blue. It’ll need a battery replacement, which thanks to the EU I was able to order directly from Apple’s self repair store. It cost around £80 and I will receive a £40 credit when I return the old one. Not bad.

    I’ll write a separate post about the iPhone 12 in my phone history series, but I’m smitten with it. It’s not new, it’s not flashy but it’s just received it’s iOS 26 update and it’s size and weight are perfect.

    If you’re already using an iPhone made in the last 5 years, or have an Android phone that’s still receiving updates, and have an iPhone 17 series on pre-order this message is for you: Do you really need, or even want this device? Will it bring you any meaningful benefit over your current one? Novelty doesn’t last long, but spending £800-£2000 (depending on your model and configuration) does. Don’t feel bad for cancelling, and certainly don’t feel bad for keeping what you’ve got for a while longer.

  • Pixel 9a

    This will be a bit of a tricky phone to give an objective review on for a couple of reasons:

    1. I received the phone for free. The seller used eBay simple delivery using Evri, which got stuck in transit and passed the estimated delivery date. eBay refunded me in full and stated if the item ever does arrive it’s mine to keep. Low and behold another week later it did arrive.
    2. I have a deep dislike of Google. I won’t go into it here but they are an advertising company, the data they harvest and sell on their users knows no limit.

    With that in mind, I’ll do my best to not impart my bias onto this device. Who knows, maybe the two points will balance themselves out!

    I purchased the Pixel 9a on a bit of a whim. I was in a state of paranoia regarding data collection on phones and had intended to use GrapheneOS with it. The prospect of a slightly smaller device than my Oneplus 13, and very little camera bump was also alluring. That combined with the massive depreciation Pixel phones generally experience lead me to place the order. When the order went missing, I wasn’t massively disappointed and didn’t look to order another. However it arrived, and I’m pleasantly surprised by it.

    My initial impressions are it feels like an iPhone in the hand. It’s what I’d imagine the iPhone would look like if they continued with the design language of the iPhone 5s. That’s not a bad thing. It has square edges, but rounded enough to be comfortable in the hand. The bezels are larger than I’d expect but no worse than something like the Samsung A55. The best part about this phone is that it has basically zero camera bump. Without a case this phone can lie flat on a table with basically no wobble. I’m not sure what Google have done to achieve this, the device is a little thicker than an average phone but not noticeably so, but I’m impressed. The size is comfortable. Still a little larger than what you’d be able to comfortably use one handed, but much easier to manage than an iPhone Pro Max sized device. The metal frame with a plastic back is actually something I appreciate too. In the hand it still feels premium and it will make battery changes or any other work much easier to perform.

    The specs, on paper leave something to be desired. Google have promised 7 years of updates for this model, which is admirable. However this phone only has 8GB of RAM where the other devices in the Pixel 9 series have 12GB for the base model and 16GB for the Pro variants. In my usage that hasn’t been a problem so far, but it may become a limiting factor later in its lifecycle. The Tensor line of chipsets are a point of contention too, especially the ones made in the Samsung foundry. However, so far I’ve experienced no issues with it. I’d be the first to point out a power hungry modem or a overheating chipset but I haven’t experienced any of that with this device. The only time I’ve felt the device get warm was as all the apps downloaded after the initial setup, even then it wasn’t excessive. The battery is 5100mAH, which probably explains why I’ve been able to set the 80% charge limit and not struggle at all to make it to the end of the day, something that my Oneplus 13 barely managed some days. Overall, again, I’m impressed.

    Finally, we get to the software. Aside from my thoughts about “AI” and the telemetry, the Pixel OS is very nice to use. Despite it probably being the most “locked down” flavour of Android I’ve ever used in regards to limited settings and customisation everything works well. With that lack of customisation comes minimalism and well thought out functionality. This is the first time I’ve used a Pixel on Android 16, and aside from the childish fonts used in some places it seems to be quite well executed. Setup was easy, navigation flows smoothly and the phone seems to handle app management well. One thing that is refreshing compared to other manufacturers is a complete lack of bloatware. The only thing this ships with are the Google products, and even then not all of them. There was very little I needed to uninstall and disable out of the box. Something that on a Samsung or Oneplus would probably take me the best part of an hour to achieve.

    Would I recommend the device? It depends.

    Google do not have a good track record when it comes to hardware quality. Device failures are common, screens failing, batteries swelling, bits of the phone falling off are all well documented across multiple generations. On the flip side Google generally handle these issues quite well, extending the warranties, offering compensation or even replacing the devices years down the line. It’s still worth being aware of this though as regardless of the resolution its still an unnecessary inconvenience. Then there’s the value for money. The Pixel’s are generally priced way higher than what their hardware is worth. With their latest releases they are up at iPhone pricing with barely even half the power on paper. However there’s a saying within the Pixel community; “Never pay full price for a Pixel”. Almost immediately after launch Google begin offering steep discounts, carriers practically give them away and their value on the 2nd hand market plummets drastically.

    If you’re willing to accept all the trade-offs I’ve just mentioned, and are OK knowing that there are devices with much better specs for the same money a Pixel may be for you. Even then, I’d only recommend you buy one used. This way you skip the massive depreciation, and avoid encouraging Google’s shady practices by not putting any money directly into their pockets.