Techie Ramblings

Category: Tech

  • Digital everything – The generation left behind

    “Install our app to access this feature”

    “Scan the QR code to view our menu”

    “It’s much easier if you’d just download our app and do it on there”

    These are all phrases that 15-20 years ago would’ve been met with confusion, and yet in a short space of time this has become our “new normal”.

    I am a shameless tech enthusiast and a career IT guy, but my level of tech participation is probably akin to a 70 year old. Heck, even my 76 year old Grandfather uses mobile banking. There are multiple reasons why I refuse to install apps for businesses, and rely on the older ways but one of them is to try and support the older generations.

    There is a wide range of people, ranging from as low as around 55 all the way up to however the oldest person currently is that have been left behind by societies rapid changes. Changes that were rushed in as a result of the Covid 19 ordeal, and kept around after because it turned out to be cheaper.

    These people may just never have taken an interest in technology, maybe they’re scared of it because of all the news coverage of cybercrime, maybe they can’t afford it, or maybe they have a disability that makes it difficult for them to use. For the majority of their adult lives these people have been able to get by without issue.

    They pay with cash, cheque, card or over the phone. They go to the bank to pay bills, withdraw and send money and check their balances. When they need to travel somewhere new they look in the map for directions. They read newspapers or watch the news on TV. They keep in contact with family and friends over phone call or just in person, when they’re on holiday they send postcards. They do all of their shopping in person, or at a push through a catalogue.

    Some people today; the “digital minimalists” are striving for this kind of life, but for these people it’s just their default. And you know what, I don’t blame them one bit. For us Millennials this technology started to come out while we were young, so it was exciting for us. For Gen-Z people it’s just always been there. But for anyone older they were adults already when this stuff started happening. Of course some of them learnt and embraced it, but for others they were happy with the way their lives worked, why change that?

    I used to think these people were just old and lazy but as I grow older myself I’ve begun to understand and sympathise with their situation. I have a similar sentiment to AI. I lived all this time without it successfully, why would I need it now? After all, I’ve been able to learn whatever I’ve wanted, and I’ve managed my whole life thus far without a personal assistant just fine.

    Anyway I’m drifting away from my original topic (surprise). There is a growing number of people around the world that if something isn’t done risk being unable to access services. This is a bit of a crude comparison but we make accommodations for disabled people to ensure they can access things, such as ramps for wheelchair users or braille for blind people, why are we not making sure that people can do things regardless of whether or not they have a smartphone in their pocket?

    Those of us who are able and have an understanding of technology embraced it because of its convenience, never stopping to give a second thought to the consequences. Nearly all the banks have closed down now in favour of app based banking, think of the knock on effects just from this: The town centres that lose the business from people not bothering to go, as the main purpose of their trip would be to use the bank. The bank tellers, cleaners, and various other workers that lost their jobs from the closure. Finally the people that now have to travel miles to access wherever the nearest remaining bank is, because they don’t have access to the app.

    Think of the old couple that went out to a new restaurant that opened, only to find out they have no way of seeing the menu, and no way of paying because the restaurant is “cashless”.

    Think of the socially isolated person whose world just got even quieter, because the interaction they used to get when accessing their services has now been replaced with an app.

    Give some thought how behaviour has changed since Covid. People are less empathetic, more aggressive, much more self centred and are less likely to say hello in the street. Humans are social creatures, we haven’t evolved (or been designed, depending on what you believe) to conduct business with computer programs. Whether you like it or not it is having a negative effect on us.

    So yes, I refuse all of this. I refuse to use any form of AI assistant, or chat bot. I don’t use mobile apps in favour of a website or an in person option. I won’t be using a digital ID if that comes about. I don’t use any form of social media, instead I make phone calls or meet with people in person. I don’t play any online games, and have never bought a “DLC” in my life. I get my photos printed out and keep them in a photo album. I buy my clothes in brick and mortar shops. My motorcycle doesn’t even have a rev counter, let alone Android Auto. I don’t have a Google account, and there are no Google services on my phone.

    Now obviously I’m not doing all those things I mentioned above to help others that can’t use digital services, because some of them are completely irrelevant to that cause. No, I do them for a couple of reasons. One; I don’t like having things forced on me, especially when there’s no benefit to me. So in a way it’s a push back, or an act of rebellion. I choose to live my life without them because someone tried to convince me I needed it. Two; I’ve been in the tech space long enough to know that if something is free at the point of use, you’re the product. Some people are fine with it, but personally, just knowing that data is being collected on me and I’m being profiled while just going about my daily life creeps me out. I avoid generating personal data wherever I can.

    Next time you’re asked to download an app, or scan a QR code, maybe just take a moment to think, do you really need this? Or is there an alternative? Just because something seems like the most convenient option doesn’t mean it’s the best, especially not in the long run. Give some thought to your fellow humans, who might be in the process of being replaced with an app, or an AI chatbot. Who knows, if we keep accepting it, it could be us next.

  • Samsung Note 9 – Revisited

    They say never meet your heroes, and unfortunately I think this might just ring true for this phone.

    I wrote my initial post on the Samsung Note 9 in my phone history series. I owned the device back in 2018 for about a year and a half, and have held the device in extremely high regard ever since. I considered it to be the perfect phone, with all the features and high quality before the smartphone manufacturers started cutting features in favour of maximizing profit margins by minimising costs.

    For a while I’d been keeping my eye on the online marketplaces and when I found a Note 9 in excellent condition for less than £100 I made the purchase.

    Unfortunately the seller had been disingenuous and rather than a SM-N960F as advertised he sent a SM-N960N which is a south korean variant. He had made a half baked attempt at flashing UK firmware on it and hoped a buyer wouldn’t notice.

    Fortunately for him I wasn’t planning on running the original ROM anyway as Android 10 is getting long in the tooth now and apps are beginning to drop support. I promptly installed the latest official Lineage ROM released for this device which was version 20 (Android 13). I could take it further up to Android 15 and One UI 7, but I think there will be too many things not working and I don’t want to push the hardware beyond its limits.

    I think a testament to the phone is that it still holds up well 7 years later. The screen is vivid and has a higher resolution than many new phones today. The build quality still feels excellent and the device feels much better in the hand than many new devices today. That’s about all I have for the positives though.

    Unfortunately the years have not been particularly kind to this particular device. Despite its lack of any physical damage the battery is woefully short lived, and the screen has begun to de-bond from the frame. Thankfully I anticipated the battery, and ordered a replacement (and a new back glass just in case!) at the same time I ordered the phone. The screen will need to be removed from the frame, cleaned and have new adhesive applied. Not the end of the world, but not something you’d be dealing with owning a more recent device.

    I have a dislike for curved screens, it feels like wasted space and the side of my hand makes false presses on the screen. Not only this but finding suitable screen protectors for these devices is a nightmare, and generally the only suitable options are glass with UV glue, or TPU film protectors. The Samsung Note 9 has an extremely strong curve on its edges, which its only benefit is making it more comfortable in the hand.

    The Note 9 just doesn’t feel all that special anymore in 2025. It’s still everything that it was back when it was released, but in 2018 this was so much better than other devices on the market. Coming from an iPhone 6s this felt like alien technology. Now it just feels like any other phone. The Micro SD slot is a welcome addition, but a phone with 512GB of onboard storage solves that problem for me. Onto the revered headphone jack. Audiophiles still lust after devices with this illusive port, and even in my eyes the more ports the merrier, but I think it’s just time to admit I don’t need it. All my audio devices are bluetooth, including my car, and while I like music I’m not into it to the degree that I’d notice or appreciate the slight boost in quality from using the jack.

    In some ways I’m sad that this device didn’t live up to my nostalgic memories of it, although I shouldn’t be surprised because things rarely do. On the other hand I’m glad I can finally put this thought to bed, that phones have got progressively worse since this phone released. They haven’t, they’ve got much better, it’s just a much more level playing field between brands that nothing really stands out as special anymore.

  • How Google tightening the leash has pushed me down a different path

    I’ve made a couple of posts now about Google and other OEM’s desperate attempts to lock down the Android operating system into their own version of iOS. Things like “Play integrity”, “Knox counters”, no bootloader unlocks, root detection, keeping development private, all with no tangible benefit to the end user other than preventing us from truly owning our devices.

    The S25 FE that I currently have, after being given an offer from my network I couldn’t refuse is a technically excellent phone, especially for the price I paid, however there’s a but. This phone launched with One UI 8. Samsung quietly decided to remove the ability to unlock the bootloader on every device running One UI 8. Being that this phone launched on this version, there is no option to downgrade. This phone may as well be an iPhone, in that I have zero options to install ROM’s, it will be impossible to obtain root access and if it somehow ends up bricked I will be out of luck.

    If you currently have a Samsung device that is on a One UI version less than 8 I urge you not to update!

    Without root access I have only been able to do so much with this S25 FE. Currently I’ve “degoogled” it as much as possible. Play services, framework and store are gone, as are all of their inbuilt apps. All automatic updating is disabled, and I’ve removed as much of the inbuilt Samsung software as I can via ADB. Whilst I can’t do everything I want to with this phone I can at least know that it won’t be able to get any worse.

    Similarly to cars, where we have to purchase older vehicles in order to have the ability to diagnose and repair them, it looks as though we’ll have to resort to older phones. Fortunately I am not reliant on any banking apps or services, meaning I can comfortably run an older version of Android or use a rooted device without having restrictions imposed on me, so I do have options.

    Fortunately it seems not many people have realised what’s coming, and older devices are still cheap. I’ve managed to find a nearly pristine Samsung Note 9 with Knox tripped (doesn’t matter to me) for less than £100 and a Pixel 6 that’s just had a battery replacement for £35 however it needs a new screen. I’ll replace the battery on the Note 9 and replace the display on the Pixel 6 and in theory I should be able to keep these phones running for years to come.

    The Note 9 initially I plan to use it on it’s stock operating system which is Android 10. For now at least, none of the apps I use require higher than 8. However if app support (mainly the web browser) starts to dwindle I can take the phone up to Android 13 using the last official LineageOS release for it, which would buy more time.

    Eventually it will become unfeasible to continue using the Samsung, and that’s where the Pixel 6 will come in. Currently GrapheneOS are supporting the device fully. That would be my primary choice. However they are struggling, with Google keeping wraps on their Android development it’s making life hard for the Graphene team, they will also most likely drop support soon for the Pixel 6. LineageOS will most likely continue officially supporting the device for several more years though so it shouldn’t be something I need to worry about for a long time.

    Once I’m comfortably set up with these devices I’ll be selling the S25 FE. Yes, Samsung have promised to update the device for 7 years but without the ability to root, and the impending developer verification Google are imposing the device will be useless to me. It’s a sad state of affairs really, however I feel like I’m ready to ride the storm at least until a better alternative comes along.

  • 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!