• angelsomething
    link
    fedilink
    English
    319 months ago

    Oh it’s this time of the year again. I swear every year for the past 5 years I’ve read the same article about the return of dumb phones.

    • Unaware7013
      link
      fedilink
      209 months ago

      It’s the year of the dumb phone, right after the year of the Linux desktop!

      • pancakesyrupyum
        link
        fedilink
        69 months ago

        Yeah but Valve might push Year of Linux into actually being a real thing.

        The ship sailed on dumbphones a few years ago.

  • schmorpM
    link
    fedilink
    English
    129 months ago

    Been thinking about it, but I think we’re a bit past the point where it’s even possible especially around banking. Maybe it would be important to have as many as possible go back to dumb phones before they start to introduce obligations to own a smartphone.

    • @[email protected]
      link
      fedilink
      English
      11
      edit-2
      9 months ago

      I’m a software developer. I have a modern phone. However, I just log into banking via the Web. I don’t use any apps. So, I do so on my computer, but maybe my lifestyle doesn’t require a phone to do this, and other people’s do? I’m not sure. I just don’t need to online bank when out and about. Is that a normal thing?

      • @[email protected]
        link
        fedilink
        English
        18 months ago

        Some banks in Europe are slowly removing features from their websites in attempt to push people onto their app which can execute whatever spyware they want without the constraints of javascript. Some banks have ditched their website and force their customers to use the closed-source app… while also forcing them to buy new hardware periodically. Yes it’s a terrible direction things are going.

    • RozaŭtunoOP
      link
      fedilink
      English
      29 months ago

      I think there are more advanced dumb phones that allow you to run android apps, so you could still have banking and whatnot, but then you’d risk of it becoming just another smartphone.

    • @[email protected]
      link
      fedilink
      English
      18 months ago

      A bank has already done that. If you don’t install their app, you simply lose access to your account. In Europe the post office banks will likely not pull that shit and will remain useful for analog/offline folks.

      • schmorpM
        link
        fedilink
        English
        38 months ago

        I have been considering changing to my local farmer’s credit bank. They still have actual places you can go in every small town. I drive 20km every time I want something from my actual bank, it’s ridiculous. I imagine the farmers bank also might be analog-friendly in other ways.

  • jeebus
    link
    fedilink
    3
    edit-2
    9 months ago

    I am thinking of going back to a not Google or Apple data collecting experience. Looking at the light phone 2 and a librem 11 for when I need a browser.

      • @[email protected]
        link
        fedilink
        English
        1
        edit-2
        8 months ago

        Agreed.

        #Purism has a gitea repo which was open to the public. A repo was created to track all the under-handed & dodgy things #DuckDuckGo was caught up in, archive the evidence, and demonstrate how effective their illusion of privacy is on people to inform the public. It was also to establish rationale to suggest that Purism eliminate DDG as a default search. Purism simply deleted the repo and contributors accounts without warning out of the blue, without explanation. Assholes.

  • @[email protected]
    link
    fedilink
    English
    3
    edit-2
    8 months ago

    I can’t get over my disgust in how the world threw all their perfectly good feature phones into landfills & now they’re buying new feature phones at absurd prices. WTF. Go to any flee market or street market and there are piles of old dumb phones. It’s like the people who are sensible enough to realize smart phones are a bad idea are still addicted to buying new stuff.

    • @[email protected]
      link
      fedilink
      English
      1
      edit-2
      8 months ago

      Certainly some people who lack self-control benefit from a feature phone.

      I guess you probably got down voted because lack of self-control is only one of many reasons to use a dumb phone. The other reason mentioned in the article is battery life.

      I have both a smart phone and a feature phone. The smartphone is permanently in airplane mode & it goes wherever I go. The feature phone actually has a mobile subscription but I don’t typically carry it.