Smartphones also remain a test bed for useful innovations, especially for photography and software features such as voice recognition.
So hooray for smartphone companies that will continue to complete their products. Doesn’t that mean we need to pay a little attention to Google’s seemingly weird new pixel phones – albeit really weird – or Apple’s upcoming iPhone… 13? 12 S? Why do you marry me?
The latest phones are lighter, faster, better and probably more expensive than the older ones. When you’re ready, cool new features will be there. Until then, you don’t have to take care of it.
Tip of the week
Do not despair if the technology company does not fix your phone
Not ready for a new smartphone yet? Brian X Chen, Consumer Technology column for the New York Times, has a history of determination to keep an old device alive
A few weeks ago, a reader named Mariane sent me this email.
Last year I tried to get a new battery for my Samsung Galaxy S7 phone. I took it to Verizon, where I bought it. They told me they could not open the phone to replace the battery, and they suggested that I take it to a repair shop. I called Samsung, and it really took many attempts to talk to someone.
The last person I spoke to said that I had to send $ 75 to Samsung to even look at the phone, and if they could charge the battery, they would contact me. I approved my credit card for $ 75 and wanted to cancel the entire transaction with Samsung. I despaired at that point. If it pays, I will be absolutely happy with my S7.
I encouraged Marin to try again – but this time she contacted a few local independent repair shops to ask if they could do the job. Days later she found someone and her phone returned to its original glory!
The moral of the story – don’t despair if a product like Apple or Samsung can’t help you fix a phone. There is a free repair industry to keep your work on your phone, not a new one.
Often, indie technicians, such as replacing a defective charging port on an iPhone, have the ability to make repairs that the manufacturers do not want. Do a web search on Yelp or Google and call around to find a good, honest editor.