Honestly, idk man. I think picking up a used phone that's even older isn't a bad idea... at least if it doesn't hold you back in any significant way.

Right now I'm using a Pixel 5, which is also a bit older and technically worse than my other phone too.

There's this android phone that would be perfect for you.

Nah, I'm kidding. In your position I'd probably either hold out or grab another 12 Pro Max since that thing will last some time still. The fact that it's 60 Hz is kinda rough, but that depends on whether or not you care. I suppose you could go lower if you wanted to save some money.

And the top model iPhone 15 will be really expensive for sure lmao. I think they can charge big for that periscope lens, if that ends up coming true.

Not that I know of.

Yes it is.

If you can't get used to it then just get a 14 Pro. Unlike other phones there aren't many downgrades.

I didn't call anything "better" than anything else.

It's just that spec wise the iPhone has had smaller and lower resolution sensors for years, until now. The 1/1.3" 48 MP sensor is much more in line with other Android flagships.

That is fact.

The A16 is a minor upgrade and the new camera sensor is just catching up to the competition.

What other note worthy thing is there? It's kinda hard to get excited for new phones sometimes.

Because it has been denoised. ProRAW is not RAW and there's still significant processing.

I've seen the same artifacts before but idk what exactly causes them.

ublock origin

It just goes to 100%.

Also happened when I replaced an iPhone X battery myself.

Dump the disc games and keep playing on emulators

This isn't the first time people have complained about oversharpening on iPhone cameras, especially with trees and bushes.

It's why I lose trust in reviewers when they claim they have amazing cameras each year. You have to look for reviewers that actually point out flaws in phone cameras nowadays.

Btw, the solution is to shoot ProRAW. It's not RAW, but still has way less oversharpening.

Of course that's possible. Security vulnerabilities can be extremely bad, to the point where someone can install spyware on your phone without you clicking or anything or knowing about it in any way.

But it's not likely and ordinary people probably don't have to worry about that.

Germany actually has a surprising number of FOSS dudes and that mentality might play a role.

Because people tend to stick with one brand.

Samsung users tend to stick with Samsung, Apple users tend to stick with apple etc. A lot of people just hate Apple and it doesn't matter whether it's justified or not (sometimes it is).

Idk if Germans are more ignorant/stubborn about this than people in other countries though.

lol.

Camera improvements can be pretty big depending on where you look, but it's mostly incremental unfortunately.

Hopefully zoom because it's bad.

But I don't see Pro mode happening. I don't think Apple is interested in giving users manual control over the camera.

It's only 5 years old.

I think it's absolutely practical to keep using it. I still have my Pixel 2 XL from the same time and it would be perfectly usable as a daily driver, except for the lack of security updates since late 2020...

Afaik FTX login data, but don't risk anything.

Afaik it supposedly just forwards your login data or something.

Just don't use it.

Refer to my other comments

I literally never suggested that, so not sure what point you're trying to make here.

No it's not, I literally just linked a video showing it.

Samsung glues the displays to the midframe in a very similar way, but on their phones you usually replace the screen together with the whole midframe. That essentially means transplanting all the old parts into the new body.

And even then you can buy a Samsung screen and battery kit for $168 and Samsung "screen module replacement" pricing is $199 for a base S21.

The labor consists of pulling off the old pieces and gluing on the new part.

This guy did it on YouTube and Samsung estimates 88€ for a back glass repair on my S21 Ultra, which is much more in line with what I would expect (the device is also built differently, but it doesn't make up for the $360~ difference lol).

$449 for a back glass replacement on a 13 Pro is ridiculous.

That's a complete ripoff.

The back glass literally costs dollars and yet it's way more expensive than a screen replacement.