"Building" the perfect/ultimate 2021 Flagship Smartphone (or lineup)

[EJMB]

Given that companies are trying to push new technologies into the mainstream (flexible displays, 5G, UDC/UPC, etc) but also take away beloved features (headphone jack, microSD support (Galaxy S21  ) etc.), I'm curious as to what the LTT Community has to say if they could suggest on how a company should build a phone that is for everyone. In as much as I love my N20 Ultra...it does miss some features/characteristics that other phones have.

If you could build the "perfect/ultimate" smartphone in 2021; how would you do it? Comment below! I'm actually curious...
Parameters:
>non-flexible display (to simplfy things)
>reasonable dimensions for the flagship of the lineup (if you were to suggest a lineup)
>non-fiction materials/tech seen in all previous/currently sold smartphones; concept phones with a prototype tech that have been seen to work are also allowed
>no luxury items unless they help with functionality (e.g. Gold plating/Diamond studs)
>be specific as possible (Hardware or Software feature)

Will post here GSMArena's Spec Sheet of the Note 20 Ultra so everyone can suggest a component/feature as specific as they want

Will make this a running post so I can actually include the features that the commenters in this forum want

[LogicalDrm]

-> Moved to Phones and Tablets

[Commodus]

Mine:

 

- 6.5-inch 1440p, 120Hz adaptive rate display with Apple's Ceramic Shield (not too big, not too small)

- 16GB of RAM (regardless of platform, this is more than enough)

- Apple A14 Bionic (sorry Android crew, this is generally faster)

- 256GB to 1TB of storage (might not need expansion at that point!)

- Galaxy S21 Ultra cameras, but with Apple's color science, video recording and AI-guided features

- 5,000mAh battery (large, but not to the point where it skews the design too much)

 

The OS I leave up to the crowd, since I'm sure people will cling to their preferences.

[EJMB]

On 2/21/2021 at 11:00 PM, Commodus said:

Mine:

 

- 6.5-inch 1440p, 120Hz adaptive rate display with Apple's Ceramic Shield (not too big, not too small)

- 16GB of RAM (regardless of platform, this is more than enough)

- Apple A14 Bionic (sorry Android crew, this is generally faster)

- 256GB to 1TB of storage (might not need expansion at that point!)

- Galaxy S21 Ultra cameras, but with Apple's color science, video recording and AI-guided features

- 5,000mAh battery (large, but not to the point where it skews the design too much)

 

The OS I leave up to the crowd, since I'm sure people will cling to their preferences.

Hard to argue with anything written here, but I'd still prefer something with a 1TB on board plus expandable storage ease of use. I'm not a fan of using too much data just to be connected to the cloud/keep on streaming stuff but it's an great set of features nonetheless.

[EJMB]

On 2/22/2021 at 1:41 AM, huilun02 said:

I just want an S20 with flat screen, headphone jack, swappable battery, no front camera, and flagship Snapdragon chipset that is underclocked and tuned for extreme power efficiency.

 

And then I dont have to buy another phone for many years because consumerism can go fuck itself

a swappable battery is something I miss honestly....until we get graphene batteries on phones, it would still be awesome to have swappable batteries

[EJMB]

On 2/22/2021 at 1:48 AM, DriftMan said:

I wanted a "compact" phone with thin bezels, it was either the Sony XZ2 Compact with "big" bezels or Samsung S10e, and picked the S10e because it had OLED display

 

So, I'd like my next phone to be 5.5" max, OLED, 60hz and FLAT screen not 2.5D shit (with the stupid camera in the left side, not the right, what were they thinking if most of the users are right-handed?)

 

Not a power hungry CPU, but good enough to last 4 years using Lineage OS or other custom ROMs (debloated ofc), 4GB of RAM (more is a non-sense if you never use any high RAM usage app), a big fat battery even if it makes the phone thicker (4000 mAh minimum), type C, fast charging (being able to switch between fast and normal charging), jack 3.5mm... Like my S10e but with easy to unlock bootloader, easily rooted, smaller display, a bit thicker for extra battery

I can see you that you honestly use your phone more like a tool than most, unfortunately there aren't a lot of compact options nowadays...although that screen size is too small for me (we hope that's not what she said lol)

[Commodus]

5 hours ago, EJMB said:

Hard to argue with anything written here, but I'd still prefer something with a 1TB on board plus expandable storage ease of use. I'm not a fan of using too much data just to be connected to the cloud/keep on streaming stuff but it's an great set of features nonetheless.

The funny thing is that I've heard folks arguing against microSD precisely because it complicates things. You have to juggle content locations, worry about relative data speeds, apps that can't move to the card, that sort of thing.

 

I also want to know just who has so much local media on their phone that they think 1TB might not be enough! Unless you're shooting 8K video frequently, you're probably good for the next few years.

[EJMB]

14 hours ago, DriftMan said:

I mostly use it for email, calls and 4chan browsing, don't really consume any social media nor videos with it so there's no need for a huge and heavy phone...

And I like to be able to use it one-handed, a bigger phone won't let me do that (had problems with a 6" 16:9 smartphone, I couldn't reach the opposite side lol)

It was either this S10e for 350€ brand new, or the bigger Note 10 due to the pencil, luckily I went with this one and never regret it, a friend of mine got the Note 10 and it's too big in comparison, I was even suggested to go for an older OnePlus with 5.5" screen and AMOLED because it has great custom ROM support but I couldn't find it cheap

have you tried asking the forums? I'm sure there's a group looking for possible the same style of phone...or is the market really stingy recently?

 

[EJMB]

10 hours ago, Commodus said:

The funny thing is that I've heard folks arguing against microSD precisely because it complicates things. You have to juggle content locations, worry about relative data speeds, apps that can't move to the card, that sort of thing.

 

I also want to know just who has so much local media on their phone that they think 1TB might not be enough! Unless you're shooting 8K video frequently, you're probably good for the next few years.

I filled up around 400+gb in my previous phone after almost a year (without backup for a lot of the files which basically sucked after my phone was stolen)...mostly references and a lot of video; I really use up space fast haha. 

I basically use my microSD it for back-up and files (no apps) I need but don't need super fast access to but I definitely agree....1Tb for most people will make it last for a long time. It is a hassle but economically speaking...it's way cheaper for most to buy a 128gb model and expand it to 1Tb than for most to get the 256/512gb models outright for now.
 

[v0id]

I got a few things on my wish list. I've had phones with some but not all the features I'd like in one package.

 

Screen: 6" w/ slim bezels (think Pixel 5)

Camera: Selfie holepunch, something small and inconspicuous for the rear (think Pixel 4a)

Storage: At least 256GB w/ microSD expansion

Connectivity: Wifi 6, Bluetooth 5.0, LTE/5G (as many bands as possible)

Build: Metal/aluminum (no glass back)

Headphone Jack: Yes

Wireless Charging: Yes

Audio: Front facing stereo speakers (think ROG phone)

Port: USB-C

Battery: REMOVEABLE 4000mAh Li-ion (graphene doesn't really exist mainstream yet)

IP: IP67 + MIL-SPEC 810G (can be done, LG did it)

OS: Android w/ at least 4 yrs support

 

Overall I'd place emphasis on build quality, antenna variety/strength, modularity (like no soldering USB-C port to mainboard), and battery efficiency. I consider a cell phone a tool above all else, nothing more and nothing less.

 

[EJMB]

On 2/26/2021 at 3:52 PM, v0id said:

I got a few things on my wish list. I've had phones with some but not all the features I'd like in one package.

 

Screen: 6" w/ slim bezels (think Pixel 5)

Camera: Selfie holepunch, something small and inconspicuous for the rear (think Pixel 4a)

Storage: At least 256GB w/ microSD expansion

Connectivity: Wifi 6, Bluetooth 5.0, LTE/5G (as many bands as possible)

Build: Metal/aluminum (no glass back)

Headphone Jack: Yes

Wireless Charging: Yes

Audio: Front facing stereo speakers (think ROG phone)

Port: USB-C

Battery: REMOVEABLE 4000mAh Li-ion (graphene doesn't really exist mainstream yet)

IP: IP67 + MIL-SPEC 810G (can be done, LG did it)

OS: Android w/ at least 4 yrs support

 

Overall I'd place emphasis on build quality, antenna variety/strength, modularity (like no soldering USB-C port to mainboard), and battery efficiency. I consider a cell phone a tool above all else, nothing more and nothing less.

 

I absolutely agree with everything except for probably the screen size, I use my phone as almost that "do-everything" device, would honestly want a 7 inch tall aspect ratio boxy screen with razor thin bezels and great edge detection (something similar to the Note line in terms of form factor, I'm biased I know haha)

It would be cool though if we could have phones made with Sapphire and Stainless Steel but I think it would drive the price way up though.