Always had a cheap desktop computer and never thought a phone was worth it. Is there a reason people like me should reconsider?
It generally does everything your desktop computer does, but you can do it while you’re on the shitter.
I’m not even kidding.
This. It’s basically a pocket PC. It’s useful for all the reasons a computer is, but it’s more portable than a laptop.
Navigating the web sucks in comparison though
Well, if you think that a cheap desktop computer is enough, think of phones as a portable desktop in your pockets powered by a battery.
Plus, with the right combination of applications (more preferably, a few, and some with no active internet permission at all) and power settings tweaked both for better battery mileage and longer, more focused on-the-go sessions (e.g. editing documents, playing that one dungeon crawler roguelike, and planning important events, etc.) you could count on it more.
This is really the only answer. If you think being able to put your your desktop in your pocket and use it anywhere would be useful, then you’d probably find a smartphone useful.
Convenient distraction
So many uses. They are a convenience and not really necessary when I really drill down into it, but the convenience factor is significant.
Maps and navigation. I can change plans on the fly and still confidently navigate cities I have never been to before, with a good estimate of when I will get somewhere. Could I plan from home or use paper maps/atlases? Sure, but a smartphone is way easier and more flexible.
Communication. It simplifies keeping in touch with people and maintaining relationships. Could I call them from my home landline once a month? Sure, but a smartphone allows me to send them a quick text or a dumb meme anytime from anywhere. Smaller, more frequent communication to supplement the less frequent larger effort helps a lot with relationship maintenance.
Having a computer in my pocket any time I am away from home and my home PC.
People who eschew basic modern technology are weird. It’s just a fact. Could I move to a remote mountain cabin and throw out all electronics and let my inner, introverted, weirdo quirks run rampant? Sure. But I don’t really want that. I want to have friends and to be generally well thought of by my community. I want people to text me to invite me to go out. I want to pull up the latest artist I’m excited about to share with someone when we’re out and about. Smartphones are so ubiquitous, it is a radical statement not to have one and I simply don’t want to be a radical.
Now that I think about it, instantaneous access to information from anywhere with an internet connection is a big one for me.
I can do spreadsheets lying down
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Google Lens is definitely a real lifesaver when you want to instantly translate the menus.
I haven’t owned a desktop or laptop in years.
I always have my phone, it just does everything for me.
No. Do what works for you.
The more sensors the better. I want a motherfucking tricorder.
Portable web browser to read books on. That’s all I use mine for, except for the occasional text message / phone call. I got by fine for a long while with just my laptop, but reading on my phone is just a lot more convenient in a lot of cases. Like when you’re walking, or running, or standing, or laying down. It’s a pain in the ass to read from a laptop while walking, I’ve almost dropped the poor thing too many times to count.
It connects my laptop to the internet when I’m away from home.
A phone can’t replace a computer unless you put Linux on it and connect a monitor and keyboard. Even then, it will perform like a 15 year old computer.
For 95+% of people, literally everything they would use a computer for personally can be done with a phone. Phones are also replacing a bunch of stuff in various job related fields. Why have a static computer with a barcode scanner when you can just mount a scanner to a phone and have it portable? Why have a giant beefy cash register when you can trivially swipe a card and accept contactless payments on a phone instead? They even print paper receipts with some of them, if you want one.
There are MANY different kinds of devices, and each offer their own unique blend of functionality. The hardest to replace seems to be the phone part - calling emergency services or receiving a text using a laptop might be possible, but takes some setup and just is not quite the same as being able to whip out your phone and already be in a call one or two seconds later. Conversely, neither iOS nor Android are even attempting to replace actual desktop/laptop-like operating systems, and while using a tablet as a keyboard may be possible, nothing beats a true keyboard and mouse setup; although that said, a smart device (either phone or tablet) with a broadband data connection can offer a WiFi hotspot to a laptop, thus significantly enhancing its’ capabilities still further. Even some places that offer you WiFi may be super slow, unreliable, and/or do things like change the access code every hour or so, making it more convenient to simply provide your own - plus that’s a bit safer too (which would you rather use: a public toilet, or your own at home?).
Having a printout (even if PDF) of a bus or train schedule isn’t nearly as convenient as being able to connect with an app to live updates - like “it should have been here an hour ago, what happened, do I just wait further?”, plus allows quick deviations like “am I so certain that this (other) route even runs on Thursdays?”. Even dumbphones with a data plan could access the Internet, but apps are much more convenient, thus useful for things you do often.
Then again, some of that you could replace with a broadband connection on a laptop. What the smartphone provides is a nice bundle of features that, while each one could be replaced individually, is thought of by most people in the developed world to be often highly useful. Though ymmv - e g. people with addictive tendencies might rather prefer the barrier of having to pull out a larger device such as a laptop or tablet than to have immediate access to everything with a smartphone readily pulled from a pocket; and people who have a desktop at both work and home may want to get by with just a dumbphone for calls and texts.
Funny story: some dentist offices refuse to take patients who do not consent to receive texts and respond with confirmation of the appointment an hour or so before - they apparently were burned so often by people who made appointments but never showed that now everyone has to jump through those additional hoops, and they get enough patients that acquiesce that they can turn away everyone who does not. But if YOUR dentist does not do that, then your need for a device capable of sending and receiving text messages is lesser compared to those who do. It still is worth noting though how common it is to have such devices - most responsible citizens have at the very least a mobile phone, though not all!:-P - and your access to services in public spaces increasingly depends on such, so especially in cities, though they have significant uses even in rural areas as well. And yet if you don’t use public transportation, always drive the same roads (or have a dedicated device for GPS, if you need that), and haven’t found the need yet for apps, that’s fine too? You apparently don’t need them while moving about, though they can offer great convenience - enough even to replace a laptop entirely, if you have quick access to desktops.
While true, this is all quite US-centric, archaic even. The reality has gone much further in the rest of the world, and especially in the non-“developed” world you speak of, where all but nobody has “quick access to desktops”.
The reality is that the smartphone is a computer to most of the world’s people, and at this point many of those billions of poor people are completely dependent on their Androids and in fact doing more on them than the average American ever did on a desktop PC.
If you’re satisfied with what you have, by all means stick with it.
If your current setup is stopping you from doing something you want to do, or is holding you back from progress in something you care about, look around for solutions. Many other pieces of tech can fill in what a smartphone does, but in separate pieces. I think there is some value in having those separate pieces.
Like a smoker telling you not to smoke, I encourage you to find alternatives to the smart phone for daily life while typing to you from a smartphone.
My smartphone is mega useful to me:
- Step tracking. I can see trends in how much physical activity I’m getting
- Alarm clock
- Reminders and lists. I use features like “Remind me at 7 pm that I need to do X” many times per day
- Google maps and especially transit directions are incredible. Being able to download offline maps is great too for when I’m traveling
- Ultra high resolution camera in my pocket
- Google’s been great for the last 20 years. Now GPT-4 is my go-to when I have a quejaron about anything
- Being able to call people is handy
