I have decided to write this post following issues I have had along with what others have experienced with the newer smartphones currently using an S23 Ultra 512gb. In order of priority I would say functionality wise, Wireless Connectivity, Phone and/or App Stability, Battery Life and Web functionality e.g dead links freezing etc. A range of issues affect different users in different ways so consistency across users is always going to vary due to the many factors that can play a role and rarely due to the actual device itself
I am primarily a PC geek and have built, upgraded and repaired more PCs than I care to remember and have a lot of experience writing code, building and using a variety of software over many years so I am not a stranger to Tech but when it comes to phones they are a different beast altogether mainly due to the micro size of components and the lack of easily interchangeable components. However phones are basically a miniturised hand held PC
Wireless Performance
I along with others have experienced many connectivity problems in all wireless functions whether it be Mobile signal, WiFi, Bluetooth or NFC etc. Which seem to come and go and are not predictable I e sometimes they work flawlessly yet others the phone refuses to connect or just drops its connection for no apparent reason. I have pondered on this many times as I tirelessly get frustrated and try to find a solution. I first thought it may be firmware or Network hardware or maybe the antenna. I would rank maintaining reliable connections as the most significant issue
I think I am able to rule out the antenna as when there are issues signal strength is usually fine and I go to a caravan regularly in an area with virtually no phone masts nearby but my phone manages to connect much better than other devices such as 4g routers (with external antenna) or other phones etc
Re Firmware or Network chip etc I think they have a role to play in issues more so the firmware. This is with badly written firmware or badly written or misbehaving apps which can cause crashes and other unexpected or unusual behaviour due to conflicts
Phone/App Stability
This can include unexpected restarts sudden glitches e.g flickering screen and unusual behaviour, dead links, Connectivity Loss, Phone re-optimising/repairing apps and other as hoc errors
I think it's easy to blame hardware problems but due to the way the errors occur I think it's more related to firmware and software issues and also something I have not been considering is apps behaviour i.e background activity the stuff you don't know is going on in the background. I think the app developers as well as software developers write their apps to maximise the benefits to the owners, the worst offenders being the free stuff where their income is generated by gathering meta data and selling ads etc.
I have noticed in some games etc the app takes control of functions in your phone such as disabling functions like your ability to close an ad, filling your screen and blocking access to other buttons to try to force you to watch the full ad. This type of behaviour is bound to cause issues from time to time i.e cause unexpected conflicts with the phones firmware or other apps that rely on or try to control functions that have been disabled by another app etc
Also and more significantly, background activity e.g data gathering, monitoring user behaviour and files etc or more precisely monitoring and gathering meta data that can be sold or used to sell you stuff etc as the app developers may not have taken thorough account of what the firmware is doing and firmware developers may not account for everything the apps are doing so clashes and crashes will not be unusual and will not usually be deu to the app or the firmware or even the hardware but more due to what happens when they are running certain functions at the same time i.e there may be nothing wrong with the app, firmware or hardware but issue can happen when the work together
I would rate the worst offenders as being social media apps and free ad driven games and apps. For example when I last checked my battery usage thie highest usage was Instagram but I very rarely open the app but it still uses a lot of data and power in the background
Battery Usage
I think there are many obvious things that influence battery life such as screen brightness, poor network signal and notifications etc but I think a lot of power gets used by things that are happening in the background some which you can control and some which you can't.
I also noticed a change in battery life, phone glitches and unusual behaviour when apps have updated in the background, usually system apps as other apps generally only get updated manually by the user
So in summary, I think we often blame the phone or device and I do accept that any device has limitations. but mostly it is not the actual device that is responsible for errors and glitches etc.
I think the elephant in the room is app behaviour and background activity which I believe are the culprits for the majority of problems. This is because they are all developed by a wide variety of developers which makes it very difficult for everyone developing firmware and software to account for everyone else's code and styles etc and can explain why updates can often fix some issues but cause new issues and of course why it can take so long to get to a point where everything runs smoothly. Usually perfection is obtained right around the time your ready to upgrade 😁
Solution
I think the solution would be for the Hardware, Firmware, Software, App developers to establish a closer working relationship, establishing common conventions and best practice. However I think this is wishful thinking as individual and corporate interests will prevent this from happening for obvious reasons i.e there will be a lot of info and practices etc that can't be shared
Those are just some of my thoughts, hope you find them interesting but feel free to correct me or share your experience or theories
