I want to talk not about a specific mobile phone brand, nor the entire mobile phone industry, but just discuss some topics related to mobile phones based on my own observations. In other words, this is just my rant and complaint.
Product Launch Events#
Many people feel that domestic mobile phone launch events are becoming more and more boring. On one hand, this is because the products from different brands are not significantly different. The hardware configurations are similar, and if one brand has a certain system function that users like, other brands will immediately follow suit. On the other hand, there are too many things said at these events that people don't understand. It takes a lot of time to talk about specifications, and the actual hands-on experience is just average. Especially now, most domestic manufacturers are adopting the strategy of releasing new phones almost every month, sometimes just for a collaboration or a change in color, but still holding a launch event. The frequency of phone releases is quite high, but the optimization and polishing of the system seem to be less focused, especially in terms of "camera". I remember a few years ago when there were various high pixel cameras, starting with 100 million pixels, which became a slogan and selling point. Now it's all about large sensors and various collaborations. The camera part of the phone is getting thicker, which leads to an increase in the overall weight of the phone, affecting both the feel and the appearance.
In my personal opinion, although domestic manufacturers are indeed putting a lot of effort into hardware, they have not fully utilized its potential. Instead of spending money on certifications and collaborations, it would be better to focus on optimizing their own camera algorithms. On the other hand, if they don't do all these fancy things, consumers may not feel satisfied and may think that the products are overpriced. The camera algorithm is something that consumers can only perceive after they have the phone in their hands. Considering that most people may not know how to use the phone's camera and only use a few lenses on auto mode (like me), it is difficult to see immediate results from optimizing the algorithm.
The same goes for phone specifications. Instead of talking about so many specifications, it would be better to demonstrate them live at the event. But now, launch events don't like to do live demonstrations anymore. I don't know if they are afraid of failure or what, but the competition in the domestic mobile phone industry is quite fierce. If you fall behind even a little, your market share will be taken by others.
Here's a recommended video: 10 Key Words in Mobile Phone Advertising! Which ones are tricks? It will give you a simple understanding of the marketing gimmicks used by manufacturers.
Of course, besides the criticisms I mentioned above, domestic launch events also have their merits. For example, I find the copywriting that skirts the edge of advertising regulations quite interesting. "Computational optics that breaks through physical boundaries," "the world's first and only dual turbofan supercharged liquid cooling system," "high-precision tungsten steel ball-shaped blade precision cutting," etc. Each one is more exaggerated than the last, claiming to be far ahead of the competition. It's as if there are no advertising regulations in China.
Mobile Phone Enthusiast Community#
I have always thought that having a mobile phone enthusiast community is a normal thing. People who use the same brand of phones gather together to exchange their experiences, share tips and tricks, and discuss various aspects of using the phones. This is a great thing. However, in today's mobile phone enthusiast community, there are not many discussions, but there is a lot of verbal abuse. Whenever someone mentions Huawei, they are called "low IQ phones." Whenever someone mentions Xiaomi, they are called "cheap phones." Whenever someone mentions other brands, they are called "overpriced low-spec phones." Whenever someone mentions Apple, they are called "high-class users." These inherent biases are becoming more and more intense, and I have yet to see a normal and decent mobile phone enthusiast community in China. I find this somewhat ironic. We clearly have a huge user base of smartphones, but it is difficult to find a corresponding forum or community.
I remember watching a YouTube video about Android phone app recommendations, and the blogger shared about shizuku and lspatch, which can increase the playability of non-rooted phones through authorized apps and built-in modules. I wanted to find some related tutorials to try them out. I searched on search engines, but the results were either about basic app installation for beginners or app recommendations for shizuku and lspatch. In the end, I found a tutorial shared by a respected user on the Coolapk community. I don't really like Coolapk because it has a lot of ads, no web version, and sharing content is inconvenient. But when it comes to finding a place where many users share their experiences and knowledge about phone customization, it seems that Coolapk is the only option in China. Even after searching on search engines for a while, I still end up back on Coolapk.
I can browse foreign communities like Reddit and XDA, but the environment is different. Many local ROMs have been heavily modified, and the Android ecosystem is quite different. The problems they encounter are also quite specific, so many of their issues are not applicable to me.
Rooting Phones#
- What is rooting a phone?
Rooting a phone is like having administrator access to a computer. If we "root" our phone, we can have complete control over the phone's operating system. We can freely modify and customize the phone's software, features, and settings, such as removing pre-installed apps, changing system settings, and installing custom ROMs.
The most mentioned reasons for rooting a phone on Coolapk are:
- I want to install modules and remove system ads.
- I want to increase the playability of my phone.
- I want to prevent intrusive apps from stealing my privacy.
- I want to switch to a different operating system.
After rooting your phone, you can solve all these problems. I remember being annoyed by the ads in the pre-installed weather app on my phone, so I uninstalled it and replaced it with an open-source ad-free weather app. In addition, after rooting your phone, you have many good applications to choose from, such as storage space isolation, Thanox, Scene5, Magisk (and Magisk Delta), and more. Besides these individual applications, you can also find many open-source modules that can be used with Xposed, which is really enjoyable.
For more information, you can read these two articles: "Learn to Root and Make Your Android Faster and Stronger" (Part 1) | (Part 2)
- Why has rooting become difficult?
In fact, the topic of rooting phones has gradually faded from people's attention. On one hand, manufacturers are constantly tightening restrictions on rooting. On the other hand, manufacturers have put effort into providing more functional features in their systems, reducing the desire for people to root their phones.
Rooting itself carries certain risks. If not done properly, the phone may become unusable, and most people find it difficult to solve this "bricking" problem. Official after-sales services do not provide warranty for rooted phones.
Furthermore, some apps detect whether your phone is rooted or not, such as various banking apps, payment apps, games, music apps, and even some system update services and app stores from certain manufacturers. Once they detect root access on your phone, these apps will not work properly or even stop providing services. This creates a challenge because after rooting your phone, you need to spend time hiding the root, which is not an easy task.
- My Complaint
It's funny how users spend money to buy a phone but cannot use it according to their own preferences. They are even discouraged from doing so in every possible way. Yes, rooting a phone does carry certain risks, and it is understandable to set some barriers, but everything has a limit. Shouldn't users have some choices when it comes to using their own phones? This is something I find hard to understand. If I can't use my phone according to my own preferences, then what's the difference between owning it and renting it? I don't think there's much difference.
In discussions about rooting phones, I have seen many people say that it is very unsafe to root a phone and that not rooting it is for the sake of phone security. I believe that security depends on whether the user is aware of what they are doing. As long as the operation is done properly, it is possible to use a rooted phone safely.
With great power comes great responsibility. When you want to have root access, you have to take responsibility for the consequences of your actions. At the same time, I hope that phone manufacturers can give users some rights to choose while considering security. Phone enthusiasts will not disappear, so it's better to facilitate positive interactions for both sides.
Conclusion#
Although I have written over two thousand words, I have mainly described these things from a user's perspective. I have not analyzed the complex relationships behind them, I do not have a comprehensive view of the overall situation, and I do not have authoritative data and reports. I'm just expressing some of my dissatisfaction and doubts. If you expect more, I think it would be difficult for me to write it.
In the end, I am just a user expressing my frustrations and questions. More professional matters should be left to more professional people.