@neil The new black slab is also 5mm bigger than the old one which already barely fit in your pocket. The last black slab that was somewhat comfortable to hold and carry around was made six years ago by a single company that insists on shipping their own slabOS (at least that one still gets security updates). Everyone else stopped 10+ years ago.

@neil Meh, expansions contract, then expand, until it all goes Big Crunch.

Could we do a LOT better in some areas, that are VITAL to our root infrastructure?

You bet.

@neil
👌

This comment is so good , it made me join this app.
Hello , I am super black slab developer , looking to fix black slab OS and hardware extensions for government credit paper.

OS is in beta in Dev , Need bigger PC and more noods , send more government debt notes .

Gold payment accepted , no upgrades , means black slab is rock next year.

Njoy and cheers

@neil I am thinking about dumping the 'smartphone' tech platform entirely. A simple base phone and a tablet with an OS of my choosing would suit better.

@neil Remembering that video of the guy in the Apple Store queue who didn't know which model he had in his pocket... 🙄

@neil I'm usin' a Sony Xperia 5III (Android 13). It's more than adequate, so I'm not plannin' to replace it, any time soon.

@neil COUNTERPOINT: when I bought my new black slab last year, I was able to get it in a very pretty colour and have added an even prettier case

@neil I have only the second smartphone in my life, and it's quite "old" now. I'll keep it until it breaks. Environment is an important point for me. For security, I use my fix line.
Perhaps, I wrote some too much about mining of rare earths? Or I'm fallen out of time?

@neil ah, I have fond memories of my Zaurus! I had the whole of Wikipedia on it on a CF card. It really was the future.

@neil

Of course, you could simply think about that BEFORE buying another black slab.

If you bought a Fairphone, for instance, you would have guaranteed updates for at least 5 years. From experience, much longer.

You also would be free from those megalomaniac tech corporations like Samsung, Apple, Google etc. And you could install a google-FREE Android like e/OS/ which supports the Fairphones out of the box and runs great on them.

And what's more, Fairphones are sustainable by design, from the sources of raw materials to the easy replacement of parts and batteries.

Instead of complaining, you could just act and not give your money to corporations who rip you off, steal your data, and live on planned obsolescence...

@neil yeah wife's Fairphone 3 has run out of security updates so time for me to upgrade and pass on my Fairphone 4 to her. The 3 can then be upgraded to E OS and then the kids won't need to borrow mine.

@neil and that is where buying a black slab that is compatible with an open-source non-corporate and non-enshittified OS like GrapheneOS pays dividends.

@neil 2026: I don't want a new black slab but the battery in my old black slab only lasts a few hours and it's not replaceable. All the new black slabs are the size of Wales. 😞

@neil fwiw, fairphone offers a five year warranty, eight years of software updates, and user-replaceable parts for most of the components

they're the one and only that does it, so the exception that proves your [very valid] complaint. i usually get no-overlay phones that are on some version of handset alliance / pure android / whatever, but those have only lasted three to four years because of security updates. alt OSes are nice, but they don't support corp/auth apps, so they're useless to me

@neil My similarly caused upgrade turned out to have a few things I did care about in the experience,

- phone gets less hot on video calls especially when also having to do them over cellular

- 90hz screen refresh causes less visual strain due to jerky motion, so I get fewer headaches from using it

- memory tagging catches app bugs, giving me reliable crashes instead of unreliable behaviors

- backlight is way more consistent across the screen

Unfortunately, upstream software quality has gone down (not graphene's fault, all google bugs!), and along with it battery life and reliability, but that was going to happen anyway.

If someone releases a (grapheneos compatible) model without pulse width modulation backlight, or even better that is eink, I'll be in line the first day!

@neil this was my primary reason for getting a fairphone

FWIW, I run @GrapheneOS on a Pixel.

This will be my third GrapheneOS device.

A genuinely excellent Android experience, with many years of support and security updates.

@neil I will soon have to update my pixel 6 (because of the security update running out).
I have already replaced the battery and the camera has a mark on the lens (not sure what)

5.5 years, maybe 6 makes me look like a sustainability here when compared to my friends and colleagues

I have the feeling though that the battery life is degrading way faster this time around. Not sure if it is due to enshitification of the OS with stuff I don't sure or something else

@neil 2017: you had to upgrade from a 32-bit iPhone.

Our family still uses an iPhone XR and an 11. Those will be obsolete soon, but dragging it out as long as possible.

@neil and it's £900

@neil

Yeah. I have zero enthusiasm for the point when my current phone is too old to support something I have to have - because of the time lost to setting up the next, because I'm sure the next will fail to run something I also like, and because so few of them have headphone sockets any more.

Advancement like this is more like deterioration.

This is, of course, a daft mentality.

The new black slab is an incredibly powerful computer, with an all-day battery life, a great camera, and functionality which connects me to a world of friends and knowledge, for less than £500.

It can also make and receive calls.