So I'll admit I've never been a cellphone guy, and usually bought the cheap stuff or basically "inherited" it from either my mother or my younger brother when they moved to a new one. Recently, though, I decided to shell out a bit of that hard fought job money and buy a cellphone with all the whistles and bells that have become common since the first iPhone released back ten years ago - a "smartphone", if you will.

And what I found out was disgusting.

First of all, the operational system and the applications had to "update" themselves a couple of times after I charged it the first time. Hours later, I found out the smartphone was packed with a huge number of useless applications which you basically can't uninstall unless you root the smartphone first. Remember back when MS was heavily criticized because of Internet Explorer and so? This feels like ten times worse.

That's not all, of course: I go check the internal memory... and find out half of it was already filled by an OS and apps as huge as a desktop Windows 10 install. Every couple of days, I notice suddenly the cellphone runs slower and starts to lag: more updates in the background being carried for my "convenience", including the ones I never used and deemed useless from the get-go.

Also, somehow the data storage points out those apps are saving dozens and even over a hundred MB each of "cache" and personal data... from somewhere. I try to clean it up - the data comes back in a few instants afterwards. It's useless unless you manually block each of them and that doesn't uninstall them, merely hides them and keeps them from updating, it seems.

Not to mention the security and privacy concerns, with the keyboard app logging and saving the words you use for God-knows-exactly-what purpose. The site of the keyboard app developer mention they are "good guys" and would never ever use that data unless you explicitly authorize them. Right. The same goes for Whatsapp and the Facebook Messenger.

Look, I'll put it on simple terms: privacy is a modern invention, since back when we lived on small tribes or villages, everybody knew everybody's lives. But one thing is to be known by the people you know in turn, instead of some faceless stranger with unknown purposes. Most animals feel uncomfortable when started or spied from afar. There is probably a good reason why such instinct exists.

Of course, you might be naive enough to believe it's all being done to your convenience and nothing else. But do consider that you certainly believe there are plenty of bastards and shady people in the government, on those gaming or oil corporations you dislike, roaming around the streets, even in your family sometimes. To think the same doesn't go for the Silicon Valley or MS or Samsung feels more like an irrational belief than it is to suspect their intentions.

Not to mention, finally, that people often swap these smartphones around every two years or so, and do I wonder about the destination of those mountains of garbage plastic and cheap electronics.

TL, DR: the smartphone market is based on 1) planned obsolescence; 2) breach of privacy and personal data; 3) near-monopolies; 4) gimmicks and other feature creep intended to catch more guileless consumers, or force the old ones to update.

I guess next time around I'll go for one of those featureless retro cellphones. At the very least some clients won't pester me anymore on WhatsApp.

As usual you miss the point and act like the brainwashed consumer they would prefee

I hate them mostly for that other reason - size.
Back in days phones got so small you could put them in watch pocket in jeans...I loved that...then smartphones became a thing, I resisted them for quite some time, eventually caving in.
I've been waiting patiently for years (ever since I saw some prototypes, around 2010 IIRC) for rollout phones that are small, yet have rollout screens that makes them portable tablets for media usage.

In your rant you forgot to mention which smartphone model you bought (how much RAM, how much flash memory).

Had a OnePlus One, went back to a feature phone (an Alcatel flip phone, not the most sophisticated thing but I already had it as bacjup phone).

I miss nothing. No immediate pestering, no constant urge to look things up, improved navigational skills (if you can't use Google Maps for everything, you'll learn how to navigate around), no loss of concentration.

If people want to reach me, they can call and text me. There is no other messaging platform that is necessary so I don't care about anything else.

errrr..... ok.

Yeah, smartphones are awful. But they're not likely to go away, unfortunately.

What immediate pestering? You can freely choose the apps you want to use and notifications are optional.

Your constant urge to look things up seems to be a personal problem. The device is only a tool that allows you to look things up, it doesn't enforce that behavior.

You aren't forced to use Google Maps for every trip. Of course you can plan the route and memorize it in advance. Or drive in the general direction and follow the street signs. But it is great to have a navigational device with you as a safety net in case you get lost... in the past you had a few maps with you or had to annoy other people asking for directions.

And why do you lose concentration by carrying a smartphone?

It is also a bit egocentric that you decide which are proper ways of communications between you and your friends/colleagues/family. So the rest of the people has adapt to you. It is much easier to write something in a group chat where every participant can read it than to write every recipient a separate text message. Or to set up a group date with the Doodle app. Again, it is your choice which apps you use or don't use, but don't be disappointed if you are left out now and then.

It's easy to see the smartphone as just a tool, but many people (myself included) of course used it's many capabilities. A smartphone invites to be more connected and having the internet at your fingertips at all times isn't good for your study habbits.

For me, simply not having it is the best motivator for losing some bad habbits. And as a phone, a feature phone will always be a vastly superior choice to a smartphone.

About a year and a half ago, I decided to finally buy my first smartphone after avoiding it for years. My old phone still had a keyboard so I had no problems texting and it lasted about at least a week per charge (could last 10 days). I bought the iPhone 7 plus which had just released and have regretted it ever since. First of all I don’t dislike apple. I owned a 12" macbook and 10.5" ipad pro, and only sold them for 12.9" ipad pro and to curb the cost of an imac pro. I also own acessories like the apple pencil and three pairs of airpods (one broke). Now back to the reason I despise the smartphone. I am still paying $100/month between data and the phone’s remaining balance for nothing in return. I literally get no use out of it because it’s an inferior ipad in every way. Even if I had no iPad, the idea of watching video or web surfing on such a tiny screen is comical to me. It runs out of battery every couple days even still at 94% original capacity and background refresh off. There are apps I want to delete, but can’t and I have no use for them. I will never see worth in this device or any iPhone because they sit in a wierd spot without any use. All hype and zero productivity. I just want a phone for calls/text. The only benefit is I now have a decent GPS at all times, but I rarely need a GPS and even then I already had a GPS standalone that I would pull out for such occassions. So I wasted my money and this phone also wastes my time with its poor battery and more complex os.