I’ve found the overall performance to be more consistent/better. The “better” part is a bit moot as every time I buy a new phone, the performance should be better than the last one just because it’s newer technology.

And while there are a lot of things I don’t like, core performance kind of overshadows any other issues I have or features I’m missing out on. Perhaps I should have said “better for my needs” instead of “better product.”

Yeah, obviously hyperbole, but there is a kind of console fanboy-ism around smartphones which is honestly bizarre.

And while I’d rather Apple not be so shitty about proprietary everything, it’s also not the end of the world.

I’ve owned flagship androids and iphones. I like my iPhone better, sorry. If other companies want to make a better product, I’ll switch back again. It’s not really about the exclusivity/walled garden nonsense.

It is crazy that it has become this much of a problem and it feels like it is on almost no one’s radar. Is this even reversible at this point? I assume not, but that it can definitely get worse.

Some people would have laughed you out of the room. A lot of people, myself included, warned that this was the kind of shit we’d spiral into with these microtransactions. It was basically confirmed within a year or two with the absolutely insane amount of money mobile gaming was seeing where the base product was just addictive crap with as many microtransactions shoveled in as possible. These games just completely blew the revenue of actual AAA titles would out of the water. It was basically inevitable and we’re now in a situation where we’ve got a generation of consumers raised on this trash.