How can a smartphone design really stand out?

Surely the single positive thing about the Note 7 debacle was the work Samsung did to pinpoint the cause? And some makers can do better even with existing battery chemistry: My personal phone is a grey import, a Xiaomi Redmi Note 4X, and that has a 4,100 mAh battery, and for me – as a very light user – that can see me through five days. But what I really want is a battery that would see a heavy user through a week, and me through a month….

Samsung sold a phone with a design fault and replacements had the same problem, so the phone was withdrawn. Other companies have had problems with batteries overheating. Rather than rushing products on to the market they should be properly tested.

The alternative to batteries that last for a decent length of time is to make it easy to pop in a fresh one.

It appears, from what I read, that the fault was in the design of the battery.

I see no compelling reason not to make battery replacement simple in phones and computers. I’ve a 12 year old phone that works fine, on its second battery. Sourced and replaced by myself – just slide the back off.

I agree. My phone has a job to do and I’m happy if it does that satisfactorily. I don’t need more gimmicks, nor do I mind if it looks just like anyone else’s. Peer pressure was left behind a long time ago.

I keep it in a leather case and often stick it in one of the leg pockets in cargo/trecking trousers – very useful these days when jackets are worn less frequently.

Given recent design convergence, all smartphones are really either iphones or unbranded counterfeit iphones.

But functional characteristics may influence customer choices, e.g.

What is the quality of the photos and videos?

Can I plug in my favourite headphones?

Will it take a memory card?

Is the battery easy to replace?

If damaged, is the screen easy to replace?

As a surrogate PC, is it fast enough?

How much does it cost to hire or buy?

I agree with Derek. Consumers have shown that looks are generally unimportant and the manufacturers should concentrate on functionality and value. The “crowded marketplace” is a problem of the manufacturers’ own devising, it’s not what consumers want or need. At the end of the day it’s just a phone with more or less standard features, not a hat for a royal wedding. Consumers should not be encouraged to gratify the brand-builders leading to built-in obsolescence; it’s where things have gone wrong for consumers in so many other product areas. Which? should take note!

Some people, it seems to me, always want to be seen with the latest gadget. This feeds the phone industry. So I put the responsibility substantially on the customers; if they didn’t buy a new phone every time it came out, the market would not produce them.

I owned a Mini in the 1960s and was pleased to have it. It had a heater, but little else – no radio even. My car now has lots of extra features in addition to the basic necessities and I’m pleased to have them. But I still like driving my 24 year old Espace and would use it for long journeys still if I had to. Of course newer products have more features and offer more convenience; part of their evolution. Our expectations rise accordingly. But we’d survive quite well without them.

I think Which? can extol the more trivial virtues of new products too strongly rather than informing us properly on their basic attributes – repairability, durability, true value for money; for those with limited disposable income far more important, I’d suggest.

Yes, when you look at the annual cost of consumer communication today, including line rental, broadband, mobile phone [rental or repayments] and tariffs it’s quite staggering. No wonder young people are struggling to put shoes on their feet and their feet on the first rung of the housing ladder. OK, there are savings on paper and postage, photographic film and processing, and possibly on alternative resources, but I think we ought to stand back from time to time and take stock; do we need all this, and could it be cheaper and longer-lasting? Lead us not into temptation; thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s smartphone.