Smartphone and Cellphone Wars

[BratPAQ]

I think in the early days, they included the shutter sound simply as feedback since digital cameras didn't actually have a clunky shutter or a film advance motor which normally provides both haptic and audio feedback. It was added to digital cameras as an audio cue so that the user would know that the shutter was triggered successfully. I guess the feature stuck when phones started to inherit digital camera capabilities.

The shutter sound has now evolved to become a regulatory piece to afford a little bit more privacy. Regulatory compliance is regional and the feature to turn off the shutter sound is not specific for the PH. Though, I'll go out on a limb to say that our local laws don't have nor do they care for such policy, AFAIK. But because the variant sold in the PH is the "Global" version, the places this phone is marketed to likely included a country or countries that have "Anti-Secret Pervert" or equivalent privacy laws.

From research, I believe Japan and South Korea have camera shutter sounds enabled by law. The Global version of the S24 presumably included Japan as a target market so that's likely the reason it doesn't have a dedicated toggle switch.

I had a couple of Sony Xperia smartphones way back that allowed me to turn off the shutter sound. Though, one just needs to mute the System sounds to disable the shutter sound on the S24.

I remember having phones that has settings in camera to turn off shitter sounds, although I forgot what brands they were.

I can also turn off the shutter sound with my s23u by muting system sound. I just used tasker to turn off and back on the system sound on when using camera app.

Although I don't use my phone for upskirt pictures [emoji23]. I usually can't read menu board so I use my phone to zoom and take picture of the menu or sometimes when I don't want to take out my glasses just to read the price when buying utems. Mahirap na maoagkamalan pa ng mga feeling. [emoji23]

[BratPAQ]

This looks like a good spare phone or 2nd phone. Or maybe a phone for your senior parents.

Breaking: itel RS4 w/ MTK Helio G99 Ultimate is now official in the Philippines, launch price starts at PHP 4,699!

itel RS4 Specs

Display: 6.56-inch LCD (IPS) screen w/ 120Hz refresh rate, HD+ 1612 x 720 resolution at 269 ppi

CPU: 2.4GHz 6nm MediaTek Helio G99 Ultimate octa-core processor

GPU: Mali-G57 MC2

RAM: 8GB/12GB

ROM: 128GB/256GB

Back Camera: 50MP f/1.6 w/ PDAF + AI camera + LED flash

Selfie Camera: 8MP f/2.0 w/ LED Flash

Battery: 5,000mAh w/ 45W Hyper Charge w/ Bypass Charging

OS: Android 13 w/ itel OS 13.5

Connectivity: WiFi (2.4GHz/5GHz), 4G LTE, Bluetooth 5.2, GPS, dual SIM

Sensors: Accelerometer, proximity, sound

Others: Side-mounted fingerprint sensor, face unlock, stereo speakers, Z-axis linear motor, USB-C, Colors: Lurex Black, Silvery White, Elegant Beige

Dimensions: 163.54 x 76.04 x 8.55 mm

Weight: 198 g

Price: PHP 6,299 (8GB/128GB), PHP 7,499 (12GB/256GB)


Price and availability

itel RS4 8GB/128GB - PHP 6,299 (PHP 4,699 launch price)

itel RS4 12GB/256GB - PHP 7,499 (PHP 5,699 launch price)

[Verbl Kint]

Cellphone zooming is crazy good in 2024!

[Vodka]

should i upgrade to a 5g phone? parang sobrang limited ang 5g coverage dito sa amin

[oj88]

should i upgrade to a 5g phone? parang sobrang limited ang 5g coverage dito sa amin

Considering that they started selling 5G phones around 2020, I'm guessing that your phone is probably around 5 years old or older. By that measure, I would upgrade.

Even if you have spotty 5G where you live, it will just use LTE/4G. But when you get to an area with 5G, your phone will automatically use it.

[dr. d]

should i upgrade to a 5g phone? parang sobrang limited ang 5g coverage dito sa amin

my generic devil's advocate question is,
"what can it do that your current unit can not do?"

[Vodka]

Considering that they started selling 5G phones around 2020, I'm guessing that your phone is probably around 5 years old or older. By that measure, I would upgrade.

Even if you have spotty 5G where you live, it will just use LTE/4G. But when you get to an area with 5G, your phone will automatically use it.

i'm using a poco m5 which is a 2022 phone. i've been testing this low-end 5g phone lying around here. inside the local SM mall, no 5g. pero sa parking bldg rooftop meron

also no 5g at my house

i think i'll go ahead and buy the poco m6 pro. 4g only. amoled, OIS cam, in-screen fingerprint (i HATE power button fingerprint!)

my generic devil's advocate question is,
"what can it do that your current unit can not do?"

i still remember when GPRS was free but as more people used it, it slowed down too much. then the 3g phones came and life was good for a while, until it hit the same capacity limits. now 4g is hitting its limits...

[Dr.Kamiya]

5G AFAIK starts at about 24GHz and only goes up. Almost no penetration because it's super high frequency. You need to be in line of sight of a cell tower, or have a micro cell-site in the building.

[oj88]

5G AFAIK starts at about 24GHz and only goes up. Almost no penetration because it's super high frequency. You need to be in line of sight of a cell tower, or have a micro cell-site in the building.

That's just 5G mmWave. It can operate on lower frequencies and repurpose those used by 3G, and it does so with better efficiency (ie. more users for the same channel as 3G, higher data rates, etc.) so it performs on par or better than 3G on the same frequencies in terms of performance and signal coverage.

That's why in many parts of the world, 3G and older mobile generations are being phased out in favor of 4G+5G, and/or 5G-only systems. This has sparked controversies because many older critical systems still use 3G, like IoTs, and particularly the patient alerting and monitoring equipment used in the medical field, among others.

[oj88]

i'm using a poco m5 which is a 2022 phone. i've been testing this low-end 5g phone lying around here. inside the local SM mall, no 5g. pero sa parking bldg rooftop meron

also no 5g at my house

i think i'll go ahead and buy the poco m6 pro. 4g only. amoled, OIS cam, in-screen fingerprint (i HATE power button fingerprint!)

i still remember when GPRS was free but as more people used it, it slowed down too much. then the 3g phones came and life was good for a while, until it hit the same capacity limits. now 4g is hitting its limits...

I see two possible reasons your entry-level 5G phone isn't getting enough 5G coverage:

1. It has limited 5G channel support
2. The provider you're using has few 5G towers/equipment or the channels they're using is incompatible with your phone

To me, parang sayang lang if you upgrade to a non-5G phone in 2024. On my phone, I'm almost always on 5G (S24 Ultra) on Globe or DITO. This being a flagship and of the international variant, those facts seems to lend to its better global 5G support.

Check your phone against these channels for compatibility:

[papi smith]

makikisingit na lang po ng tanong, meron bang affordable phone na pwede lagyan ng esim? I was eyeing Samsung brand sana kaso ung lower end 5G nila na A53 hindi capable, out of budget na ang S series for me.

[oj88]

makikisingit na lang po ng tanong, meron bang affordable phone na pwede lagyan ng esim? I was eyeing Samsung brand sana kaso ung lower end 5G nila na A53 hindi capable, out of budget na ang S series for me.

Any specific brand you have in mind?

The Samsung Galaxy A55 5G supports eSIM (ie. Embedded-SIM).

[Vodka]

To me, parang sayang lang if you upgrade to a non-5G phone in 2024.

yeah that's exactly what i've been thinking at first....

[oj88]

yeah that's exactly what i've been thinking at first....

It does appear that the A55 5G is 80-90% compatible on all three networks on both 4G and 5G.

[Ry_Tower]

makikisingit na lang po ng tanong, meron bang affordable phone na pwede lagyan ng esim? I was eyeing Samsung brand sana kaso ung lower end 5G nila na A53 hindi capable, out of budget na ang S series for me.

Smart launched the Smart ZTE Blade A75 5G which is priced at P5,450. Yan ata pinakamurang 5G phone.

Bought the A55 5G for my wife pala kapalit ng S9+. Sulit na din for it's price. Laking improvements sa midrange phones.

[111prez]

pang fanbois ng bansang CHINA WUHAN VIRUS ...

[ice15]

RCS messaging on iOS 18 is still not available in PH | Yugatech

[111prez]

ito pa tungkol sa huawei ng bansang CHINA WUHAN VIRUS ...

[oj88]

Is anyone using Samsung SmartTags? How well do they work in the Philippines? Accuracy, dependability, etc.?

[Verbl Kint]

Is anyone using Samsung SmartTags? How well do they work in the Philippines? Accuracy, dependability, etc.?

Works fine. No issues.