Downside to an upgrade

Phones used to be exciting. Now, each new model feels like the same idea rehashed over and over. Why isn’t fun part of the specs anymore?

- Christalle Fernandes

In Kazuo Ishiguro’s 2021 novel, Klara and the Sun, the humanoid robots refer to phones as “oblongs”.

Phones have been feeling very oblong-y and uninspiring lately. A Reddit user on the thread r/UnpopularOpinion commented: “I can’t believe we're all just roaming around with these flat bricks in our hands.”

A decade-and-a-half ago, everyone waited breathlessly for iPhone launches and the friendly fire that would ensue when Samsung tried to one-up their rival. When Samsung introduced curved screen displays in 2013, it felt like the future had arrived. No frill was left unfrilled: Phones came in limited-edition colours, camera upgrades really made a difference, we learnt to swipe-text, open a drawer of apps, use our face to unlock the home screen.