All these fancy cameras on premium smartphones and you still can't store the pictures and videos on an SD card or swap out your battery to take more if you run out of juice π₯°
this post was submitted on 25 Apr 2026
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The original Motorola Defy had it right when released, micro sc slot, decent camera for the time, rugged case you could literally unscrew with an allen wrench to fix the phone, removable battery, a size that actually fit in your pocket, sub $300 price iirc, and it was ip67 rated.
Don't tell me we CAN'T make that phone, Motorola did it in a cave in the 2010s with a bunch of scraps!
I think that some Oppo's have removable batteries, and I know EU law comes into effect in 2027 where all phones sold in the region, have to have removable batteries, also the batteries have to be accessible for years after the product leaves the market.
I don't think the X9 has a removable battery, and while it is easy to remove, you couldn't just swap it out for another, which is a pity, even though it has a large capacity.
Which is crazy, because if they want their phones to be professional photographers everyday camera, then they should act like photographers cameras.
As for SD cards, you can buy USB sticks that you can plug into your phone and transfer the photos that way, Or the same type of sticks with card readers.
Not the best options, but seemingly the only options for now.
Or an alternative option is Immich. Self host it and supply your own storage. But still requires network access to transfer, so if you're somewhere remote, not a great option.
I outright refuse to buy a phone without a headphone jack, removable storage, and ip rating. My current phone is an Xperia 5v and I am gonna hold onto that until I am forced out of it by destruction or loss I guess.
They make these little storage blocks you can attach to your phone as well
And I don't think every phone is required to have a removable battery, if they can prove it doesn't drop below 80% capacity over so many years or whatever. I think that takes Apple out of the requirement for example
There are not one, but two 200MP cameras here.
And from here:
Configurations start at... 512GB, going up to... 1TB of storage.
My guess is they, like everyone, is designing their products around cloud storage. That way they get free content to train massive AI systems. No hoarding of all that juicy privacy allowed!
I rather have a smaller camera bump and a worse camera. But itβs nice thereβs a choice for people who donβt agree.
I don't like so big camera bump but at least someone is trying, unlike Samsung who doesn't even update their lenses
Competition is always nice
I just wish they were not that big
Finding a phone anymore that actually fits in my pocket is a real challenge. I had a Motorola defy, Sony Xperia acro s, and an Xperia z5 compact and they were all just about right. My current Xperia 5v is honestly a little bigger than I like but it was the smallest option that had a good camera, removable storage, ip rating, and a headphone jack.
Or - and hear me out here - just making the case bigger and leaving room for things like a removable battery, a 3.5mm jack, etc is perfectly fine, as maybe a large razor blade is not the perfect form of the smartphone. Its a couple of mm.
I personally prefer thinner phones, as it makes it easier for me to reach every part of the screen and easier to put in my pockets. But it would be cool to see how such a phone would look.
I end up putting a case on to both protect the phone itself and the camera lenses, which just makes it thicker anyway.
I don't care about a glass back, or the color, or whatever. Everyone has a smartphone. I've had BlackBerrys, Treos, the OG Droid, etc, I don't see why anyone cares about that stuff, its not unique. Its just a phone. So for me, I'm buying it for its capabilities as a smartphone, the quality of the camera, and if I can use it throughout the day without it being dead or annoying to use.
The case on my phone has no impact on reaching anywhere since its just a couple of mm, but I also have larger hands so maybe it impacts others more. But I also haven't seen a phone that doesnt easily go in a pocket in a long time. Even the biggest iPhone these days is like under 9mm, the biggest not 'ruggedized' android I can think of is the pixel 10 folder, and thats under 11mm I think.
Would 4-5mm make that much of a difference to your pocketability? If the bump has to stay the same for optics in the camera (which yeah, it pretty much does), that thickness will be consistent. What's the difference of the rest of the phone being that depth?
I would also put a case on a thicker phone, making it thicker too. I do think that having the phone be 50% bigger would annoy me, but it has been a while since I tried. I am currently using an iphone 13 because I like small (and thin) phones.
Why not just buy a nice camera at that point?
Can't doom scroll on a camera
Maybe not on your sd card, I don't think that's universal anymore though. There's a whole lotta doom out there and in your focal lenght if you know where to look.
Because this is one device that fits easily in a pocket or purse. Most people want to have a nice camera on hand without having to lug around another big device.
I mean I guess... It still looks pretty large, and if I'm going to spend that much for a nice camera, I don't know if I'd just be throwing it in a pocket or purse with the massive lens unprotected
Compared to a real camera plus a cell phone? Not even close. And the lenses are behind scratch resistant glass.
As someone who bought a nice (19mp) camera because the iPhone and android they already have(48,50mp) have shit cameras....
I'm sending this from a trip where I only remembered one device.
Boy it'd be nice to always have a not shit camera.
Because the best camera is the one you have on you
Not an iphone fan but it's all that work will buy me. Just got a 17 pro max and I'm amazed with the camera. I think finally I no longer need to bring my full frame when hiking anymore. It's simply not worth the 2kg when my phone can pretty much do the same thing (except telephoto)
I'm with you on this one (and that is exactly what I did lol).
I want to divorce everything I can from my phone (might get a DAP too), I can't run GrapheneOS on that and phone security is more important to me than phone camera, my camera can be connected to Wifi and bluetooth but more importantly can not be if I want (while by nature the phone needs at least CDMA to "phone," and it's more realistic to never enable wireless on a Fujifilm than on a phone). Also fwiw there's something that just feels different about shooting on a mirrorless/DSLR than a phone, I don't think I can physically describe it though.
I will say this camera is probably fantastic and seems to have interchangeable lenses, but for my use case I'd still have to have my phone-phone and then my camera-phone so it'd still be two devices. I could see why it would be a preferred choice for some people though. Also if I'm carrying the phone+lenses, I'd still have to have a camera bag, and my camera fits in my camera bag already. Sure I'd be able to fit more in there too but idk it's not like I could be sans bags.
The periscope telephoto arms race peaked a while ago and now everyone is just iterating on the same idea. Oppo's Find X7 Ultra shipped dual periscope lenses and the photos look great in controlled demo conditions, but real-world low-light performance still lags behind what a Pixel or a proper camera produces. The smartphone race ended for most users the day phones became good enough, and now it's justεε trying to justify + price tags with spec sheets nobody asked for.
Still only a 1/1.12-inch sensor, which is smaller than the current x8 ultra.
Honestly I'd prefer they just made it a little thicker and stuck a Sony rx100 style collapsible zoom on it.
Assuming this is sold in the Mainland, the majority there love to flaunt their wealth using iPhones and MacBooks, but having an Oppo with a jacked up camera is another second best way to show off, especially if they're not into Apple anymore for geopolitical reasons.
I believe it will be available in Europe too