Android

A fucking headphone jack

HEADPHONE JACK.

GIVE ME THE GOD DAMN HEADPHONE JACK BACK

Apparently most of my requirements/desires fit this. I require an unlocked bootloader, because I need root to not throw my phone through a window. An amazing camera would be needed as well.

I REALLY, REALLY would like a removable battery, IR blaster, small form function, a headphone jack, and a rear fingerprint reader.

I miss having a notification LED. It used to be super common to have a "breathing" effect with a given color when an app had sent a notification.

So a Snapchat for example would show the breathing as yellow, etc. Super convenient to check for messages without going and grabbing the phone.

I'd like a phone with no camera facing me, and physical hardware switches to completely disable the mic, camera, battery, and entire modem. Not some software interrupt and lock. I mean, the switch is circuit ground for these circuit blocks. When I select OFF, it means real world "this thing does not exist any more ever" until I turn it back on.

It would be interesting to have a modular rear camera with a removable lens, removable IR filter, along with public documentation and the full API for the sensor. This would open up an enormous range of applications. I would mostly mess with astrophotography more.

I know some phones had already did this, but I always liked the idea of support for using your phone as a TV remote. The phone has replaced so many pieces of hardware that it feels silly that TV remotes haven't been replaced yet.

I also specifically wish Chrome supported extensions on mobile. Firefox does it. Why can't the biggest browser do it?

Headset jack and let me replace my damn battery. Also default option to uninstall non-OEM apps

An open bootloader and a removable battery.

Headphone socket. They are taking away what was a universal feature and replacing it with inconvenient crap.

I was looking into smaller form factor phones awhile back, and an interesting feature I noticed some of them had was a programmable button.

I don't know that programmable buttons on phones are that niche, but it's certainly not common either so far as I'm aware, so this super simple feature would be wicked imo. I'd also really like if more phones just stole Motorola's gesture interactions (e.g. quick twist for camera, firm double-shake for flashlight, etc.).

Also, uh...Speaking of small form factor phones, I don't know if that counts as a feature, but it's one detail I'd like to see come back, or flip phones with separate screens (clunky, sure, but better than the screen eventually creasing imo).

I miss the IR blaster. Being able to control my TV and other set-top boxes was amazing. Now that functionality has been replaced by each manufacturer having their own control app that needs an internet connection and all your information. Bring back the IR blaster!

There are some niche phones with a thermal camera, would love to see more of that. Thermal modules are getting smaller, cheaper and better all the time and the main producers like infiray or guide are offering modules that seem to be clearly targeted at the smartphone market.

I'm still discovering new uses for my thermal camera and I wish I could have it in my pocket all the time. The obvious uses are finding gaps in your house's thermal insulation or finding devices that draw a lot of standby energy. But you can also use it to find studs in your walls, find things that have recently been used, like cars in a parking lot or chairs in an office.

Whenever I buy a phone there's two function I look for that is getting phased out: LED indicator and a 3.5mm audio jack. It's why I have a Sony Xperia. The thing is there's no user configuration for the LED indicator. You either need to pay for a third party app or unlock the bootloader and install a custom firmware. I would love if a flagship phone had an LED Indicstor that was customizable. i.e. Blue for a text, Red for an email, Green for battery at 80%+, etc.

Slide out physical keyboard, notification LEDs or some form of cool lights, a dedicated camera shutter button, and a scroll wheel / touch pad like what used to be on the blackberry or like the LG KE970 I really liked that.

I really miss notification LED's though, always on display is good, but a little light is going to use far less battery and be immediately apparent from across the room by the colour what app the notification came from is.

edit : formatting

I want a Galaxy Fold style phone, but the external screen is eInk. Have it set to always show the book I am reading. This will let me read in bite sized pieces.

E-Ink would be nice, whether integrated as part of an OLED/LCD screen, or a separate module that goes over the top.

Most of the things that I use my phone for don't generally need the full colour display (text isn't that expensive to display), and I wouldn't mind trading that for vastly better battery life that you can get from e-ink, but having the option to use both is probably the best way to go.

An IR transceiver wouldn't go poorly either. It's not something I use much, but it was handy to have when I did, whether to send things around, or to just use my phone as a remote for televisions and things.

A microsd card slot and a headphone jack

I miss my IR blaster.

A phone without the actual phone part. Just SMS/MMS. Maybe a notification that someone tried to call

Late to the thread but here's my thoughts:

Hardware:

1. Standard features like a 3.5mm jack and MicroSD slot.
2. Multiple USB ports (especially on tablets)
3. Thunderbolt port
4. Here's a simple idea: Instead of making a thin phone with a massive camera bump, you make a thick phone with the camera flush with the back, and use the extra space for a bigger battery?
5. User-replacable battery
6. Modules like the modo mods
7. Battery passthrough when charging
8. Upgradable RAM, internal storage???

Software (here lies my hopes and dreams that will never be manifested):

1. Starting off simple, a feature that lets you manually limit how much you charge your battery.
2. Manual over/underclocking controls for the CPU
3. Separate WiFi/data toggles
4. More control over how big or small icons and text is
5. Easy root access with app makers not getting all "you sus" over the fact that your device is rooted
6. No data harvesting (duh)
7. Better file management (and removing scoped storage)
8. Multiple logins to a phone (like what you can do with a desktop)
9. One app, multiple accounts
10. Just having the software take less system resources.
11. Open sourcing hardware drivers
12. Multiple floating windows like with a desktop OS
13. More than 3 split screen options
14. I'm sure there's a lot more I can't think of now

An ir blaster, great as a universal remote

An OEM FM/AM transmitter. I would love to be able to playback music directly to any old ass car. Or even use it as a very short range walkie talkie with the right program.

OMG great question! I want:

• Laser range finder/"tape" measure
• Thermal camera
• Air quality sensor
• Radiation detector/Geiger counter
• Multimeter capabilities
• IR LED (so I can use it as a remote)
• Ultrasound capabilities
• Peltier so I can put a drink on my phone to chill it down 👍

Really would love a dedicated camera button that acts as a soft shutter release. Or a button in that position that's programmable.

Oh I forgot, a clamshell folding phone but with only one screen and the other side is a physical keyboard, like a mini-laptop.

Nobody seems really know how to do a folding screen well, so why have the screen fold at all?

• Removable battery
• Ambidextrous button placement
• Screws instead of glue where possible
• USB4 + desktop mode

More phones like the Fairphone/Framework Laptop. Easy to repair and upgrade in a modular manner, as well as install what ever OS I choose.

Niche feature....

By Apple's standards a headphone jack.

By Android's standards IR blaster. Had them in my last 2 phone and man is it nice to turn the volume down on a TV which is too loud in a public place like a Hotel Lobby or a Restaurant

A phone built somewhat like a desktop PC. All parts replaceable or even upgradable. Choose the components for your needs and budget, or buy a pre-built.
But let's get to more standard smartphone concept.
On software side, no bootloader locks, or easily unlockable bootloader (not requiring internet) and root access that could be enabled in developer settings.

On hardware side:
IR blaster - Control your AC, TV, etc.
Front-facing stereo speakers - could give a better stereo sound. And bezels aren't a big problem. Actually they can be positive as you can hold your phone better with them.
Headphone jack - Obvious. Would be cool if it had mode for composite output, but that's quite extra.
Dedicated fingerprint scanner on front - I had this on Moto G5s Plus. It allowed awesome gesture navigation, much better than using whatever on-screen.
Trackpoint - Early Androids used to have that. Would definitely be useful with large screens.
FM, HD Radio, DAB, DAB+, DVB-T2 Lite receiver - Radio is pretty useful. AM would also be nice, though you would need external antenna better than cable from earphones. I think FM radio is the minimum here.
TV Receiver - Just like with radio, except now you're saving much more on mobile data.
Camera with optical zoom - We've been there with Samsung in the past. But I understand it makes things too large and heavy.
Projector - We've been there with Samsung in the past, again. I think it was done pretty nicely on the projector part with Beam 2. It didn't even add much thickness. Just the rest of the phone was meh.

I want a phone with an ultrasonic fingerprint reader, those are apparently a niche feature nowadays. The optical readers are terrible by comparison.

I want a phone small enough to fit in my pocket with the pocket flap buttoned shut

I miss my keyboards

Something interesting. Like 2 USB-C ports, also a nice hard plastic back, since they are so hard to find now.

I will never buy a phone that doesn't have GrapheneOS, so that limits me to Pixels.

It's the rear fingerprint reader for me, I use the pulldown action constantly. That and stereo front-facing speakers.

IR Blaster, Headphonejack, SD Card Slot, removable battery

Ability to use the screen as a display through the USB port so I can debug a lot of my systems at home without needing to carry a monitor around.

A full physical QWERTY keypad on my 3rd hand Blackberry Bold (in 2013) was the best thing I had seen on a cell phone. I wish full physical QWERTY keyboards would make a comeback.