Hey iQOO Fans!

From the likes of the iconic Nokia 3310 of the early 2000s to the latest iQOO11of 2023, smartphones sure have come a long way. Everything has changed in the last decade or so, and smartphones have evolved at a breakneck pace.

Everything like performance, experience, software, designs, features, and so on has all changed. While evolution does a lot of good by offering new features and abilities, it also comes at the cost of getting rid of many other features in addition to what the majority of their users may love. We as users have moved on too, but time and again, we so wish for certain features to blast away from the past!

This got me thinking: Let's make a growing list of features we miss, shall we? Here's what I've come up with:

3.5mm Audio Jack

A headphone jack isn't the only way you can listen to music. Wireless headphones are available and work well for the majority of people. But the problem is that they don't work well for all people. Audiophiles probably aren't too keen on being unable to listen to high-bitrate files, and there's no shortage of reasons why you wouldn't want to deal with the added hassles of wireless technology. Plus, it relieves us of the worry of charging yet another gadget.

Removable batteries

It was once common to be unable to replace the battery on your phone on your own. The set's removable nature allowed us to easily switch from a drained battery to a fully charged one if necessary, or simply replace a damaged battery with a new one. I recall doing that with my Micromax phone-having an additional battery or two. This was such a lifesaver on more than a dozen occasions, and there are tonnes of users who miss it.

However, you can no longer find any sets with this removable battery option. The permanently installed battery is not possible to replace on your own in case of any damage. We must rely on the service centre for that drill, and it takes time to replace it.

However, because of the non-removable batteries, we were able to create phones with rapidly and wirelessly charging batteries, as well as phones that were waterproof and slimmer in shape.

QWERTY Keyboard

The physical QWERTY keyboard is one of the best things about a cell phone. You certainly didn't want to look at the phone while typing once you'd mastered this keypad. The user-friendly nature of this keypad is undeniable, and I was an expert while using the Nokia X2-01.

You can still find smartphones with a physical QWERTY keypad, like the BlackBerry Keyone. But the fast-changing world of technology is making it very hard to give us the proper user-friendly experience that we used to get in the past.

The present digital keypads are also very good for typing, but they are not that fast if you compare them with the physical ones. And it eventually gets slower after using the phone for a short period of time. And it is not as error-free while typing as the old one.

Dedicated micro-SD slot

The micro-SD was vulnerable to the risks of viruses, data corruption, physical damages, etc. But there are many occasions where we land in this situation where one doesn't have access to high-speed Internet on two SIM cards and has a pressing need to back up data to make space for more that will be generated, perhaps on a vacation or a trip.

In the olden days, when we started carrying more data on our smartphones and manufacturers gave us the ability to supplement the internal storage by popping in a cheap microSD card.

Pre-installed games 

There is no room for argument that mobile gaming is on a whole other level nowadays. Many games are now available for download from the Internet.But most of the time, you need to pay to play the games. And the current games take a lot of space and internet to play and perform.

On the other hand, in the past, the standard games that came with the set were free to play and very entertaining as well. Everybody knows the famous snake game we played in the past. Such games were pre-installed, did not clog internal memory as they were very small in size, and the option of updating or purchasing further game elements was not available at the time. They could not be deleted or erased. Things that are simple yet entertaining and hassle-free are what we miss today. 

We simply cannot go back to those old phones and use them as our primary set. Our daily or professional lives would not allow us to use old-fashioned methods.

We must constantly adapt to cope with the modern world, or we will be unable to compete with it. And the habits we form while using modern technology will bind us to our current smartphones.

There are many more on the list, like FM radio, IR blaster, interchangable back cases, dedicated buttons, and so on. Do you have any features that you would love to bring back or that you miss? Go ahead and share them in the comments; let's make a growing list!

Happy Questing,

Sharon Anto

iQOO Connect - Moderator