If you know how iPhones work then online research is enough, but if you haven’t played with one it makes sense to use it at the store as research, or even if you’re just curious.
Same for Android, I wouldn’t buy one without testing before, for example.
Also: The Microsoft and Chromebook displays at electronics chain-stores have seriously stepped up their game in the last 10 years or so. Before that it was a shitshow, with keyboards missing keys and the OS crashing on demo devices that would be otherwise perfectly usable machines.
Re:Touching the back wall of the Apple store
by sheiyei on Monday June 30, 2025 @02:51AM
(#44420259)
"if you haven’t played with one it makes sense to use it at the store as research"
Yep. Iphones are sluggish by design in so many ways, that I would lose my mind using one for my personal life. Scrolling on an iPhone is a bafflingly terrible experience, because they limit the speed so much you can't move around at a reasonable speed.
Re:Touching the back wall of the Apple store
by leakycap on Monday June 30, 2025 @02:59AM
(#44420305)
What are you comparing this to? I have a slew of phones near me and when I pick up an Android device it usually feels like a stuttery mess multiple times in regular use, even compared to a basic prepaid iPhone SE from 2022 which might only be 60Hz but doesn't randomly jerk around and freeze like every 120Hz Android seems to do
Re:Touching the back wall of the Apple store
by vladvasiliu on Monday June 30, 2025 @03:05AM
(#44420340)
I'm baffled by your comment. I specifically recall getting some new Samsungs at work two years ago, so I got one to play with for a little. I was shocked by how janky scrolling felt. Just going through the android settings screen, there were "hiccups" and there was a clear lag between my finger moving and the screen moving. My iphone 7 felt so much smoother, although much older and "crufty", as opposed to the Samsung being brand new and "untouched". It was a then-current mid-range model, don't remember which one specifically.
Re:Touching the back wall of the Apple store
by mslansn on Monday June 30, 2025 @03:32AM
(#44420477)
You were meant to replace that iphone 3GS over 10 years ago...
Can you even disable UI animations on an iphone? It's the first thing I do on any phone or OS, and using a device with it enabled just feel like walking through mud.
Recently i've bought the new iphone, it's not as expensive as the high end macbook, but still, not a small amount of money.
I got to the store, asked for the phone, finalized my purchase and got out, all in 15 min i guess. No second guess, no cold feet, because i had been researching smartphones for years before going with it, i knew what i would get and what i wouldn't.
Back in the day you would indeed need to go to the store to know what you were getting.