What niche phone features would appeal to you?

A fucking headphone jack

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.

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.

HEADPHONE JACK.

GIVE ME THE GOD DAMN HEADPHONE JACK BACK

An open bootloader and a removable battery.

sideloading is a requirement for me and unlockable bootloader, otherwise, some things like an IR blaster, headphone jack, removable battery (thx EU), RGB notification LED, front facing speakers would make a "good" phone become "great"

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

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.

An ir blaster, great as a universal remote

I miss my IR blaster.

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

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

What about an external, optical camera lens ? I would 100% pay for a phone that looks like a brick but that has an optical zoom

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!

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).

A microsd card slot and a headphone jack

Larger, swappable battery. Squeeze for assistant

IR blaster

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

Basically an Asus Zenfone 9 with a removable battery and an Sd card. Also, make the front like Sony phones - larger bezels on the top and the bottom of the display and house stereo speakers and front camera there instead of a cutout.

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

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.

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 👍

An unlocked bootloader and a normal Linux distribution where I have root!

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.

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.

Headphone jack. I've used multiple LG phones before, currently using the LG V60 and seems like Sony is the only way to go in the future, unfortunately.

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 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.

One without a damn camera, I swear to God most of the price goes into having "quality cameras" I never end up using.

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

Headphone jack. 5in or less screen size.

This is going to be such a stretch and I doubt this would ever happen, but if you could get a decently sized camera sensor on the back of a phone and a mirror less style lens mount...I would sell my DLSR in a heartbeat.

duck duck go tracker blocking that doesn't use vpn technology

IR Blaster, Headphonejack, SD Card Slot, removable battery

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?

I liked the physical toggle for silent mode on iPhones. Flip/slide-out keyboards were also kinda cool

As far as apps though... I really loved having a good programmable remote app on devices with an IR transceiver. The best one was actually on Palm of all things, and you could add custom icons to a layout and then record inputs from your actual remotes to replay.

Honestly, headphone jacks are number 1.

Then also, FM radios. Most Android phones had them up until a few years ago, when Apple stopped shipping iphones with the feature, to push more people onto iTunes. I'm not a huge radio listener. But having the functionality during an emergency is invaluable. There was a really bad storm in my country a few years ago. Me and my family had no power and no internet for nearly a week. I would listen to my battery powered radio to get weather updates and to find out what the situation was like elsewhere. I don't understand why that same functionality can't be implemented in phones.

Besides that, removable batteries, sim card and SD card slots.

Niche or not, I want an SD card slot that actually fucking works. Like, yes, I can move files to it, but I can't actually install apps to it. There's the "move to SD, but that doesn't matter when the app files are still stored on the internal storage.

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

i'm certain this is going to be a just me thing but i'm a nostalgic fool and would love a notch in the casing to put a lanyard/phone strap. that, and a physical keyboard. if you could get modern android and a good camera in the form factor of the original motorola razr i'd be so happy lol

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.

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.

A swappable battery. I could buy a few batteries and never be out of power. I could replace the battery on an older phone without pretty much having to replace the phone itself.

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

Max 4 inch screen, IR blaster, physical keyboard with speed dial settings for buttons, form factor like the Xperia x10 mini pro, headphone jack, cameraless, LED with customisable lights for different notifications, bonus - built in projector, satellite phone capability,

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.

Plastic back and a removable/user replaceable battery.

Yeah yeah I know it "feels cheap" but honestly I LIKED when phones were made of more plastic. Now they're heavier and both sides are breakable. Like, the metal backs were fine, but apparently metal backs suck for NFC and wireless charging so instead of giving us some classy Nokia Lumia style plastic they went with glass backs.

Also I keep my phone in a case because otherwise the back is so smooth it shoots off the couch if someone walks across my apartment. It's legit only in the case to add some friction.

true background process management and battery

I just want a new Droid with a slide-out keyboard

I've had every one of them until the Droid 4 and they never released a new one

I don't remember what phone it was, but it used the same camera for front and back. So when you wanted to take a selfie, the camera flipped itself. It's probably not durable but I find it very cool.

Removable dual display like in LG G8x, V60 etc. When you need it you can have a beast of a phone with 2 screen or a slim normal flagship.

Foldable display - They are still way too expensive!

Metal case - I just loved the heavy Samsung Omnia 7 metal case. It made it unbreakable and grippy!

Phone upgrades.
Battery.. Non lithuim. Flexible and new. []
Flexible screen. Wrist strap or just flexible. []
Fitness/health capabilities. []
Usb 3.1 reversible.. Proper specs [x]
Wireless charging. Using new WiFi microwave to charge phone without mat. Wattup []
Better nfc/Google pay [x]
Smaller screen oled,s than 5.5 []
Better speakers none conduction or ceramic
Encryption []
Bezelless. Screen to screen hole cut out. 2018 []
Solar panel in screen. Sapphire glass. Smudge and germ

This list was created a few years ago.

Some things have been implemented but not all.

I miss my keyboards

Not really a feature of the phone, but a design theory. I want my small phone back. Not this "zenfone 9" size small. Like HTC One size small.

Make it bifold wallet sized, and ~1/2"thick.

These hugely tall phones where you can't reach the top third if the screen without dropping the thing are just annoyingly huge. Then they make them so thin they can't fit a big enough battery for a full day use.

Beyond that would like an under display fingerprint sensor. Rear and side mounted always have issues with cases for me, and make it more annoying when using the device while it's on a desk.

A Silent/Vibrate/Ring switch like on the OnePlus phones, headphone jack and a easily swappable battery.

Keyboard. I want a damn keyboard. I'm a blackberry refugee hiding out on a unihertz titan/titan slim

Modular everything. I really wanted Project Ara to come to market.

Native Bluetooth GPS support. I do mapping for OpenStreetMap a lot and the built in GPS modules are just too bad for that. Currently I have to use an app to get my Bluetooth GPS connected. But sometimes this app fails and the built in GPS takes over and ruins my logs.

Aluminium back instead of plastic or glass

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

• Slim form factor
• No notch
• No camera bump, even if at a cost in camera quality.

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

IR emitter . Super handy wen you use old stuf like me like VHS dvd combo crt ect .

The literal only thing keeping me on iOS/MacOS is the system wide glass transparency, continuity, and the battery life. I wish to Christ that Android/Windows/Linux would get their shit together.

My ideal system would be Android + Ubuntu with full glass UI and continuity between them.