10 bizarre Android telephone options we’ll by no means see once more

Modern Android smartphones are extremely refined, highly effective, and succesful. Within the high-end section particularly, handset makers are in a position to squeeze unimaginable compute energy into smooth, luxurious chassis. That being mentioned, to get thus far, we have additionally needed to sacrifice plenty of {hardware} options that had been as soon as a staple of the Android cell ecosystem.

Wanting again, my first Android phone from 2011 featured a number of {hardware} additions that, within the 12 months 2026, have gone all however extinct. I might personally love for these components to make a comeback, although I do not see this taking place anytime within the short-to-medium-term future. Listed here are ten telephone options particularly which can be, in all chance, destined to stay relics of the previous.

3.5mm headphone jack

For wired audio connectivity

When Apple axed the three.5mm headphone jack from its iPhone 7 sequence again in 2016, the writing was on the wall for the century-old analog port. Initially, there have been loads of teething pains within the cell house — which was shortly dominated by dongles and adapters — however fast-forward to at the moment, and most of us now depend on Bluetooth-powered true wi-fi earbuds and headphones for all our audio-consumption wants. Nonetheless, the lack of the headphone jack stays a ache level for audiophiles the world over, and it sadly additionally spelled the tip of the “move the aux” street journey period.

microSD card slot

For cheap storage top-ups

Whereas some telephone makers by no means provided a microSD card slot to start with — I am you, Apple and Google — others like Samsung relished in its utility. Expandable and user-replaceable storage was a mainstay of the early Android world, permitting customers to high up their ROM capability with out breaking the financial institution within the course of. Whereas it is true that the typical microSD card is slower than the newest UFS flash storage constructed into trendy handsets, the comfort issue alone has me eager for the nice previous days when memory card slots were a given.

Sizzling-swappable battery

For refueling straight away

Again within the day, most Android telephones had detachable again plates that offered quick entry to their respective battery packs. This was extremely handy, because it allowed customers to hold round charged-up secondary batteries for swapping out as wanted. It additionally meant that previous, worn out batteries might be simply changed with out having to disassemble the telephone, which was a pleasant bonus. Whereas the European Union has legislation in place to require producers to outfit merchandise with user-serviceable batteries beginning in 2027, it doesn’t look like hot-swappable power packs themselves are part of this laws — although we’ll need to see how this pans out within the years to return.

Notification LED

For staying on high of alerts and standing updates

Earlier than we had always-on displays (AODs), notification LEDs had been the go-to method of protecting tabs on missed notifications from throughout the room. Most Android telephones featured a primary LED inside their bezels, however some fashions included extra superior modules with RGB colours, distinctive pulsing results, and extra. At the moment, the spirit of the notification LED lives on by means of Nothing’s numerous Glyph Interface and Glyph Matrix shows, although there’s one thing concerning the simplicity of a primary LED gentle that no trendy handset can fairly measure as much as in my eyes.

IR blaster

For controlling infrared equipment

For an (admittedly temporary) time period, nearly each Android telephone shipped with a devoted IR blaster. This small module allowed customers to manage numerous family home equipment utilizing a devoted app on their telephones, even working instead TV distant management in a pinch. Some telephones nonetheless characteristic IR blasters at the moment, however, aside from the OnePlus 15, the overwhelming majority of those handsets aren’t accessible within the North American market. For higher or worse, the times of pranking your folks by altering the TV channel remotely are most likely over for good.

Rear-facing fingerprint sensor

For unlocking earlier than your telephone is out of your pocket

For some time, the development throughout the Android house was to ship telephones with rear-facing capacitive fingerprint sensors. This placement made a ton of sense, permitting you to primarily unlock your system along with your index finger whereas concurrently pulling it out of your pocket, and even performing as a makeshift trackpad for flattening the notification shade when unlocked. As of late, under-display optical and ultrasonic fingerprint sensors rule the roost, and it appears unlikely that rear-facing items will ever make a comeback. Capacitive fingerprint sensors themselves nonetheless exist on foldable phones and on tablets, however they are typically embedded throughout the energy button, as a substitute.

Capacitive keys

For navigating within the pre-gesture period

In Android’s infancy, capacitive keys had been the de facto management paradigm for navigating throughout the working system. These touch-sensitive keys usually lit up at midnight, and featured haptic suggestions when tapped for added tactility. For some time, the usual configuration was residence, menu, again, and search, however some producers bucked this development by implementing their very own button structure as a substitute. Capacitive keys had been outmoded by on-screen navigation keys, and later by gesture techniques. Going again to tapping and prodding feels each retro and warmly acquainted at the moment, however such buttons are unlikely to ever return to the mainstream.

House button

For going residence the old style method

For the longest time, a devoted, bodily residence button was commonplace on Samsung Galaxy telephones, in addition to on another Android manufacturers’ handsets. Just like Apple’s iPhone residence button of the time, the button did precisely what you’d anticipate it to do: it took you again to your house display. In at the moment’s gesture-based navigational paradigm, the house button feels fairly antiquated, however there’s additionally one thing oddly satisfying about pressing down on a physical switch to exit a cell software.

Trackball / Trackpad

For scrolling and panning with out display smudges

Early Android telephones adopted in BlackBerry’s footsteps by providing a devoted trackball for navigating their interfaces with out having to depend on their contact screens. To keep away from show smudges, the trackball (and later the optical trackpad) was an excellent device that received the job executed. In fact, capacitive touch screens and multi-touch gestures would shortly conquer the tech world, and trackballs quickly turned a vestigial {hardware} element that ultimately stopped making the lower completely.

Bodily keyboard

For effectively typing out your emails

Earlier than the discharge of the unique iPhone, the notion of delivery a smartphone with out a bodily keyboard was an absolute absurdity (just ask then-Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer). Enterprise professionals cherished clacking on their BlackBerry keyboards to churn out emails on-the-go, and early Android telephones embraced this similar ethos. In fact, as soon as it turned clear that on-screen digital keyboards might get the job executed with out sacrificing on-screen actual property or chassis thickness within the course of, the physical phone keyboard’s days were numbered.