Some of the coolest phone features, including big camera sensors and fast charging, are not available in the US market
For a while, you couldn’t buy the best phones in the United States. The coolest phones with sharp displays and high-res cameras were only available in Asia. Our high-speed networks lagged behind Europe, owing to our massive geography. When the iPhone arrived and the whole world wanted one, it finally seemed like the US was getting the same great stuff as everyone else. Sadly, those days are gone again, and the coolest features can only be found on smartphones you can’t buy here.
Did you think that the Galaxy S23 Ultra, with its brand new 200MP camera sensor, was the most advanced mobile camera you could buy? You may be surprised at what the competition is offering that the best Samsung phones and the best iPhones won’t match.
Do you wish you could charge your iPhone faster? Would the terrible battery life sting less if you could top off the battery in only a few minutes? In the rest of the world that’s possible, but in the US, our phones are quite limited.
You may even think we get the most advanced phone designs, with Samsung’s Galaxy Z Fold 4 at the top of every US carrier’s price range. The rest of the world laughs at our paltry foldable selection, while they sip tea with folding Motorola and Oppo folding phones that we’ll never see.
It’s time to get jealous, fellow US Americans, because the rest of the world is getting all of the cool smartphone gizmos, and we’re being left with the same old, same old.We don’t have the juice for faster charging
If you’re a US traveler with a hair dryer, you know about the voltage issue. In the US, electrical outlets are limited to around 110 Volts. If electricity flows like water, think of voltage as akin to water pressure. Outside of the US, in Europe for instance, outlets reach higher voltage allowances, usually around 220 volts. Our electrics get fried under such pressure.
This was never a problem for electronics, but recent advancements in battery charging can take advantage of higher voltage outlets for faster charging. In fact, recent phones from Xiaomi and Oppo can charge at up to 200W or more, but require an outlet that produces more than 110V of electricity.
What does that mean? That means that the fastest you can charge a phone in the US is about 30 minutes. The fastest you can charge a phone in India is 10 minutes. And I’m talking about the same phone, the OnePlus 10T, which has a different, slower charger for the US than it does for the rest of the world.
Is it a huge difference? No, but it’s the difference between charging while you grab a cup of coffee, or charging while you eat a full dinner. It’s the difference between “just wait for me a minute” and “just leave without me and I’ll meet you there.”Why don’t we get the best cameras anymore?
If I asked the average American what’s the best camera phone, they might say it’s the iPhone, because Apple has done a great job stressing its photography chops here in the States.
