When did having a smartphone become compulsory?

…..here’s a laugh ….I popped into our local launderette the other day to see how much the large machines costs to use ….I need to wash a duvet. £8….the last time I used one it was £5…..point being you could struggle around with 8 pound coins OR scan your phone to pay!!

I was pretty much forced into getting a smartphone two years ago when I received an email from NHS inviting me for a Covid booster. The email included a bar-coded link to making an appointment and I was unable to access it. Not wanting to miss out on the invitation I reluctantly got a smartphone (Samsung as it was a reasonable price). With hindsight I should have got an i-phone as my latest NHS hearing aids are now blue tooth. My now slightly dated Samsung does not allow me access to the blue tooth functions which is very frustrating. DDs say I definitely need an i-phone but I'm fed up with being a slave to every latest gadget and update. I am hopeless with technology and still miss my old simple mobile phone while I continue to flounder looking for things on my Samsung. Life as a technophobe...

I have a phone but I really hate having to pay for parking via phone

A really smart phone will be smart enough to stay out of my way! Like some here I do deeply resent being forced to use a certain piece of technology.

I got a basic smartphone for about £100 because the software for my home security refused to run on a tablet. Its a sim only deal so I just PAYG. Ive only just started using it for texting because I consider that a very clumsy and limiting way to communicate, I dont bother with the camera because I have a whole tribe of perfectly good cameras for my business.

I dont use it for banking although I do bank online from my office computer.

Being housebound I have no use for a mobile phone but I would not be without my IPad. For homeshopping and keeping in touch with family and relatives via Messenger.
I do not do online banking because I have one simple account.

I have just signed up for the QwikPark app and looking forward to using it. No more tickets or queuing to pay.

I don't have a mobile phone and don't need one. I did resent taking my girls out for a meal and found my bank card wasn't accepted because I didn't have a mobile number to verify it.

My iPhone does almost everything for me. Grocery deliveries, all clothing, pays all our bills, streams tv and entertainment which I cast to the Tv, answers all my questions, sends emails, downloads all my audiobooks, teaches me foreign languages, is my diary and gives me reminders, is my camera and video maker, is my photo album, tells me the weather forecast, is my GPS for travelling, taps in shops to pay using my face as recognition, lets me do all my banking and tax affairs, let’s me see and chat with grandchildren, attend meetings without leaving the house, keeps me in touch with all my friends plus many more uses I can’t think of now. Oh and yes I can make and receive calls and texts. I’m no techie, 69 in two weeks but I’m struggling to learn how to use QR codes. I dread getting older and becoming dependent on others like my 96 year old mother who no longer has even a phone book and can only answer her DORO phone. And it’s been like that for over 20 years now.

My smart phone's 8.50 a month. Never spent over the limit. Used to spend more than this 10 years ago with my pay-as-you-go. I do prefer using my chromebook but I have made more of an effort & apart from me being not as dextrous, tired old eyesight & can't hear which means it'll always be a bit of a faff for me, have to say most things are pretty intuitive on there if you put your mind to it.My son's smartphone is £6.00 a month so a couple cups of coffee out equivalent - & theoretically you then dont need a landline.

Delila

I have an iPad and an android phone. I find the Android operating system much more complicated (probably wouldn’t if I’d never had an iPad to compare it with), but one advantage of android devices is WhatsApp, which I don’t think is available on iOS devices?
Smartphones are definitely worth having, whatever the operating system, but I’ve kept my clunky 12year old simple Nokia that raises a laugh every time I produce it, as it’s simple, cheap, works fine as a phone, and is small & tough enough to carry in a pocket on country walks with the dog. £5 lasts me months.

My children all have iphones and all have WhatsApp

valdali

My smart phone's 8.50 a month. Never spent over the limit. Used to spend more than this 10 years ago with my pay-as-you-go. I do prefer using my chromebook but I have made more of an effort & apart from me being not as dextrous, tired old eyesight & can't hear which means it'll always be a bit of a faff for me, have to say most things are pretty intuitive on there if you put your mind to it.My son's smartphone is £6.00 a month so a couple cups of coffee out equivalent - & theoretically you then dont need a landline.

My phone bill is just over £10 per month now, much less than I paid on Orange up until a couple of years ago, and never any extras. I've been with Virgin for four years now and I have more data/minutes/texts than I can use, any left is rolled over at the end of the period.

NotAGran55

I have just signed up for the QwikPark app and looking forward to using it. No more tickets or queuing to pay.

But beware, there are many different apps for different car parks.

WhatsApp is universal.

I phone had it first, marginally,

"Platform history. After months at beta stage, the official first release of WhatsApp for iOS launched in November 2009

. In January 2010, support for BlackBerry smartphones was added; and subsequently for Symbian OS in May 2010, and for Android OS in August 2010."

cc

NotAGran55

I have just signed up for the QwikPark app and looking forward to using it. No more tickets or queuing to pay.

But beware, there are many different apps for different car parks.

Indeed there are.

I was stunned when I tried to repay my god-daughter for some food on holiday in cash, and she said ‘I don’t use cash, can you make a bank transfer please?’ I did a typical ‘old lady muttering rant’ about how I’d never heard anything like it … but I did use my banking app to repay her!

Maybee - I have an Apple SE iphone - bought new recently for £400 pounds- I have a sim only contract. I thought about buying a secondhand Apple iPhone but was warned by a friend that if anything goes wrong- such as a broken screen- Apple will not touch it should you need their help, as parts have been replaced by non Apple screens or other parts.

I used to have Android phones but 7 years ago I won an iPad Mini in a competition - which I still have and use as an ebook reader. After that I switched to Apple phones and have never looked back - they are easier to use than Android and more secure as its a closed system rather than an open one. I got my current iPhone 2.5 years ago - cost £900 but I just pay £25 a month over 3 years, interest free, and no upfront cost. It was the current model but I bought it a few weeks before the next generation of phones was due out and saved at least £200 that way. My minutes/texts/data costs £6 a month on top, rolling 30 day contract that I can change whenever I wish. I wouldn't be without it - can't remember the last time I needed to go to the bank, I can even pay the occasional cheque in using my phone. I don't have a landline, haven't had one in the 20 years I've lived at this address.

Forgot to say I also have a newer standard size iPad that I use for gaming, email etc in addition to a fairly new desktop PC - I love my tech

ordinarygirl I don't have/don't want a mobile/Smartphone - what's the difference?!
Yes, it does feel we're blindly being pushed into it - no bank account without a mobile phone number, now everything seems to be done on 'apps' why? what goes on behind them? Let me say I'm not a believer in any conspiracy theory on this, I just mourn the lack of choice that's being taken away.

I believe others do have other real reasons why they won't use a smartphone - cost being one of the factors 'only £100' is a lot to some people.

This old chestnut has come up on GN a couple of times previously and the response is always the same - a long discussion as to what the best phones are, how wonderful they are, what they can do, etc, etc. No questioning as to why we're being pushed into that direction. Progress? to what?

Thankyou cc, yes, mine have too, but it seems WhatsApp for iPad isn’t as straightforward as it is for an iPhone. There is a way, by linking devices, but it takes a bit of working out (for me, anyway).

In the meantime I can use iMessage on my iPad, which is very good too. My next smartphone will be an iPhone.

I wouldn’t be without my smartphone, fortunately, my grandson updates his every couple of years and I get his old one.

I don't need a handbag when out any more just my phone, I listen to podcasts while out, use it to pay for things, compare prices and show my hairdresser pics of how I want my hair, as well as having a torch and camera handy at all times.

montymops

Maybee - I have an Apple SE iphone - bought new recently for £400 pounds- I have a sim only contract. I thought about buying a secondhand Apple iPhone but was warned by a friend that if anything goes wrong- such as a broken screen- Apple will not touch it should you need their help, as parts have been replaced by non Apple screens or other parts.

I’ve had secondhand iPhones for over 10 years. I haven’t needed much help from Apple in that time but I have never had a problem getting it.

I’ve also had no problems with viruses, or with online banking on my phone.

boheminan

ordinarygirl I don't have/don't want a mobile/Smartphone - what's the difference?!
Yes, it does feel we're blindly being pushed into it - no bank account without a mobile phone number, now everything seems to be done on 'apps' why? what goes on behind them? Let me say I'm not a believer in any conspiracy theory on this, I just mourn the lack of choice that's being taken away.

I believe others do have other real reasons why they won't use a smartphone - cost being one of the factors 'only £100' is a lot to some people.

This old chestnut has come up on GN a couple of times previously and the response is always the same - a long discussion as to what the best phones are, how wonderful they are, what they can do, etc, etc. No questioning as to why we're being pushed into that direction. Progress? to what?

But is anyone pushing us, or have smartphones just caught on because they are so useful (and entertaining?)

Once a good proportion of the population has them, as has now happened, providers of goods and services (like solicitors) will increasingly use them, and life will become harder for people without them. I think that’s regrettable, and people without smartphones should be catered for as far as possible, but it’s not necessarily the result of a plan.

I worked in the telecoms industry starting in the year 2000. How we laughed at the idea we’d use our phones for anything other than calls! 2G anyone? Smartphones are wonderful, apps are awesome and mobile banking and parking apps are terrific. Face recognition is a great safety solution for your banking app. I love them. I never in a million years truly believed back in Y2K )as it was called then) that we would have moved on so much.

Skye17

boheminan

ordinarygirl I don't have/don't want a mobile/Smartphone - what's the difference?!
Yes, it does feel we're blindly being pushed into it - no bank account without a mobile phone number, now everything seems to be done on 'apps' why? what goes on behind them? Let me say I'm not a believer in any conspiracy theory on this, I just mourn the lack of choice that's being taken away.

I believe others do have other real reasons why they won't use a smartphone - cost being one of the factors 'only £100' is a lot to some people.

This old chestnut has come up on GN a couple of times previously and the response is always the same - a long discussion as to what the best phones are, how wonderful they are, what they can do, etc, etc. No questioning as to why we're being pushed into that direction. Progress? to what?

But is anyone pushing us, or have smartphones just caught on because they are so useful (and entertaining?)

Once a good proportion of the population has them, as has now happened, providers of goods and services (like solicitors) will increasingly use them, and life will become harder for people without them. I think that’s regrettable, and people without smartphones should be catered for as far as possible, but it’s not necessarily the result of a plan.

According to Statista,

‘The smartphone penetration rate in the United Kingdom has increased each year, reaching an overall figure of 93 percent in 2022. While the survey modified the division of respondents over the ages of 55 from 2016 onwards, there has been a clear increase in the rate of smartphone ownership among those aged 55 and above. In 2016, less than half of all respondents over the age of 55 owned such a device, a figure that eventually rose to 82 percent in 2022.’

It’s not going to be viable to provide alternatives for an increasingly tiny percentage of people who don’t have smartphones, and it will happen very soon indeed now. The best analogy I can think of is being the last person in your town with a horse and cart when everybody else has a car - you will inevitably be reliant on other people to carry out basic tasks for you without one.