I’ve been thinking lately that phone companies are adopting a business model similar to HP’s old printer-ink strategy: selling devices as gateways to monetize user activity. Over time, phones might become cheaper and higher quality, but brands will compete to lock us into ecosystems where they profit from ads, services, or exclusive apps.
My POCO phone, for example, is great value, but it pushes me to watch banner ads during security scans. These are framed as "security recommendations" while quietly generating extra revenue for them. They even have their own short-form video platform, similar to TikTok, exclusively for POCO users, which feels like another layer of monetization.
On a related note, I use Brave for its sleek design and ad-blocking, though I switch to Opera’s free VPN to bypass geo-restrictions. It’s fascinating how this lets me search topics like "Australia’s view on Imran Khan" and get unfiltered global perspectives. (Side note: Bing’s AI image creator is a lifesaver when my free ChatGPT quota runs out!)
It’s clear companies are prioritizing secondary revenue streams over pure hardware sales. The question is: Are we trading upfront device costs for a lifetime of targeted ads and platform lock-ins?
Thanks for taking the time to write this comment. It is possible they do that, ads have become a must have now for any app and you have to pay extra just not to have them. It makes me think of the switch they did with streaming service where price keeps increasing for premium features and you have at least one "cheaper offer" with ads.
One day the option with ads will be more expensive then what the full option was at the beginning of the service.
I think corporation really became pros in term of doing the right pricing to attract maximum customers offering different package in order to maximize revenue.
I respect that ads are important in order to offer "free" service or a way to pay with data instead of dollars for people that prefer this option or don't have money to pay for it. But it is annoying sometimes and it is really getting everywhere.
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