I like how this phone includes that it's built to be durable as one of its major features. Phones should be tough. Waterproofing them should be standard. They should not break when dropped from 10+ feet. Their screens should not crack. On top of this, either optional or built-in warranty should include coverage for accidental damage. A phone like that would be worth quite a bit of money.
Another thing about the current generation of smartphones: unlike this Nokia offering, they are not yet "good enough". Chances are, you will replace your phone in 1-2 years, or at least you'll want to. Their speed is still growing very fast, and the demand on the CPU/GPU/RAM is growing very fast too. I can see buying this phone and keeping it for 5+ years: nothing in what it can do will see substantial improvements over that time period. Contrast this with the top of the line smartphones where simple things in 2017 will take 2x the processing power that they do now, because of the improved UI, etc.
Eventually, I think smartphones will settle down. I remember when PC's were getting faster and faster in the late 1990's, early 2000's. It seemed that you could upgrade every year and still not keep up. Eventually they got "good enough" where you can keep the same PC for 5-10 years (except power-users such as programmers, gamers, etc.) I look forward to a day when iPhones and such are a commodity such as this Nokia.
"It should be XXX, YYY, ZZZ". Not everyone shares your need. Some people a careful and want a pretty phone, light, and just awesome to use. Why would they need a heavier phone, with constrained design, and pay extra for an accidental damage coverage (you mentioned that it could be builtin)?
Moreover over these kind of phones exists, it is just that we have choice not to buy them.
I disagree. Show me a waterproof iPhone (IMO the only phone worth considering at the high end of the smartphone market). Lots of people would pay extra to ensure their phone is damage and water proof. For this reason the iPhone case industry is so huge. No, it's not everybody's need to have a durable phone, but I argue that it is the majority's need. The minority who wants fragile phones should switch places with the majority: that way everyone's needs will be satisfied in proportion to the popularity of the need.
> iPhone (IMO the only phone worth considering at the high end of the smartphone market)
Can't tell if blatant troll or not... the only phone worth considering? I went from a Moto X 2013 to an iPhone 6. I'm in the process of returning the 6. I heard everyone talk about the coherence of iOS and how rock solid an OS it is. This thing has crashed more on me, or just stopped passing data traffic via wifi or cellular more times in the last 2 months of ownership than my Moto X did in a year. The camera is outstanding and something I'll truly miss, but I can live without a camera in exchange for a phone that let's me put alerts on silence without being forced to silence my alarm as well...
I had a Lumia 920 that I dropped down three flights of stairs and it still worked with only minor scratches on the plastic and one scratch on the screen. I'm not sure you can do that with any of the Lumia flagships that followed that one though. They caved to the "thinner is better" market, even though the 920 was thinner and lighter than an iPhone with an Otterbox or Lifeproof that a lot of people have.
Another thing about the current generation of smartphones: unlike this Nokia offering, they are not yet "good enough". Chances are, you will replace your phone in 1-2 years, or at least you'll want to. Their speed is still growing very fast, and the demand on the CPU/GPU/RAM is growing very fast too. I can see buying this phone and keeping it for 5+ years: nothing in what it can do will see substantial improvements over that time period. Contrast this with the top of the line smartphones where simple things in 2017 will take 2x the processing power that they do now, because of the improved UI, etc.
Eventually, I think smartphones will settle down. I remember when PC's were getting faster and faster in the late 1990's, early 2000's. It seemed that you could upgrade every year and still not keep up. Eventually they got "good enough" where you can keep the same PC for 5-10 years (except power-users such as programmers, gamers, etc.) I look forward to a day when iPhones and such are a commodity such as this Nokia.