You can objectively test whether one file is smaller than another at the same file size or whether one is smaller than the other at the same quality.
ignoring the circular reasoning here, my point is not that it's impossible to gauge the difference, my point is that you have to be careful with what you state and what you measure. Can you objectively quanity the quality difference and efficiency of two different lossy compression algorithms? Yes, theoretically you can. Now go that and create a model for it applicable to every real world use case that compression algorithm is going to see. That's the hard part. Also not to mention the fact that it likely doesn't even matter. The reason we use lossy compression is because to a point, it's impossible for us to notice any significant degradation in quality. That point from person to person, varies.
You can read technical websites
Those lack depth and specific information, i wouldn't be making that point if that wasn't a problem. And besides joe shmoes blog on why the [insert item] here has [insert feature] here might not even be correct. Or present all the information required even.
Just like she has no idea her phone has more than one CPU.
it has more than one core, not more than one cpu, a cpu is loosely defined as an explicit piece of a hardware, that can perform the tasks of a CPU. You can have multi cpu configurations, but you can also have cpus with multiple cores. This is a semantic complaint though.
I didn’t change to the context to PC’s or generic.
i did, because that's what im familiar with, though it does also apply to things outside of PC hardware, naturally, as evidenced by the fact i brought up embedded devices.
Do I have to preface every single sentence with “on a phone”?
no but it's also probably good to not make arguments after making an assumption. If you want to preface an argument with a known assumption you can. You asked me if i edited video on my phone, and then continued to make an argument as to why it was weird that i said that. That's just not something you do.
You edit video. What made the video ? A camera without zoom or interchangeable lens? Of course not.
literally not a camera? I have edited ONE single video (sourced from real footage), and as i said, it was perfectly fine. The biggest issue with it was an audio problem the hardware created, ironically enough. Everything else i edit is screen recorded. With OBS. And like i already said, if i want better quality, i'll just buy an actual camera, for the same price as a top of the line smartphone. And then get modularity, as well as other convenient features that make shooting video for production much easier.
People have been taking garbage photos for as long as there have been consumer cameras.
this is not explicitly true, go look at film camera enthusiasts in the modern day. One of the selling points is taking photos that don't waste film "make you shots count" even then it's only been multiplied by 10 fold.
digital camera that did the same trick 15 years ago
i'd much rather not spend modern premiums to get features that are a decade old. I think that's reasonable. Especially when we start talking hardware real estate, these camera arrays take up a considerable portion of the phone. You could put a headphone jack there, more battery, better hardware, cooling, etc...
Especially when i can buy a modern used camera for a few hundred bucks, and get image quality MILES better than any phone sensor could ever think to produce. As well as flexibility with how i use it. I'm objectively just not buying a phone for better camera quality. It's a non starter, it's like saying every car NEEDS to be sporty. And now suddenly everybody is buying trucks and SUVs because they prefer the lofty ride of trucks over small cars with stiffer suspensions and smaller tires. Even though they might handle better, nobody cares. They want something more "luxurious" rather than performant. It's just not a good use of money.
It is completely seamless with not even an option on the UI to know that it is happening.
this isn't true. Unless you place the cameras in the EXACT same location, there will be differences in parallax. As well as camera sensor quality itself. The iphone 15 when zooming, while recording has very explicit artifacts from switching between cameras. Not to mention the difference in quality due to the fact they have different lenses. It's not as significant with photos. But all of those still apply. And besides, maybe i dont want it to forcibly switch, maybe i want to have control over the hardware i paid for and own?
You can't tell me that the minor difference in quality between camera A and B is significant enough to warrant B over A or vice versa. And then ignore the obvious negative implications that multiple cameras have. Or tell me that lossy compression can be objectively quantified in an explicit manner that removes ALL doubt present about the efficacy of its algorithm. And then tell me the very physical nature of having two cameras in two different spots, means they take two different pictures just doesn't matter at all.