Because most people use their phone as their main, if not only, device, so a bigger screen is more desirable to consume content.
Answering single handed on me iPhone 12 mini on latest iOS 😇
It is a great small phone!
That was discontinued after two iterations. Was going to switch to ios just for their mini range after years of Android, then saw that they got rid of small phones as well. Like, what would I gain by switching ecosystems if I know that the next phone is still going to be huge?
BTW, I settled for an S24, which is considered "small" now but still way too big, but at least Samsung has a decent one handed mode that doesn't hide half of your screen like ios or stock android but instead decreases the whole screen to bearable sizes:
Still feels like the damn clown mask meme, where, after years of increasing phone sizes, they now add a stupid software feature to virtually decrease screen size to remain usable.
Answering the phone single-handed sounds like it should be possible on even the largest of phones. No problem for me using a Pixel 9 Pro, although it's not a very big phone of course.
I second this.
There were benefits to the comically-large form factor, though. Touch keyboards worked significantly better with larger screens,
No, the tiny soft-keyboard on my old Galaxy Xcover is significantly easier to type than any modern phone. Less movement of the finger, easier targeting of the buttons. I'm always surprised anew, each time i dust it off and play with it.
This is how you know a boomer wrote that 🤣
Feels same for modern UI, everything is just giant these days.. I need at least 4k, else I go vomit even on 100% zoom level these days.
Luckily, it is possible to set standard scaling of browsers to 50%…
I don't want a small phone or a slide out keyboards.
I want :
Replaceable battery.
Non glass back.
3.5 jack.
Galaxy Xcover series.
3.5 jack is easy, most budget phones have them (along with a MicroSD card slot)
The replaceable battery? That's gonna be hard to find. There the obvious Fairphone, but its very costly for its specs and is only made for EU, and even if someone from the US imports it, the only US carrier allowing it is Tmobile.
Samsung Galaxy XCover series have IP67 Water resistance, headphone jack, and MicroSD card slot, and the replaceable battery, but its specs are not that good for its cost (as reported by various Reddit users).
I wouldn't trust the water resistance tho. One drop into a puddle and the back comes off exposing the internals.
The xcovers backs usually stay on when you drop them and the back only really holds the battery in. The internals are protected by another layer of plastic.
As you say the specs do suck though.
How many times is this going to be regurgitated? The question has been well and truly answered.
We don’t buy them.
That, and small phones on the Android side are often nerfed beyond reason, like a bottom-of-the-barrel Mediatek SoC with low RAM and shit storage option instead of the bigger model's Snapdragon and quality storage, or shit cameras, or garbage screen resolution, etc etc.
There is something to be said about the larger variant having more room for better cameras, but outside of that, the nerfing feels almost intentional.
Small size means a smaller battery. If they make the phone's processor too powerful, the battery will run out in less than a day, and then everyone will be mad about that. There's also less surface to dissipate heat.
Making things smaller is harder and more expensive, but people who want small phones don't want to pay more than large phones.
I want a repairable phone. A phone where I can replace the battery
And screen. And buttons.
I also want something that's supported more than 3 years so there's a point to repairing it. Ideally, support should come from the community so it can be infinite as long as someone is willing to do the work.
When are we finally going to get curved phones on some kind of bracer? They wear them in every futuristic movie, we finally have curved screens, and no one’s made one for wearing on your forearm yet.
Sounds like a big smart watch.
And I'm not sure how useful the Pip-Boy format would be. Now you've got a device that still requires both arms to use, but you can only use one hand...
More than one company has gotten to the prototype stage. Don't remember any huge companies, but there's video out there. You don't realize how much the form factor sucks until it's real.
Maybe they could make a pop out version that would flatten when off the dock. Seems like it would be less wear and tear going from slightly curved to flat than the screens that fold completely.
Because they're fucking stupid.
I can pick up a phone in either hand and type on it using only that hand, and I can play games using both hands at once. If I'm using a bracer, it means I can't do anything else with either hand or use my off hand to interact with it.
The only problem a bracer solves is not having pockets, but even then you still need to wear a bracer.
Bracer if unbreakable could be decent to use a gadget for industry applications, I think. Easier to check the screen, without keeping one of your arms off to do so
I don’t understand why so many people here keep saying that it’s too hard to make a small phone when all these companies literally make watches with 5G connections…
They always lean a little too hard into making the small one the "budget" phone and end up gimping it into something nobody wants, and yet they still don't make it cost attractive.
Compared to the SomePhone Pro, the SomePhone Mini has:
Hell I wish the big phones had SD card slots...
There are very very few phones that have them anymore. Chinese phones, Sony, fairphone, and Samsung midrange, that is about it...
Well, I can't speak for everyone else, but I can't go back because they don't sell any small phones.
people spend a third of their lives on those things. And while cumbersome, a big screen simply is better for media consumption
only way I see smaller phones make a comeback is if we change our habits or if a new technology comes along
I would rather spend this time on a device with a 15' screen and a comfortable keyboard. A phone is just that - a secondary device. That needs to be comfortable to hold and type on with one hand while the other holds onto the subway railing.
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