Live data from Hacker News

I want an iPhone Mini-sized Android phone

smallandroidphone.com

281–290 of 1001 posts

Re: I want an iPhone Mini-sized Android phone

#281

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Sounds like you've answered your own question. Margins are lower, why would they want to sell more of those compared to the regular iphones?

So increase the price? As a criminal defense attorney, I will never own a FaceID device. Ever. I owned an iPhone 7, then an iPhone 8, then an iPhone SE 2020, then another iPhone SE 2020. I may upgrade to the iPhone SE 2022. Cost is not an issue for me. I don't buy the iPhone SE because I'm cheap. I buy the iPhone SE because it is, on balance, hands down the best phone Apple makes right now for people who value conven…

I have bought the iPhone SE 2022 mainly because it has TouchID. Being cheaper is just icing on the cake.

Re: I want an iPhone Mini-sized Android phone

#282

I wanted this and it didn't exist, so now I use an iPhone 13 mini. I'll likely replace the battery on this a few times since rumor has it the mini model won't be continued. It's too bad that Apple is running entirely on the sales numbers of the mini itself for that decision, as since getting an iPhone 13 mini I've bought 3 of the newest model of macbook pro for members of my family, started using Apple TV+ and Apple…

exact same user story for me!

Re: I want an iPhone Mini-sized Android phone

#283

This is why I'm not moving on from my Pixel 4a. If it ever dies, I'll go on eBay or wherever and buy a new one. I don't even care if it goes EOL and stops receiving security updates. TBH if I do end up replacing it with something else, it doesn't have to be stock Android or even a powerful device. I'm okay with replacing my 4a with some cheap ultra-budget shanzhai phone as long as it's small and it works with T-Mobil…

For me the more problematic aspect of the 4a is the updates it’s receiving make it so much slower. For instance at this point opening the camera takes around 3s, and the shutter button lags 2s as well. Going back yo the previous OS would fix that, but it was also buggy and missing proper support for the new gesture navigation. I love the phone but it also makes me hate Google so much.

Huh?

My 4a is works perfectly so far.

Re: I want an iPhone Mini-sized Android phone

#284
post #270

Hi Eric, I'm a hardware startup guy myself (our paths have crossed) with the distinction that my own "very specific set of skills" has been honed at smartphone megacompanies and smartphone startups. OSOM, Essential, HTC, Samsung, Apple. I've designed and built a lot of phones. I'm building one now. I think this is a noble effort, I personally prefer pocketable phones too, but I think there are nigh-insurmountable hur…

> and the component suppliers have also been looking at the trendlines so they are building bigger and bigger

but... aren't they influencing the trendlines by doing this? if the only things manufacturers make are bigger and bigger, they then get to use the sale of those bigger items as justification to continue to make bigger items?

Also seems a bit weird with more eco-awareness going on that some manufacturers wouldn't explore/embrace 'smaller' in some sense. At scale, it would mean less materials, less shipping, less warehouse space, etc. Apple made a huge stink about getting rid of a wall plug in their packaging, and... over hundreds of millions of units, that little bit doesn't hurt.

Wouldn't more 5" screens (vs 6"+) require less power, less weight/shipping, and less input materials?

Re: I want an iPhone Mini-sized Android phone

#285

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Sounds like you've answered your own question. Margins are lower, why would they want to sell more of those compared to the regular iphones?

So increase the price? As a criminal defense attorney, I will never own a FaceID device. Ever. I owned an iPhone 7, then an iPhone 8, then an iPhone SE 2020, then another iPhone SE 2020. I may upgrade to the iPhone SE 2022. Cost is not an issue for me. I don't buy the iPhone SE because I'm cheap. I buy the iPhone SE because it is, on balance, hands down the best phone Apple makes right now for people who value conven…

Just curious what impact / relevance does being a criminal defense attorney have on using a device with FaceID?

Re: I want an iPhone Mini-sized Android phone

#287

The Galaxy S10e is my current phone, and I'm not sure what I will do when it stops receiving security updates. It's basically perfect. It still has an SD card slot. It still has a headphone jack. It has wireless charging. It's reasonably sized. And it had flagship-for-the-time specs (albeit slightly less than the mainline S10 or S10+). Samsung doesn't make anything comparable to this anymore. The only drawback is tha…

Using a refurbished Galaxy S7. It works just fine, is small enough and has a physical home button which I love. We don't need new phones. Please stop buying new phones, buy refurbished ones and prioritize easy to repair friendly hardware.

The issue with refurbished ones is guaranteeing quality.

If you buy from Amazon Renewed, for example, you have no idea exactly what you'll get. You could get a pristine unit without a scratch on it with a battery that has barely 10 cycles, or you could get a well worn (with plenty of micro scratches and minor nicks) with a battery that's been cycled 500+ times. It's kind of a crap-shoot when it comes to buying refurbished.

As someone who takes pride in keeping my phones absolutely perfect and even micro-scratch free, it's too much of a risk.

Re: I want an iPhone Mini-sized Android phone

#288

Has anybody tried the $32 SOYES XS11 or $70 or UNIWA XS11 It's a 2.5 inch 3G Android phone. http://www.cwell-hk.com/products/SOYES_XS11.aspx Lots of small Android phones are in the recommended section on cwell-hk in the $40 range.

The newer, 3.0 inch XS12 from the same manufacturer has 4G LTE and Android 9.0. It's in the $80 range.

http://www.cwell-hk.com/products/SOYES_XS12.aspx

Re: I want an iPhone Mini-sized Android phone

#289

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Is it waterproof? A small phone like this would be ideal for working out or hiking. But between sweat and rain, I'd want it to be waterproof for those scenarios.

Haven't tested it. It has a headphone jack so probably not waterproof

Thanks. You're probably right. After my comment, I found the rest of their lineup, and it looks like the one that would suit my needs is the Atom: https://www.unihertz.com/products/atom

Re: I want an iPhone Mini-sized Android phone

#290
post #270

Hi Eric, I'm a hardware startup guy myself (our paths have crossed) with the distinction that my own "very specific set of skills" has been honed at smartphone megacompanies and smartphone startups. OSOM, Essential, HTC, Samsung, Apple. I've designed and built a lot of phones. I'm building one now. I think this is a noble effort, I personally prefer pocketable phones too, but I think there are nigh-insurmountable hur…

I wonder if there isn't a third factor:

3. Android OEMs can't make a good small phone, even if there was the demand to produce it at scale

Because of how efficient Apple's SoCs are compared to Snapdragons, Android phones typically have much larger batteries than iPhones while getting about the same battery life. Big battery requires a big phone. The occasional somewhat small Android phone (for example Galaxy S10e) tends to have awful battery life.

Post reply on HN