Imo the real problem here is being able to use a phone with one hand, UI standardization led both android and iphone unusable with one hand, so I'd argue we actually stopped research mobile touch interfaces. A smaller phone would still need you to stretch the thumb to the other side of the screen
I want an iPhone Mini-sized Android phone (2022)
171–180 of 702 posts
Re: I want an iPhone Mini-sized Android phone (2022)
#172Earlier quoted context omitted.
Folding phones don't solve the problem of oversized phones, which is that they are awkward and cumbersome to use.
> they are awkward and cumbersome to use. For you. As someone with large hands, I appreciate that phones grew in size and I swapped to larger devices as soon as I could.
I don't have especially small hands and I can't stand my Nokia XR20 (which isn't even close to the biggest phone out there). If I can't reach every corner of the screen with my thumb while holding the phone, it's uncomfortable and unpleasant to use. Sadly that is most phones these days.
Re: I want an iPhone Mini-sized Android phone (2022)
#173The Samsung S10e was probably peak Android. Small, high-end, SD card and 3.5mm jack.
There are some decent small Android phones, if you're willing to buy non-mainstream brands. Take a look at:
Re: I want an iPhone Mini-sized Android phone (2022)
#174I'm very happy with my Unihertz Jelly Max aside from the camera being not great. I think it's the smallest it can reasonably be (62.7mm wide) while still having its touchscreen keyboard be usable and because it's fairly thick it actually feels good to hold in my hands and I don't need to stick one of those silly pop sockets on the back.
Re: I want an iPhone Mini-sized Android phone (2022)
#175Earlier quoted context omitted.
For most people the phone is their only computer. Who bring laptop to a friend group hangout anymore ? Only the techies.
Who ever brought a laptop to a friend group hangout? I never have seen that happen myself.
Depends on you and your friends. My group does this regularly.
Re: I want an iPhone Mini-sized Android phone (2022)
#176Earlier quoted context omitted.
Parent's take is not whether bigger phones shouldn't exist, it's why smaller phones stopped being produced, which is a fairly different angle. > women To note, the initial smartphones were already too big for he taste of many: a clamshell feature phone was almost a third of the size of the original iPhone. From that POV, going to a phone that is twice as big is less of a barrier, as they had to keep it in a bag/purse…
Just tonight, I saw a friend of mine, pull a new foldable Razr from her purse. They are cool phones, but I do iOS. I still use a 13 Mini, and will continue to do so, for quite some time. As to the point of this article, I seem to recall a couple of very small Android phones, some years ago (about credit-card sized). I guess they didn’t sell well.
> very small Android phones
IMHO this is just not viable in the current world.
I agree with line the article sets (5"4 for 1080p, almost the size of the Pixel 4a), as mainstream apps will properly work at that size. I still have a working 4a, and some banking apps are getting pretty cramped for instance. And many websites already need furious panning and zooming.
A credit card size phone would only work for people who basically hate their phones I think.
Re: I want an iPhone Mini-sized Android phone (2022)
#177Earlier quoted context omitted.
Air is intermediate to Fold (2X Air thickness) with 5.5" screen and $2K+ price, https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=44587911
Yea I might have to get a fold. I really don’t want a damn crease in my screen though. I’d almost prefer a Nintendo DS style.
Think of the nds emulation though!
Re: I want an iPhone Mini-sized Android phone (2022)
#178My cynical take is that small phones don't exist because they are not the product. Similar to vape pens the product is the addictive substance the device loads. In this case its apps and ads. A smaller screen probably negatively impacts KPIs on many levels, at Google/Apple/Meta/X and on down through the ecosystem. I understand that Apple did not make enough money to make it worth their while to continue the iphone mi…
What was so odd was how Apple fumbled the iPhone mini launch by launching the iPhone SE first. At that point there hadn't been a small phone for a few years, There was pent up demand. The SE came out and it was a big success, lots of people wanted ti because it was a small phone.
Then few months later they launched the mini expecting it to sell even more or something. Somehow they missed that everyone that wanted a small phone had just bought the SE, and it just wasn't long enough for them to be worth upgrading to the much better mini.
Had they waited for a year to pass the mini might have done much better because those who wanted a more powerful phone could find an excuse for an upgrade after a year, less then 6 months, not so much.
Re: I want an iPhone Mini-sized Android phone (2022)
#179Earlier quoted context omitted.
Just tonight, I saw a friend of mine, pull a new foldable Razr from her purse. They are cool phones, but I do iOS. I still use a 13 Mini, and will continue to do so, for quite some time. As to the point of this article, I seem to recall a couple of very small Android phones, some years ago (about credit-card sized). I guess they didn’t sell well.
> very small Android phones IMHO this is just not viable in the current world. I agree with line the article sets (5"4 for 1080p, almost the size of the Pixel 4a), as mainstream apps will properly work at that size. I still have a working 4a, and some banking apps are getting pretty cramped for instance. And many websites already need furious panning and zooming. A credit card size phone would only work for people wh…
I agree. I think the article about them was on Ars Technica, but I don’t really feel like looking for it.
They seemed underwhelmed at the phones.
[EDITED TO ADD]
Found ‘em: https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2018/10/palm-rises-from-the-...
Also, these: https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2021/11/meet-this-unique-com...
Re: I want an iPhone Mini-sized Android phone (2022)
#180I dream of a foldable with an e-ink screen for multi-day usage, and an OLED screen when folded open for media/game consumption.
Someone pinch me awake when that happens, thanks.