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I want an iPhone Mini-sized Android phone (2022)

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Re: I want an iPhone Mini-sized Android phone (2022)

#281
post #64
post #8

My 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…

I used to buy ZenFones, but they're huge now. It feels like there's some combination of poor sales and parts commonality that causes the problem, not a shadowy conspiracy, since I don't think ASUS and other manufacturers have a significant way to benefit from phone addiction.

I have the last non-huge ZenFone.

The new ZenFones are just rebadged ROGs which explains the massive size jump. I'm not looking forward to replacing this phone when it ages out.

Re: I want an iPhone Mini-sized Android phone (2022)

#282
post #276
post #8

My 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…

I don’t know.If I have a “big” phone (anything bigger than the iphone mini, at least for me), I’ll leave it at home most of the time. But if it’s small, I’ll take it with me everywhere. So I can be bombarded with crap more time if I use a small phone.

Phones are big now because people want better cameras and longer battery life. Also, people are spending 4-5 hours more per day on screens than they did 15 years ago, so they want bigger screen for reading, playing games and watching videos.

Re: I want an iPhone Mini-sized Android phone (2022)

#283
post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I just don't see the value add anymore and the company appears to have lost its product vision and the design sensibilities are slipping. Apple is controlled by a geriatric board and a logistics expert and it shows. I feel I am more frequently encountering software bugs, vaporware,(dESiGnEd fOr ApPle InTelLiGeNce), and ridiculous "innovation" (genmoji). I feel the hardware advances are not very relevant to me, I don'…

What Linux computer can you buy with the battery life, quietness, lack of heat and speed of a modern ARM based Mac? As far as phones - your alternative is to buy an Android phone with an operating system by an ad company that is also pushing AI just as hard. And you still end up getting most apps from the Google Play Store. By the way, iMessage supports SMS/MMS/RCS for interoperability. What else do you want?

[deleted]

Re: I want an iPhone Mini-sized Android phone (2022)

#284
post #219
post #197

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The other problem is that more and more content now is designed for (or only tolerable on) larger phone screens. Go to any website these days on a smaller phone like an iPhone mini and more than 50% (being charitable here) of the screen will be taken up by garbage like ads, cookie banners, popups, etc. It's a vicious cycle. Phone manufactures make the screen bigger, app and website developers realize they can cram mo…

Ya'll see adds? I use Brave Browser on all my devices and haven't seen traditional ads in years. Even Youtube ads are blocked on Brave by default

Most people just use whatever the default browser is on their phone.

Re: I want an iPhone Mini-sized Android phone (2022)

#285

Market wants big phones. The solution... look to the east. Phone accessories to manage big phones. Many women with small hands using finger loops (that double as kickstands), wrist straps, full body lanyards. Convincing main brands to dump 100s of millions to cater to small phone crowd should be proven DOA by now. The minimalist EDC crowd is niche aberration, most people throughout civilization EDC was more cumbersom…

Some people want a phone where they can use the screen with one hand.

Phone finger strap + learn one hand mode.

Re: I want an iPhone Mini-sized Android phone (2022)

#286
post #8

My 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…

You’re way too cynical and have let your cynicism cloud history. The first phablets were probably the Galaxy Note line starting in 2011 which was met with some skepticism due to the size of them. These were well before the edge to edge screen days. So you had 5.7 inch screens with a bezel. They were huge but I would routinely see small women pull these things out of their hand bags and press a device that obscured al…

I just refuse to accept that the first phablet I ever saw, the Galaxy Note, which covered the person's face and looked absolutely comical in their hands, was smaller than my current, very regular-sized phone.

Re: I want an iPhone Mini-sized Android phone (2022)

#288
post #57

Funny enough, in 2023, Asus released a good very close to iphone Mini-size android phone. The asus zenfone 10. https://www.asus.com/us/mobile-handhelds/phones/zenfone/zenf...

Not only is it not a very small phone, I can't even properly type this message one handed. It's also not a good phone which I regret purchasing. Zenphones until the 10 had easy to unlock bootloaders, leading to long in official support by the community. However with the 10 ASUS stopped that tool and they've been lying ever since that they're still working on it. My zenfone is now on its final major android update, th…

Agree on the Camera, bafflingly bad.

Thumbs up on the headphone jack though. Can't fault it there.

Re: I want an iPhone Mini-sized Android phone (2022)

#289
post #8

My 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…

Pointless rant. Apple does not earn more or less depending on how many ads it can show.

The market has spoken, it's not worthwhile for Apple to produce small phones.

There are a million companies that are not Google that could also produce mini phones and don't for the same exact reason: most people want large screens to enjoy videos and photos.

Nobody cares about small screens and pockets, everyone holds their phones in their hands or purses at all times.

Re: I want an iPhone Mini-sized Android phone (2022)

#290

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You’re way too cynical and have let your cynicism cloud history. The first phablets were probably the Galaxy Note line starting in 2011 which was met with some skepticism due to the size of them. These were well before the edge to edge screen days. So you had 5.7 inch screens with a bezel. They were huge but I would routinely see small women pull these things out of their hand bags and press a device that obscured al…

Yeah and I also remember how Apple fans said "this is ridiculous, nobody needs a screen that big that doesn't fit in your pocket easily", and here we are 15 years later mourning the iPhone Mini/SE.

10 years ago, if your phone was bigger than 5 inches, it looked ridiculous. You'd pull it out and people would look at you like you'd just escaped from a nut house
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