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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)

#311

Post by gargan »

al_borland wrote: post #151
pclowes wrote: 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…

This is the part that frustrates me. Apple keeps introducing software “solutions” for hardware problems. Reachability, Screen Time, Focus Modes, etc. A smaller phone naturally solves most of these problems. Small phones act as more of a utility device for when you’re away from a proper computer. This is all I want my phone to be. I really think they got it right the first time in 2007. I ended up switching from a 13…

You could take the 13 mini to Apple and swap out the battery for a new one? That might solve some of the battery issues

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

#312

Post by stavros »

sockbot wrote: post #310
stavros wrote: post #286

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

That's because it's not smaller, it has a larger front face area and volume.

It doesn't, my phone is a full cm longer.

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

#313

Post by VoxPelli »

chartered_stack wrote: post #292

I'm a convert on this topic. I went from wanting a small phone to being unable to wait to ditch mine. Like the OP, I switched from Android (Pixel 3a) to an iPhone SE 3 specifically for the smaller form factor. After using it for over a year, I've found the trade-offs in battery life and camera quality are too significant for my daily use. These limitations aren't an issue when I'm at home or my desk with easy access…

"the trade-offs in battery life and camera quality are too significant" - a small but thicker phone would have no trouble with battery life and could for sure have the same good cameras as larger phones – and could possibly even ditch the camera bump if it just made the entire phone as thick as the camera bump to fit a larger battery.

(After all, easiest way to increase battery size is to increase the smallest dimension. Add 1mm to a 4-4.5mm thick battery and you'll increase the battery size by 22-25%. Make the iPhone 13 Mini as thick as its camera bump and you would probably add ≈2.4mm, which would make the battery 60% larger)

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

#314

Post by VoxPelli »

deffrin wrote: post #273

If I have money and the knowledge to build a phone, surely i will make it possible one day. But I don't know why new innovative people are not getting into smartphone making. Everyone is trying to make the next big software. But why that grit is missing to bring the variety into small hardware devices that target majority? Or, is it not reaching people like me? Is it the lack of awareness?

Check eg. the Mudita Kompakt: https://store.mudita.com/store/mudita-kompakt-global

And the Light Phone 3: https://www.thelightphone.com/lightiii

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

#315

Post by vintagedave »

chartered_stack wrote: post #292

I'm a convert on this topic. I went from wanting a small phone to being unable to wait to ditch mine. Like the OP, I switched from Android (Pixel 3a) to an iPhone SE 3 specifically for the smaller form factor. After using it for over a year, I've found the trade-offs in battery life and camera quality are too significant for my daily use. These limitations aren't an issue when I'm at home or my desk with easy access…

> carrying a dedicated camera, a power bank, and using wired peripherals

I'm a small-phone person, and I don't think these _should_ be necessary. I'm fine with wired peripherals (and prefer them), but in 2025, with efficient chips, I don't see why we can't power a device much longer than 24 hours. What if it had decade-old hardware, and -- this is the bit I think is the problem -- the operating system and apps were efficient?

Same with a camera. It seems more about thickness than width; I don't believe it should be impossible to put a large-phone-format camera in a smaller phone. It may take battery space, but see above, we should be ok there these days.

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

#316

Post by ashellunts »

RachelF wrote: post #173

The 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: https://www.reddit.com/r/smallphones/

Fully agree. Mine has broken recently and I needed to buy a new phone. The S25 I have now is not much bigger, but even that small difference matters much. Though 120Hz screen is nice.

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

#317

Post by crossroadsguy »

> $700-800

I can.

Nothing will make happier than ditching Apple and get a smaller Android phone. In fact the size of iPhone 5s was the only reason that had piqued my interest and I had migrated to the iPhones. Then I stayed for other (and important) reasons.

> Stock Android OS

Ah, no. I take that back. That is not going to be worth 700-800 just for the size! In fact take more and put it to a fight which tries to force Google to "decolonise" every aspect of this mobile OS and push for apps to go for alternative app stores.

But as long as Google has it claws and fingers and feet and palm and teeth (imagine every other organ) into my data (and also existence via sensors and what not) on an Android phone in every way possible (sometimes not even imaginable), such pervasive and entangled, that getting out of this Kafkaesque privacy nightmare means using a custom ROM that no OEM supports (or probably will every support) and half the app I use (including bank/payment/Govt apps) will stop functioning and it makes me feel like puking - even the thought of being tracked like that non-stop!

Until then sadly I will contribute to the trillions of Apple and participate in this cozy duopoly these companies have established and rather be in this Kafkaesque control and closed walled garden. It is sad.

So no, I am done with "Stock Android OS" trope at this point :(

The reality is - and it is a sad truth - such a phone in today's world can only exist as a vanity/niche product and hence even with high cost it will suffer from lack of support, abandoned update/upgrade promises, and a really really bad support experience unless it is released to "just few cities" (not even few countries) because this is going to attract such a small number of people!

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

#318

Post by usrusr »

microtonal wrote: post #254
GarnetFloride wrote: post #178

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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 s…

I don't know. I think the SE was there there to generate services income (Apps, Apple Music, etc.) from people who wouldn't buy an iPhone otherwise. The design was intentionally very stale to avoid cannibalization of their flagships. I don't think a lot of people who bought flagship iPhones before would go to an SE. Imagine going from an iPhone X or XS to an SE, it's a big downgrade. People were not buying the SE bec…

They could have made the SE large but slow (instead of small and slow) and avoided all cannibalization future and present.

My hypothesis about the supposed non-existence of the small phone buyer is that they very much do exist (personally, haven't bought anything other than whatever was the smallest Xperia at the time in more than a decade), but that this group has little overlap with the group willing to buy for list price on release day. But the perception of success of a given phone is very much dominated by the latter, the long tail of buyers isn't really seen. Even if the release day premium over mid-lifecycle street price (in countries where price fixing is not allowed) goes to the retailer and is of very little interest to the manufacturer.

Manufacturers should just move compacts to a three year cycle and forget everything about hyper-optimizing desirability for the kind of buyer who spends too much time reading questionable review sites.

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

#319

Post by volemo »

bigstrat2003 wrote: post #144
jittery41 wrote: post #120

Earlier 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.

I’m not sure if your comment is sarcastic, but in case it isn’t: my friend group had a get-together two days ago, three out of six had a laptop with them, and it even came in handy when I started talking about the problem I’m working on, somebody got interested and I was able to show the plots and calculations. Also we have PowerPoint Parties somewhat regularly, where most of us bring their computers to make last minute changes or simply have a known environment.

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

#320

Post by flakeoil »

chartered_stack wrote: post #292

I'm a convert on this topic. I went from wanting a small phone to being unable to wait to ditch mine. Like the OP, I switched from Android (Pixel 3a) to an iPhone SE 3 specifically for the smaller form factor. After using it for over a year, I've found the trade-offs in battery life and camera quality are too significant for my daily use. These limitations aren't an issue when I'm at home or my desk with easy access…

Since Pixel 3a and iPhone SE 3, the battery technology has improved and especially the charging times have gone down dramatically so the battery life experience you had then would not occur today with the same form factor.
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