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I want an iPhone Mini-sized Android phone

smallandroidphone.com

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Re: I want an iPhone Mini-sized Android phone

#441

Post by ece »

Dunedan wrote: post #66
perardi wrote: post #6

“matching size and design of iPhone 13 Mini” So, by all accounts, the iPhone mini has been an extremely slow seller. https://www.macrumors.com/2022/04/21/iphone-13-mini-unpopula... Why would that form factor succeed in the Android space? --- I see these meme on tech sites all the time: “oh phones are too big I just want something simple”. That is a valid sentiment that I think is shared by basically no average consum…

> Why would that form factor succeed in the Android space? Because it's not Apple selling them and Android smartphone manufacturers operate with much lower margins. Take Motorola for example, which isn't even one of the 10 largest smartphone manufacturers. They released ~30 different smartphone models in the past year alone, so they apparently make money, even if they don't sell millions of units per model. Yet none…

I think this is the main reason, and why only Apple can afford to make a small slab phone. They can still make some margin with 5% of a massive number, while others can't make any.

Foldables seem like a better compromise here, and hopefully more like the zflip/razr get in this $700-800 range with stock android, good cameras, and decent battery life. The zflip 3 has been sold for $800, just give me stock android and I'd be a buyer. I'd be ok with a slightly slower processor if it means a better battery life, but within 10-20% of a flagship. Between a $450 6.1 inch Pixel 6a, or a $700-800 folding phone, it's going to be kind of tough to compete with a smaller slab phone if it's going to have to make more compromises to stay small.

I'd love a Nexus 4 sized phone again, but these aren't bad options, if you want small, go folding, or get a 6a. I'm sure the mini is a good option if you're ok with iOS.

Re: I want an iPhone Mini-sized Android phone

#443

Post by aidenn0 »

cehrlich wrote: post #290
davee5 wrote: 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) te…

My Unihertz Jelly2 is much smaller than TFA is asking for (and has a shitty camera plus midrange CPU making it disqualified), but battery life is Just Fine. Making the phone significantly larger should easily allow for a large enough battery for a flagship processor.

Re: I want an iPhone Mini-sized Android phone

#445

Post by toqy »

oceanplexian wrote: post #357
davee5 wrote: 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…

> Big companies are drowning in market data. They know some people really, really want small phones. But it's a long-tail opportunity they're willfully ignoring I would argue that they don’t know what people want at all, since market data just reinforces previously held assumptions. For example if you surveyed people in 2006 what kind of phone they wanted, most consumers would probably ask for a better flip phone. It…

Smaller screened smartphones aren't a new market that needs to be defined though. Most people know what they are by virtue of having lived through the era that they were the only choice.

And as OP pointed out, Apple makes a smaller screened smartphone, so they exist. In some comment on this post someone said that it accounts for 3% of Apple's phone sales.

How big is the group of people that want a smaller smart phone but aren't willing or able to switch to Apple? Who knows. My intuition says not many, but maybe we'll find out through OP's efforts. I'm an iPhone user and the only reason I haven't switched to something like the iPhone Mini is because I want the better camera on the pro's.

Re: I want an iPhone Mini-sized Android phone

#446

Post by mormegil »

odiroot wrote: post #404

I'm holding onto my XZ2C tight until some manufacturer wakes up and starts producing compacts again.

I was holding onto my XZ1C. Two months ago, I bought Samsung S22: it is bigger, but acceptably so, and there seems to be no smaller option in the foreseeable future, anyway.

Re: I want an iPhone Mini-sized Android phone

#447

Post by qwertfisch »

alkonaut wrote: post #332

“Sub 6 inches” Isn’t 6” about the size of an iPhonex/XR/11 which is a huge slab of a phone?

Yes, very strange. GSMarena lists it as 6.1 inch, and its length of 150mm (5.9") might be acceptable, but the width (76mm / 3") is large.

Comparing with my Samsung A40 (5.9" diagonally), the latter is much smaller, and also lighter: https://www.gsmarena.com/compare.php3?idPhone1=9320&idPhone2...

Edit: Both smartphones have the same display aspect ratio, but the XR seems to have thicker edges. The screen-to-body-ratio is only 79%, compared to 85.5% on the A40. So it must be wider and higher.

Re: I want an iPhone Mini-sized Android phone

#448

Post by bsder »

cortesoft wrote: post #197
reaperducer wrote: post #120

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't understand when did the ability to choose a product fitting your preferences become a bad thing on HackerNews Because so many on HN have been indoctrinated into the "scale at all costs" mentality. It demonstrates the difference between HN and the real world. On HN, if you can't serve a billion people, your product is niche. In the real world, billions of people earn a very nice living making niche products. I…

> In the real world, billions of people earn a very nice living making niche products. But rarely something as expensive to create as a smart phone.

The limitation to making niche phones are the stupid, sclerotic, CARRIERS--not the manufacturers. It's the carrier gatekeeping that prevents niche phones from forming.

We need a ruling like from back in the Bell System era where you are allowed to bring customer equipment to the network without the network owner permission.

Re: I want an iPhone Mini-sized Android phone

#449

Post by ajot »

mywacaday wrote: post #403

I recently discovered the one handed feature on my Note10+ that allows the shrinking of the screen to whatever size you want. Don't use it but might be useful to someone. https://www.samsung.com/africa_en/support/mobile-devices/how...

LineageOS used to have this feature, by swiping the navbar. Unfortunately, it was based on some hackery by HTC or Huawei and it's not feasible anymore.

Re: I want an iPhone Mini-sized Android phone

#450

Post by Bud »

torstenvl wrote: post #265
mtoner23 wrote: post #227

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…

FaceID can be disabled. Reliably. Not sure I see what the issue is here.

You can also quickly, discreetly, and temporarily disable it, for instance if you are stopped by police. So this just isn't a real issue.

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