I want an iPhone Mini-sized Android phone (2022) • Hacker News Board

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

#471

Post by einpoklum » Thu, Jul 17, 2025, 1:23 PM UTC

ZeljkoS wrote: post #350

You can actually find small Android phones via excellent GSMArena phone finder: https://www.gsmarena.com/search.php3?nYearMin=2023&fDisplayI... Quick search for just display size found these 10 phones released after 2023: https://www.gsmarena.com/results.php3?nYearMin=2023&fDisplay...

My very lax criteria yield only 4 phones released since 2023:

* A phone, not a watch

* Android 14 or later OS

* Thickness: 9mm max

* Height: 150mm max

* Width: 71mm max

and three of them are the overpriced Samsung Galaxy S phones. Only 7 released since 2020:

https://www.gsmarena.com/search.php3?nYearMin=2020&nHeightMa...

and they are Samsung Galaxy S's, a couple of Asus ZenFone's, and Google Pixel 5.

If you're willing to add another 5mm, there are also a couple of Sony Xperia's and Sharp Aquous, and Google Pixel 8. And if you want to cap the height at 145 mm - it's just Google Pixel 5.

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

#472

Post by coldpie » Thu, Jul 17, 2025, 1:27 PM UTC

tauntz wrote: post #332

I switched from a Pixel 3a to an iPhone 16 and it really bothers me that it's way too huge for everyday usage. Maybe I have extremely short thumbs but here's the maximum reach I have on the screen when I hold my phone "normally" in my hand: https://i.postimg.cc/Cx97jxLZ/iphone16reach.png - I can't reach the upper part of the screen at all, without doing finger-gymnastics or using my other hand. I'd love to switch to…

It's clunky and stupid, but if you "swipe down" off the bottom of the screen, it will bring the top half down into the reachable area. That's the fix they chose, instead of making phones that fit in a human's hand.

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

#473

Post by amluto » Thu, Jul 17, 2025, 1:27 PM UTC

rickdeckard wrote: post #422

The hard reality is that there is no PAYING market for such a device, because when it comes to the point-of-sale, most people still choose the normal-size device with better screen/battery/camera. This is equivalent to something I called the "QWERTY paradox" more than a decade ago: Back when the Smartphone market exploded, people disliked typing on a touchscreen and repeatedly stated that they want a device with a ph…

> when it comes to the point-of-sale, most people still choose the normal-size device with better screen/battery/camera.

My theory is that much of this effect is an error, or at least a far-less-than-ideal effort, on the part of the designers. Of course it’s hard to sell a low-end “mini” device with a worse camera, worse battery life, etc. But that’s not actually what I, or many people I discuss this with, want. I would happily buy a premium device that is short and narrow, and possibly even thicker as a tradeoff. There’s plenty of unexplored room in the design space here. For example: start with an iPhone Pro or whatever the Android equivalent du jour is. Keep the camera unchanged. Shrink the display but keep the same quality (at least equal pixel density). Now puff out the back so that the camera lenses are flat or even slightly recessed. Use the resulting added volume to compensate for the decrease in volume due to decreasing the other dimensions. Market the think as a Whatever Phone Pro Compact, and advertise clearly that the battery life is every bit as good as the non-Compact model version. Show off cool pictures models sticking this thing in their cool jeans pockets without them sticking out. Charge the same price as the ordinary Pro model.

As far as I know, no one has tried anything like this in recent memory. The iPhone 12 and 13 Mini were always marketed as the cheaper versions, and the cute little old SE model was very much a low-end version. Last I checked, there was no 5G Android device with similar dimensions from any manufacturer.

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

#474

Post by qwertytyyuu » Thu, Jul 17, 2025, 1:27 PM UTC

Take the compromise the the Motorola razr and never open it. At least for now, that;s what I’m doing

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

#475

Post by al_borland » Thu, Jul 17, 2025, 1:29 PM UTC

oreilles wrote: post #436

rickdeckard wrote: post #422

The hard reality is that there is no PAYING market for such a device, because when it comes to the point-of-sale, most people still choose the normal-size device with better screen/battery/camera. This is equivalent to something I called the "QWERTY paradox" more than a decade ago: Back when the Smartphone market exploded, people disliked typing on a touchscreen and repeatedly stated that they want a device with a ph…

Even if was a small % of the Apple lineup, the iPhone mini was one the best selling smartphones all brands considered. I for one switched to iPhone in 2020 specifically because there wasn't a single current-gen small form-factor Android phone anymore. I have a few friend that also made the switch with the 12 / 13 Mini for that reason. The real reason the iPhone mini failed is not related to screen size, it's because…

I think the "mini" name hurt it too. People thought it would be small, when the screen was in fact bigger than the screen on the 6/7/8 iPhones. It was a similar form factor without the forehead and chin.

The mini could have been simply, iPhone. The marketing would have been that they managed to add an extra .7" of screen, while reducing the overall size and weight. That's a great pitch. Who doesn't want a bigger screen in something that more easily fits in their pocket? Instead they called in a "mini", people thought it would be tiny and hard to use, so they didn't buy it.

The iPhone 12 mini screen was only .1" smaller than the screen on the iPhone 8 Plus... the giant option from just a few years earlier.

The mini was a marketing and brand strategy failure, plain and simple. It wasn't a small phone.

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

#476

Post by moron4hire » Thu, Jul 17, 2025, 1:32 PM UTC

I want an Android phone that doesn't break. My iPhone is a beast, but I hate using it, I'm too used to the Android interface (especially the keyboard, I can't believe how bad the keyboard is on iOS). But every Android phone I've ever had gets dinged up very easily and eventually falls apart.

I bought an iPhone 15 and a Pixel 7 at the same time when I started a new job 2 years ago. I keep my work stuff on the iPhone. For the first year, I kept them in the same pocket and had them both everywhere with me. The Pixel within a few weeks was starting to look beat up. The iPhone still looks practically brand new.

Just last night, I got home, pulled my Pixel out of my pocket, and found a crack near the corner of the screen. Now the screen is glitching out on the bottom 15% of the screen. I didn't drop it, I didn't bump into anything. Regular pocket pressure while sitting in my car must have bent it and it buckled.

My wife has had similar experiences with Samsung phones.

If it weren't for the lack of good browsers on iOS, I'd put up with the shitty keyboard.

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

#477

Post by martin_henk » Thu, Jul 17, 2025, 1:32 PM UTC

thorio wrote: post #324

Since Google is about to brick my Pixel 6a with the battery botchering update, i find myself in the same struggle again i had when buying the 6a. Basically you have to make compromises on performance and camera and then this was, what i came up with: - Zenfone 10 (flagship with prices still above launch price (!), which soon gets no updates anymore) - Unihertz Jelly Max (small, but thick and bad camera) - Rakuten Han…

Rakuten hand was/is very small.

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

#478

Post by Mouvelie » Thu, Jul 17, 2025, 1:35 PM UTC

Switched from my iPhone 13 mini to a Qin F21 Pro. I will buy phones like this as long as I can ! It was a pain to setup but it works well for what I want (having a smartphone in Canada)

https://www.duoqin.com/

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

#479

Post by MilanTodorovic » Thu, Jul 17, 2025, 1:36 PM UTC

mtmail wrote: post #460

rickdeckard wrote: post #422

The hard reality is that there is no PAYING market for such a device, because when it comes to the point-of-sale, most people still choose the normal-size device with better screen/battery/camera. This is equivalent to something I called the "QWERTY paradox" more than a decade ago: Back when the Smartphone market exploded, people disliked typing on a touchscreen and repeatedly stated that they want a device with a ph…

When asking people if they'd buy a yellow Sony Walkman people said yes. Shortly after given the choice to take one home the same people picked black. https://medium.com/@diogomarta/the-yellow-walkman-paradox-th...

It seems that Medium article is ripping off this one https://www.alexandercowan.com/yellow-walkman-data-art-of-cu...

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

#480

Post by NoGravitas » Thu, Jul 17, 2025, 1:36 PM UTC

jakegmaths wrote: post #248

I'm writing this on a Unihertz Jelly Star which is tiny, and I consider it my "protest phone" at the lack of decent small phones. A friend jokingly calls it my "microphone", another a "prison phone" (due to its size allowing for more easily smuggling in body cavities). Occasionally I go to mobile phone shops and ask if they have a case for it just for the fun of seeing the look on their faces when they see it (I don'…

The Jelly Max is 5" (so bigger than previous Jellies, smaller than mainstream phones). I'd strongly consider one except for their lack of software updates.