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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

#511

Post by jdironman »

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…

“If I had asked people what they wanted, they would have said faster horses.” - Henry Ford.

However, in this day and time when it comes to established tech such as a smart phone, sometimes the best way to 'innovate' might be to give people what they actually want. Sure not all companies can cater all niches. But hopefully someone will! Im also a small phone advocate.

Re: I want an iPhone Mini-sized Android phone

#512

Post by dti »

> are easy to use one-handed without dropping

Not necessarily.

I bought an iPhone Mini expecting that it'd be comfortable to use in a single hand like my previous Xperia phone of exactly the same width.

Unfortunately, it is not the case: the iPhone screen is very close to the bottom edge, and to switch apps you need to move your thumb to the very edge and then swipe up, which is rather uncomfortable (or requires holding your phone very low, in which case, you can't reach the top of the screen without changing your grasp). Similarly, the keyboard is rather low and uncomfortable to use from the otherwise most natural single-handed grasp.

Re: I want an iPhone Mini-sized Android phone

#513

Post by 7speter »

Interesting to me how all the tech people here want an iPhone mini sized phone when its the least popular and even the low cost to entry iphone se, which is also lauded around these parts is “struggling” to find buyers:

https://www.pcmag.com/news/up-against-flashy-flagships-iphon...

Re: I want an iPhone Mini-sized Android phone

#514

Post by [deleted] »

Kirby64 wrote: post #482
interestica wrote: post #232

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The thing I never understood about the headphone jack and its disappearance: it doesn't need to be a jack. It need only be three contact points. You could have it on the outside rim of a phone and have a magnetic sheath hold the headphone pin to it. But I suppose it's not just about getting rid of the jack itself but also any DAC component? (But, isn't it doing that anyway for the speaker?)

The amplifier used for headphones is very different than what is used to drive a speaker. It's a totally different component. Also, remember, it's doing much more than just pumping audio out. Modern 3.5mm jacks on phones are 4 pin, generally, and you have to do the following (or, at least most of it): * Detect if something is plugged in * Detect if the thing plugged in is a 3 pin (stereo speakers), or 4 pin (stereo s…

[deleted]

Re: I want an iPhone Mini-sized Android phone

#516

Post by scarface74 »

roelschroeven wrote: post #79

A problem is that even within the niche of small phones, not everybody has the same wishes. Compared to your ideal specifications, my wishes are: support for microSD card storage; battery that easily and reliably lasts a full day with moderate phone usage; fingerprint sensor, not necessarily on the power button; camera decent, not necessarily great (I don't care that much about low light performance, for example). I'…

You want a small phone. But you want one with better battery life and you want an Android?

Between the inefficiency of non Apple ARM chipsets and the inefficiency of Android, that’s not likely to happen.

Re: I want an iPhone Mini-sized Android phone

#517

Post by dismantlethesun »

jdironman wrote: post #511
oceanplexian wrote: post #357

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> 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…

“If I had asked people what they wanted, they would have said faster horses.” - Henry Ford. However, in this day and time when it comes to established tech such as a smart phone, sometimes the best way to 'innovate' might be to give people what they actually want. Sure not all companies can cater all niches. But hopefully someone will! Im also a small phone advocate.

Also horses that could run at 100mph for 5 hours at a time would be far better than early cars. They run on clean renewable fuel, have built in natural intelligence to avoid crashes and carry drunk drivers, and come in a variety of pleasing colors (not just black!).

The main benefit of cars was that if you delay maintenance your transportation doesn’t die.

Re: I want an iPhone Mini-sized Android phone

#518

Post by scarface74 »

samatman wrote: post #168
JumpCrisscross wrote: post #137

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Missing microSD card support could be the major dealbreaker And for the other guy a 3.5mm jack and for a third a physical off switch and look at that we have too many dealbreaker features for the form factor. Power users tend to have more dealbreakers than the average consumer. Anecdotally, it seems power users prefer smaller phones. This might be what kills the small phone factor.

I believe the bit about power users is the HN effect at work, the main customers for small phones are people with small hands and/or pockets, who are disproportionally women. Women are also overrepresented in the Really Big Phone market, and wield them two-handed. They also trend heavily iPhone in the US market, but that leaves plenty of alpha for the manufacturer who serves the actual market for small-form-factor An…

Android manufacturers besides Samsung already don’t make any money. The last thing they are going to do is go after an even smaller niche.

Re: I want an iPhone Mini-sized Android phone

#519

Post by pavon »

mg wrote: post #210

I maintain this chart of small Android phones: https://www.productchart.com/smartphones/small_android_phone... You can filter by specs to see how close you can get to your dream phone. There are quite a few available on the market that match the 5.5" screen size of the iPhone 13 Mini. Even by the big manufacturers like Samsung and Google. Like the Pixel 3. Which was introduced 4 years ago though. In general, phones h…

Missing Sony Xperia XZ2 Compact - the most recent (and apparently last) small phone that Sony made.
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