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

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

#561

Post by koiueo » Thu, Jul 17, 2025, 4:41 PM UTC

ChrisRR wrote: post #351

cypherpunks01 wrote: post #4

Unfortunately this still hasn't happened yet. There are almost no good options for reasonable size Androids anymore. Zenfone 10 is pretty good, especially with the headphone jack, but it's already out of print and will be obsolete before long. And smaller would be nicer. Any other current gen recommendations?

People recommending Zenfone just proves that marketing works on a lot of people. It's literally only a few mm smaller than a standard flagship samsung and yet the small phone crowd recommends it as if it's tiny

A few mm smaller is the best we can get.

Also don't forget to account for case to protect that beautiful glossy slippery fragile back of your Samsung phone.

ZF doesn't need any case.

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

#562

Post by raydev » Thu, Jul 17, 2025, 4:50 PM UTC

What I find fascinating is that Apple's and [Android manufacturers]'s previous attempts at smaller phones aren't even worth maintaining after they assess sales.

In my mind, these companies are all so massive they can afford a little fragmentation for the obviously small market, with no meaningful impact to their sales numbers or profits.

On the iPhone minis, there's very obviously a market for them, but the market is so small compared to the market for "all iPhones" that it practically vanishes in comparison, which leads Apple to not bother. Is it really that expensive to maintain a more niche line for each generation?

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

#563

Post by toast0 » Thu, Jul 17, 2025, 4:50 PM UTC

robertoandred wrote: post #524

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…

Who decides what a normal-sized device is?

Screen manufacturers, based on orders from the big buyers. They set up their machines to build panels and cut them to size, minimizing wasted area. If you want one of the sizes built in volume, great; if not, it's very difficult.

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

#564

Post by Analemma_ » Thu, Jul 17, 2025, 4:51 PM UTC

burnt-resistor wrote: post #249

O-stevns wrote: post #235

I got the iPhone 13 mini as a work phone for the sole reason of it being the smallest iPhone at the time. I too dislike the phone landscape nowadays with their ridiculous and ever increasing sizes. My personal device is a Motorola Razr 50 Ultra, which I got because while it's huge when flipped, it's portable enough when it's closed. I can have it in my pocket without it falling out.. without it being annoying while i…

The iPhone 13 Pro -> 16 Pro upsizing is ridiculous. The 13 was just the right size, but now they had to change it so they could sell more cases. It's almost phablet-size now. Look at an iPhone 6S by comparison.

This is an “unpleasable customer” problem. When the 13 Pro was current, everyone was yelling at Apple that it was too thin and that they wanted a slightly thicker phone with more battery life, which is what Apple did.

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

#565

Post by raydev » Thu, Jul 17, 2025, 4:51 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…

There is a paying market, it's just overwhelmingly erased by the market for the larger phones, so companies stop bothering.

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

#566

Post by happymellon » Thu, Jul 17, 2025, 4:51 PM UTC

fckgw wrote: post #543

ryandrake wrote: post #515

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The "mini" versions of phones (even the ones marketed as premium) always seem to be nerfed in other ways, like battery life, camera quality, or performance, which could explain why they inevitably don't sell. Nobody really offers a balls-out premium small form factor phone that is better than or equal to the flagship big-phone .

That was the iPhone Mini! Same internal specs as the regular iPhone, smaller package, roughly same battery life. And it's gone because no one wanted it.

It was selling at about 6 million a year.

I had one and loved it.

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

#567

Post by Skunkleton » Thu, Jul 17, 2025, 4:53 PM UTC

raydev wrote: post #562

What I find fascinating is that Apple's and [Android manufacturers]'s previous attempts at smaller phones aren't even worth maintaining after they assess sales. In my mind, these companies are all so massive they can afford a little fragmentation for the obviously small market, with no meaningful impact to their sales numbers or profits. On the iPhone minis, there's very obviously a market for them, but the market is…

> Is it really that expensive to maintain a more niche line for each generation?

Think of just the work that goes into having an assembly line customized for a specific form factor. To keep price, quality, and profit in line with their other phones I think the answer here is clearly yes.

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

#568

Post by raydev » Thu, Jul 17, 2025, 4:54 PM UTC

amluto wrote: post #473

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 wo…

> much of this effect is an error, or at least a far-less-than-ideal effort

No, the vast majority of people use their phones as video viewers, increasingly so after the rise of TikTok. I have family members in their 30s who don't have laptops or TVs, all media is consumed through their phone, and for most kids/teens across the world it is their primary video consumption device.

The average person is trying to maximize screen size relative to portability. And the market is everyone on earth. That's it.

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

#569

Post by PaulHoule » Thu, Jul 17, 2025, 4:55 PM UTC

fkyoureadthedoc wrote: post #540

throw10920 wrote: post #521

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've seen this pattern before, with laptops ("I want a laptop with" specific spec+feature combo not in the market ) and cars ("I just want an electric car with physical controls and no subscription services or extra electronics") immediately coming to mind. Which is a shame, because I can sympathize with most of these requests. I want something like Kick-starter which operates the same way but isn't meant for funding…

Soon to be added to that list, the army of Redditors that insist the Slate truck is the ideal vehicle for them.

People report struggling to buy a Ford Maverick. Shadowy organizations can't stand it that Americans demand Kei Trucks and get legislation so they can't get them. Increasingly I see rural people driving compact cars... Maybe they'd like a big-ass truck but they can't afford one at $90k.

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

#570

Post by seanssel » Thu, Jul 17, 2025, 4:57 PM UTC

gsa wrote: post #538

nextos wrote: post #504

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Unihertz sells some decent Android phones that have 3 and 5 inch displays, respectively: https://www.unihertz.com AFAIK, these are similar to the iPhone SE? The SE form factor was great in terms of size and thickness. Easy to use with one hand. I miss that.

Unihertz devices fill a gap but are subpar phones in terms of hardware. They also don't get any software updates the minute after they are launched.

I would be all over the Unihertz stuff if that wasn’t the case. I see people talking about Lineage working, but I haven’t looked into it.

My ideal phone is something small and rugged with physical keys that supports Android Auto for navigation and a few other basic apps I need (Bitwarden basically).