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

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

#591

Post by Reason077 » Thu, Jul 17, 2025, 5:54 PM UTC

r00fus wrote: post #587

Topfi wrote: post #507

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> The iPhone 12 and 13 Mini were always marketed as the cheaper versions [...] No, they were not. They were literally a scaled down version of their respective regular sized counterparts, the 13 Mini had the same cameras, SOC, memory, screen quality and storage options as the regular 13 [0], yet its sales success (or lack thereof [1]) was enough to instantly cure me of any previously held notions that there is a suff…

The 12 mini and 13 mini had very substandard batteries compared to the mainline version or the SE. There are a lot of people who probably would've bought the mini but instead of opted for the SE because battery life degraded so quickly.

It wasn't that the batteries were "substandard". I'm sure they were the same technology and quality as the standard iPhone 12 and 13 batteries. It's just that they were compressing the same hardware into a smaller form factor and, therefore, a smaller battery.

The only thing that used less power on the mini was the smaller screen, but that doesn't save enough power to make up for a physically smaller battery.

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

#592

Post by philipkglass » Thu, Jul 17, 2025, 5:56 PM UTC

franga2000 wrote: post #349

userbinator wrote: post #262

Earlier quoted context omitted.

non-OLED screen I'd consider that an advantage: No burn-in.

Is OLED burn-in really something people still care about? I have a handful of OLED devices, some of which I've used daily for nearly 10 years, and none of them have any burn-in. I've never even seen burn-in on anything other than a signage TV, and that happens even on some LCDs.

I know someone who spends so much time with YouTube on their phone that the logo is visibly burned in to the screen. The phone is less than 2 years old.

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

#593

Post by osigurdson » Thu, Jul 17, 2025, 5:56 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…

I think when people start using phones less, they will again want them to be small. That is my experience at least. That being said, I expect to have to go back to a full size phone before that happens.

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

#594

Post by nomel » Thu, Jul 17, 2025, 5:59 PM UTC

theendisney wrote: post #111

nomel wrote: post #41

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> It needs only 20-30 meter range. And, this is trivially satisfied with a $10 extension cord.

That would be a different idea i also like. Something like calls over wifi but use ethernet in stead. No more radiation

I was thinking a regular analog POTS phone. ;)

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

#595

Post by andruby » Thu, Jul 17, 2025, 6:05 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…

I really like the size of my iPhone mini, and I'm disappointed Apple has discontinued them. Apparently the 12 mini represented only 6% of iPhone sales, and the 13 mini only 3%.

I haven't upgraded yet.

Why does everyone (most of you too?) like bigger screens? The mini screen is big enough for HN, reddit, banking, photos, etc.

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

#596

Post by theshackleford » Thu, Jul 17, 2025, 6:05 PM UTC

const_cast wrote: post #557

theshackleford wrote: post #334

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> For... well, most people. You don’t speak for most people. You can only speak for yourself. The feelings of “Most people” are clear as demonstrated by the market; they not only find large phones fine, they find them preferable. > modern phones are not one hand operable So? I mean for me they are so it’s irrelevant, but what should it matter if they are not? The market obviously does not share your interest in devic…

We are in agreement - you appear to be replying to my comment piece by piece without reading all of it. I'm speaking about the one-hand operability, which I then conclude must not be very important and obviously the market prefers something else. I will only address this part: > The market is optimizing for what consumers asked for This is hopelessly naive. This is true in the same sense that butane rings in cigarett…

> Consumers don't know what they want, they're fed whatever is going to make the most money by advertisers. And they will like it, because there is no other choice.

Except we know this is not the reality in this case as the worlds most successful mobile device marketer has made multiple attempts to create and market smaller devices which time and time again the majority of consumers have rejected.

The majority having a preference not matching your own doesn't need to be a conspiracy of consumer stupidity. Apple held out for a long time on making larger devices and ultimately caved to consumer sentiment, they didn’t grow that sentiment, they reacted to it.

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

#597

Post by the_gipsy » Thu, Jul 17, 2025, 6:06 PM UTC

Tha sad truth is that small screens don't work anymore, because apps are all tailored for bigger screens. I noticed this when I had an iPhone mini. It just did not work right. The UIs that are supposed to be surrounding the main part just cover too much. The range is from mildly annoying to completely blocked.

Really sad, because the device was physically very practical, and I don't really need such a big screen, just smart UIs like we used to have, that don't cram the screen full of every feature of every PM that ever worked at the company.

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

#598

Post by lbrito » Thu, Jul 17, 2025, 6:06 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.

>They also don't get any software updates the minute after they are launched.

If you install Lineage or something, isn't that essentially a non-issue?

Otherwise those seem great! Never heard of them.

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

#599

Post by xorcist » Thu, Jul 17, 2025, 6:07 PM UTC

Make your 5.4" screen phone with:

- a 3.5mm jack

- fingerprint sensor on the back

and it's an immediate buy for me, (almost, but not really) regardless of price!

The Pixel 4 had a 5.6" screen and it feels like the local maxima of mobile phone design. Ran GrapheneOS perfectly too.

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

#600

Post by tomwheeler » Thu, Jul 17, 2025, 6:08 PM UTC

keyringlight wrote: post #363

zerr wrote: post #267

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'd say the same goes for the removal of FM Radios from mainstream phones.

FM radio uses the headphone cable as an antenna, so with the move to bluetooth I assume it got squashed for similar reasons. The other aspect is it assumes if you want live radio that you're happy needing an active data connection and allowance, any any local stations have a stream available. One of the things I love about streaming (via RadioDroid, etc) is that you can get a station from anywhere on the planet but s…

> FM radio uses the headphone cable as an antenna, so with the move to bluetooth I assume it got squashed for similar reasons.

Some may prefer Bluetooth headphones, and there are countless apologists who now retroactively parrot the manufacturers' excuses for why headphone jacks were eliminated, but it wasn't something the _users_ asked for or wanted.

"Oh, but phones are waterproof now," they claim! Well, so was the Samsung Galaxy S5 I bought in 2014. And by the way, it also had a user-removable battery, removable storage, an FM radio, and an IR blaster. All these years later, you can't find a new phone with all of those features and it's very difficult to find a flagship phone with even _one_ of them.