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

Re: I want an iPhone Mini-sized Android phone

#651

Post by bscphil » Tue, May 17, 2022, 8:58 PM UTC

BugsJustFindMe wrote: post #638

bscphil wrote: post #637

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's fair. On the other hand, if there's a single issue with modern phones that gets HN users raging more than their size, it's the lack of a headphone jack. I don't think I've seen a single issue that's been more complained about. The dominant narrative on HN seems to be that even if one doesn't use headphones personally, the removal of the jack served no purpose other than to pad the pockets of Apple. (Someone ev…

This is a bias in what you notice, not what people care about. Some people care strongly about headphone jacks, but until you have data indicating that some==most, you shouldn't let that feeling turn into a population-based argument.

That's entirely possible, but this whole thread is based on exactly the same perception! The claim, possibly false, is that a sizable portion of HN users want small phones. That could be just visibility bias as well!

My comment is asserting that if we're assuming that the narrative on HN around small phones is not just sampling bias, then it's also good to assume that the narrative around a headphone jack is not just sampling bias. That means we have to believe that a large percentage of users looking for a small phone are also looking for a headphone jack - basically, what I called a "2015" design.

Re: I want an iPhone Mini-sized Android phone

#652

Post by [deleted] » Tue, May 17, 2022, 8:58 PM UTC

LeifCarrotson wrote: post #76

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…

Similarly, the F150 is the best selling vehicle in the US. #2 is the Silverado, and #3 is the Dodge Ram. Clearly, this whole 'sedan' concept is a failed form factor, every manufacturer should only make pickup trucks. Why shoot for less than the #1 market spot?

[deleted]

Re: I want an iPhone Mini-sized Android phone

#653

Post by drited » Tue, May 17, 2022, 8:59 PM UTC

pbhjpbhj wrote: post #575

boznz wrote: post #537

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>For example if you surveyed people in 2006 what kind of phone they wanted, most consumers would probably ask for a better flip phone. Better flip phone would be good too.

Samsung make one called the Z-flip. Way too expensive for me, but to me it's the better flip phone I've been waiting for since 2005!

I have the Z-Flip 3 and love it. It meets the 2 criteria of the post's 4 that matter to me:

1.fits nicely in pocket. I can sit down comfortably with it in a pair of jeans. No dodgy posture.

2. Won't fall out of my pocket

Its screen is also much less likely to break like has happened with all my old phones when they accidentally fall out of jacket pocket

Re: I want an iPhone Mini-sized Android phone

#654

Post by ManBlanket » Tue, May 17, 2022, 8:59 PM UTC

I used a Palm, a phone about the dimensions of a business card, 1 slammer-pog thick, and loved it. The battery life was dismal, I had to disable most of the software which ran in the background, the camera was crap, but I loved that phone. Then my stupid provider implemented a list of approved devices and now I'm schlepping around a big piece of garbage with a cracked screen. I want my small phone back, so bad.

Re: I want an iPhone Mini-sized Android phone

#655

Post by timoth » Tue, May 17, 2022, 9:00 PM UTC

boring_twenties wrote: post #391

nousermane wrote: post #349

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Talking about notch/hole-punch displays. As somebody who never ever uses front-facing camera, can I have a phone/display without such defects, please?

On my G7 Play with LineageOS, I was able to "disable" the notch -- that is, draw a black bar around it, and have a proper rectangular display with a full-width status bar right below it. Works great, especially considering the display is not quite small enough for me in the first place.

You can do that with the stock Android too, once you've enabled the developer options in settings. The setting needed is "Display cutout" --> "Hide".

Re: I want an iPhone Mini-sized Android phone

#656

Post by steelframe » Tue, May 17, 2022, 9:03 PM UTC

I've replaced the battery twice on my Sony Xperia Z5 Compact and have flashed a custom AOSP build, and I will continue to keep it alive as long as humanly possible.

Re: I want an iPhone Mini-sized Android phone

#657

Post by jjav » Tue, May 17, 2022, 9:03 PM UTC

rich_sasha wrote: post #300

samatman wrote: post #168

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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…

As a non-power-user, I mostly keep my phone in the pocket, where I’d like it to be small. I’d almost go for a dumb phone, almost... but then I need emails, maps and WhatsApp. I don’t need 50 filters, 3 cameras, razor-thin (yet somehow enormous) body, more Storage than my laptop, etc etc...

> As a non-power-user, I mostly keep my phone in the pocket, where I’d like it to be small.

> I’d almost go for a dumb phone

But nobody makes a small dumb phone either! I'd be ok with a dumb phone, if it is small.

Re: I want an iPhone Mini-sized Android phone

#658

Post by jl6 » Tue, May 17, 2022, 9:03 PM UTC

If this thread proves anything it’s that there is huge demand for customizable phone designs. Currently, there is total reliance on economies of scale to make standardized SKUs affordable.

Imagine if you could figure out a way of manufacturing a phone with design on demand… imagine a configurator website where you adjusted sliders and tickboxes. Headphone jack here, screen size slider all the way to the left, battery size all the way to the right, pick your color, oops you can’t have IP68 because you selected the pop-out camera…

Like variable fonts, but for hardware.

Frankly I’ve no idea how you would do it.

But that’s the level of innovation required to unlock this market.

Re: I want an iPhone Mini-sized Android phone

#659

Post by The_Colonel » Tue, May 17, 2022, 9:03 PM UTC

drewzero1 wrote: post #218

bloqs wrote: post #39

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Every female member of my family has complained about devices being too big. Its clearly based on anecdotal evidence. People with smaller hands want to be able to operate the phone fully with one hand.

Not only smaller hands, but smaller pockets.

Most women I know never carried their phones in pockets, but in their handbags. Even in the tiny phones era.

Re: I want an iPhone Mini-sized Android phone

#660

Post by throwaway675309 » Tue, May 17, 2022, 9:04 PM UTC

dspillett wrote: post #172

erohead wrote: post #2

I’m a long-time small phone Android user. But after the Pixel 5, I have not been able to find a suitable small Android replacement. The Pixel 6 is gigantic, and the Pixel 7 looks like it is also destined to be huge. It’s gotten so bad that I’ve resorted to using an iPhone Mini, biding my time and hoping desperately that some Android OEM would step up. But it’s increasingly clear that a small premium phone is not on t…

I'd love a small primary phone with good battery life for general use (SMS/IM, and (shock!) making/taking calls). Relatively low resolution screen would not be a problem at all. But I, like most people I expect, also use my phone for many other uses some of which make good use of a larger screen at higher resolution: in-car GPS and while running/walking out on the trails, web browsing and social media stuff that woul…

I would think if you were running that you would prefer a smaller screen, having to stick a gigantic slab in my pocket whenever I transition from my walk to my jog constantly reminds me that I've got a brick flopping around in my shorts.

I never had a problem using a GPS on a small iPhone hooked up to a magnet on my dash in my car before, I can't imagine an extra inch and a half of real estate making that much of a difference.