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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

#681

Post by [deleted] »

alwillis wrote: post #647
GekkePrutser wrote: post #523

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Apple's limited success is not only a factor of the screen size but also market positioning. The mini is inferior in some specs to other iPhones but at the same time really high end as far as mobiles in general go. That makes it a niche product even if screen size was not a factor at all. It targets people that have plenty of cash for a flagship but are willing to forego the top tier specs for a smaller size. Apple p…

The mini is inferior in some specs to other iPhones I’m typing this on my iPhone 13 mini; saying it’s inferior to the rest of the iPhone 13 is an overstatement. All of the core features are the same as they rest of the line. Ironically it’s the largest iPhone I’ve owned, having upgraded from an iPhone 7 and a 6s before that. There probably won’t be iPhone 14 mini, so I’m glad I was able to get this form factor before…

[deleted]

Re: I want an iPhone Mini-sized Android phone

#682

Post by GekkePrutser »

alwillis wrote: post #647
GekkePrutser wrote: post #523

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Apple's limited success is not only a factor of the screen size but also market positioning. The mini is inferior in some specs to other iPhones but at the same time really high end as far as mobiles in general go. That makes it a niche product even if screen size was not a factor at all. It targets people that have plenty of cash for a flagship but are willing to forego the top tier specs for a smaller size. Apple p…

The mini is inferior in some specs to other iPhones I’m typing this on my iPhone 13 mini; saying it’s inferior to the rest of the iPhone 13 is an overstatement. All of the core features are the same as they rest of the line. Ironically it’s the largest iPhone I’ve owned, having upgraded from an iPhone 7 and a 6s before that. There probably won’t be iPhone 14 mini, so I’m glad I was able to get this form factor before…

I mean compared to the pro.

I would consider both flagship models, considering the pricing. For me mid-range is My current mid-range phone is a Samsung A52s which costs 329€.

But perhaps my long Android history has skewed my pricing concepts somewhat.

Re: I want an iPhone Mini-sized Android phone

#683

Post by rootusrootus »

jl6 wrote: post #658

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…

> If this thread proves anything it’s that there is huge demand for customizable phone designs.

I think it just proves what we already know -- there is a vocal minority (but strong emphasis on minority) who would like a customizable phone. The market largely doesn't seem to care. And it may even actively discriminate against customizable phones by ensuring they had no resale value. The more custom you want it, the fewer people who want to buy that particular device.

Re: I want an iPhone Mini-sized Android phone

#684

Post by ece »

dont__panic wrote: post #477
ece wrote: post #441

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think this is the main reason, and why only Apple can afford to make a small slab phone. They can still make some margin with 5% of a massive number, while others can't make any. Foldables seem like a better compromise here, and hopefully more like the zflip/razr get in this $700-800 range with stock android, good cameras, and decent battery life. The zflip 3 has been sold for $800, just give me stock android and I…

Foldables are a crappy solution. I do not want a tablet. I have no desire to watch videos on my phone, and I don't need a huge screen for any of the things I do on my phone regularly -- text, listen to music, occasionally browse HN and reddit, take photos. I understand that they fold up to essentially become weird-aspect ratio very thick phones... but that's not desirable for me either, especially at the foldable pri…

The zflip/razr foldables have smaller screens, and the zflip can be had for sub-$1000.

Re: I want an iPhone Mini-sized Android phone

#685

Post by depereo »

bscphil wrote: post #670
depereo wrote: post #667

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes. COVID contact tracing in New Zealand nearly completely relied on QR-code sign-ins with an ios or android app, for example. My company has an app to manage my sick/annual leave in. Sure, there are fallbacks, but they're inconvenient and time or energy intensive in a way a phone isn't. There are vanishingly small numbers of people who will insist on a perfect-or-nothing approach to smartphones. This market segment…

I'm sure there are people like that, but to be clear, I'm not one of them. There are many irritations I have with modern smartphones, but I'm willing to put up with all of them if necessary except 2: must be small enough, must have headphone jack. I'll buy any LineageOS capable phone that meets those criteria.

Right, but those are your specific requirements, the next person will insist on dual-sim. LineageOS capability is another piece that requires work, the headphone jack might be too hard for a small-scale small-phone manufacturing line as well, since someone else will require that it's waterproof.

There is a smartphone that meets the needs of a small-phone purchaser, after all, if small is the requirement - the iphone mini. But purchasing that would require some compromise on your hardline requirements, which will be different to someone else's hardline requirements such as a swappable battery.

Re: I want an iPhone Mini-sized Android phone

#687

Post by m1sta_ »

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…

Sony dude. The screen ratio makes it feel small in the hand.

Re: I want an iPhone Mini-sized Android phone

#688

Post by derefr »

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…

> You will be very, very hard pressed to source a pre-existing, high quality, non-exclusive 5.4" display with a hole punch

How about getting one of those foldable screens in the larger standard size, and then just... tucking away the excess inside the phone body?

Y'know, like the marketing material for the iPhone X claimed it was doing: https://qph.fs.quoracdn.net/main-qimg-0fd6daf2b9b742bf5dbf10... (though it actually wasn't.)

Re: I want an iPhone Mini-sized Android phone

#689

Post by nicoburns »

GekkePrutser wrote: post #523
toqy wrote: post #445

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Smaller screened smartphones aren't a new market that needs to be defined though. Most people know what they are by virtue of having lived through the era that they were the only choice. And as OP pointed out, Apple makes a smaller screened smartphone, so they exist. In some comment on this post someone said that it accounts for 3% of Apple's phone sales. How big is the group of people that want a smaller smart phone…

Apple's limited success is not only a factor of the screen size but also market positioning. The mini is inferior in some specs to other iPhones but at the same time really high end as far as mobiles in general go. That makes it a niche product even if screen size was not a factor at all. It targets people that have plenty of cash for a flagship but are willing to forego the top tier specs for a smaller size. Apple p…

> The mini is inferior in some specs to other iPhones but at the same time really high end as far as mobiles in general go. That makes it a niche product even if screen size was not a factor at all.

I feel like it being smaller is a factor in it having inferior specs: much easier to fit a better camera etc into a larger body.

Re: I want an iPhone Mini-sized Android phone

#690

Post by steanne »

foobarbecue wrote: post #81

Me too! AT&T kicked my xperia mini off their network for no good reason. I bought a pixel 4a which was the smallest compatible thing I could find. I also bought a Chinese 4g smartwatch hoping I can use that as a phone.

t-mobile did the same thing to my z1 compact, but i bought a used xz1 compact and they allowed it.
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