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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

#851

Post by kalleboo »

ufmace wrote: post #593
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…

I suspect that part of the problem is that, as measured by actual purchases, people don't really prioritize small size and displays that much. Look at how long all of the requirement lists posted around these threads are. Some people really want a nice camera, some a headphone jack, some a SD card or big battery etc. I would expect that it's a fact of life in a small phone that you can't fit everything anyone might w…

> But in reality, people seem to refuse to pay more than a modest markup over the mainstream model with tens of millions produced

Worse, they expect it to be cheaper since "it has less screen and battery it must be cheaper to make!"

Re: I want an iPhone Mini-sized Android phone

#852

Post by [deleted] »

tazjin wrote: post #620
ufmace wrote: post #593

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I suspect that part of the problem is that, as measured by actual purchases, people don't really prioritize small size and displays that much. Look at how long all of the requirement lists posted around these threads are. Some people really want a nice camera, some a headphone jack, some a SD card or big battery etc. I would expect that it's a fact of life in a small phone that you can't fit everything anyone might w…

> Some people really want a nice camera, some a headphone jack, some a SD card or big battery etc We used to have these things in small form factors. Those of us annoyed by where the big companies forced the direction of development are mostly very aware that things have regressed hard.

[deleted]

Re: I want an iPhone Mini-sized Android phone

#853

Post by hoseja »

phinnaeus wrote: post #814
dont__panic wrote: post #585

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Very much the same situation for me. I'm especially interested in why Eric doesn't mention the headphone jack -- does he simply think it isn't a noteworthy feature, and assume the phone WILL have the jack? Or does he assume that bluetooth is the future and only silly luddites like us care about the jack? I hope Eric eases up on the weirdly specific requirements, like dual rear cameras, symmetrical bezels, and a punch…

I agree that the requirements should be pared down to the absolute least common denominator, but disagree that the headphone jack belongs in that category. You (and GP) surely have to recognize that at this point requiring a headphone jack is also a niche request.

That's just fiction phone manufacturers want to make true by repetition.

Re: I want an iPhone Mini-sized Android phone

#854

Post by kuon »

I'd like a smaller phone too, but with a bigger battery.

If I browse the web in the, I cannot use my phone to buy my train ticket as you have to show the QR code and 4G is killing the battery really quickly.

My current phone is a one plus 5T and the new phone could have 3cm less in height and 1 in width while being 4 time thicker. Ideally I'd like addon battery to come back, you remember those nokia 3310 with the added huge battery? I want that. Now I have an external battery, but I need a cable and it's not that practical.

As a more general comment, I'd like "design" to be less important. I don't care if my phone is a dumb cube like shape. I want function.

Re: I want an iPhone Mini-sized Android phone

#855

Post by happymellon »

mdoms wrote: post #668
jjav wrote: post #646

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> > people who need phones will still buy something even if reluctantly > I'll be blunt: no I won't. Agreed. I used my 2005 Motorola Razr until 2020 because I have zero interest in an inconveniently large phone. When the Palm Phone came out I got it as a perfectly-sized replacement. I won't ever go to a larger phone because if it doesn't fit my pocket, what's the point? Might as well not have one.

People who will happily continue using 15-year-old hardware are not a great market segment to target.

It's not always happily. There is no upgrade path for my S10e.

Re: I want an iPhone Mini-sized Android phone

#856

Post by einr »

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…

The amplifier used for headphones is very different than what is used to drive a speaker. It's a totally different component.

It generally isn't, no. Looking at a teardown of the iPhone 5 for example (just the first phone I thought to check) there is a single Cirrus Logic class D amplifier chip that handles both the speaker and headphone outputs. I don't know of and cannot find any phones that have a dedicated amplifier chip for the headphone output although I'm sure one exists somewhere.

Re: I want an iPhone Mini-sized Android phone

#857

Post by qq66 »

bscphil wrote: post #640
ako wrote: post #635

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No bad. I don't want those iritating headphone wires. Also a phone that doesn't mind being dropped in water, so no headphone jack please. Notch is not really an issue, front facing camera is useful for video-calls. And i don't have a camera bump, that's solved by the case. Also, no idea what i'd do with memory cards, there's plenty memory in the my phone. The iphone 13 mini works well for me. No idea if this represen…

> Also a phone that doesn't mind being dropped in water, so no headphone jack please. People have somehow managed to forget this, but phones have been waterproof since ... basically forever without forgoing a headphone jack. I could link probably half the phones made between 2012-2017, but this phone is actually linked by the site itself: https://www.theverge.com/2015/10/16/9549247/sony-xperia-z5-r... Honestly, I'm n…

The most common way that a phone gets into water is that a woman has the phone in her pocket and it falls into the toilet. Most women's clothing has extremely terrible pockets that cannot securely hold a modern-size smartphone.

Re: I want an iPhone Mini-sized Android phone

#858

Post by winternett »

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 want headphone jack and SD card compatibility back, so I can store my audio library somewhere else (more reliable and less costly) other than the cloud, but phone makers are bent on disappointing customers and customers keep buying whatever junk they make and label as overpriced flagship devices.

Re: I want an iPhone Mini-sized Android phone

#859

Post by steanne »

octoberfranklin wrote: post #834
jray wrote: post #163

Earlier quoted context omitted.

One of the reasons I want a small phone is because I already have other devices with a larger screen: computer, laptop and tablet. That's why I want it to be cheap, I have already spent a lot on different devices and for the little use I give it I want it to be cheap and small.

Of course. But phone manufacturers don't want this . They don't want you using those other devices. And they have the power, so you will submit to their decisions.

why don't they? then they could sell me two things! back in the day i had a motorola droid AND a xoom.

Re: I want an iPhone Mini-sized Android phone

#860

Post by Zenbit_UX »

w-ll wrote: post #561
d3nj4l wrote: post #174

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Much of that can be chalked down to the fact that Apple doesn't have that many models they actively sell, so the models that they do tend to have way more than any individual Android model, and that the mini is the cheapest iPhone in the 13 line. I know a few people who went for the mini because it was marginally cheaper.

I went with the mini because the new SE is fraking bigger with less screen. The mini is just about the limit of what i want to put in my pocket. If they get any bigger, im going watch with cell and leaving these phablets at home.

Do y all have really small pockets or something? For women, I get it, your pants don't come with pockets and that sucks. But for guys? I've had a Samsung Note phone in my pocket since the Note 2, they where the model that invented the phablet moniker... Never had an issue. Do I just make better pant choices than most people?
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