Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

I want an iPhone Mini-sized Android phone

smallandroidphone.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

911–920 of 1001 posts

Re: I want an iPhone Mini-sized Android phone

#911

Post by toss1 »

>>Cameras must be as good as Pixel 5 -- must have great low light performance >>2 rear cameras (regular and wide angle)

Upgrade that to as good as Samsung S22 Ultra w/10x Optical zoom; also great macro capability, so make that 3 cameras.

>> 128/256gb Storage Fine, but I'd also like to see removable storage

>>4 hours Screen On Time (SOT) I'm looking more for 6h - I'd rather have a thicker/heavier device and longer battery

While I like my smaller Samsung GS8, I'm upgrading to the S22U and not the smaller S22 specifically for the camera and bigger battery (and the fact that the GS8 is no longer supported with upgrades). I'm not sure how I'll like larger form factor, but I'm sure I'll love the larger screen too, so trade-offs.

EDIT: Basically, I want a full set of top-of-the-line flagship features in a small form factor.

It used to be that smaller was extra, as it required more engineering, not smaller is cheaper like kiddie-plate food portions. I suppose we'll have to wait until the foldable formats become more unbreakable/reliable and they upgrade all the features to top-of-the-line.

Re: I want an iPhone Mini-sized Android phone

#912

Post by askvictor »

Normille wrote: post #166
AdmiralAsshat wrote: post #4

The Galaxy S10e is my current phone, and I'm not sure what I will do when it stops receiving security updates. It's basically perfect. It still has an SD card slot. It still has a headphone jack. It has wireless charging. It's reasonably sized. And it had flagship-for-the-time specs (albeit slightly less than the mainline S10 or S10+). Samsung doesn't make anything comparable to this anymore. The only drawback is tha…

I'll see your Galaxy S10e and raise you a Galaxy S7. Just the right size for me and still going strong, in spite of the fact it was second hand already, when I bought it off eBay about 4 or 5 years ago. I really don't know why people think they need a new phone every year. I've had 2 in the past decade. Both bought cheaply second hand [previous one am HTC One M8] and I got years of use out of each. In fact the One M8…

Yeah, I'm still using an S7, similarly purchased second hand. Hardware is great. Have recently installed LightROM on it to get a more up to date Android, and it works really well. I tried the latest LineageOS for a brief spell, and it performed beautifully except that voice calls had the robot-voice issue that plagues Samsung phones (thanks proprietary drivers!)

Re: I want an iPhone Mini-sized Android phone

#913

Post by askvictor »

pmlnr wrote: post #42
AdmiralAsshat wrote: post #4

The Galaxy S10e is my current phone, and I'm not sure what I will do when it stops receiving security updates. It's basically perfect. It still has an SD card slot. It still has a headphone jack. It has wireless charging. It's reasonably sized. And it had flagship-for-the-time specs (albeit slightly less than the mainline S10 or S10+). Samsung doesn't make anything comparable to this anymore. The only drawback is tha…

LineageOS will probably support it forever, given they still release for S4.

Some of the proprietary Samsung stuff (voice calls, camera) can be problematic. Other than that it's amazing.

Re: I want an iPhone Mini-sized Android phone

#914

Post by shmel »

askvictor wrote: post #909
sudosteph wrote: post #526

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Thank you for taking initiative on this! As a 5'5" woman with small hands, I haven't had an android phone that I could use with one-hand since my Nexus 5 (which I used for 5 years straight). The current android flagships are unwieldy even with two-hands for me, and it's been just a quality of living downgrade ever since my Nexus 5 broke. I'm not into apple products myself, but I know many other women swear by the iph…

A recent discussion on this at my work was centred around the notion that large phones don't generally fit in women's clothes pockets (when they have pockets), as the pockets tend to be smaller. There seems to be an inherent sexism in phone design (and clothing design, and many other things).

Overwhelming majority of women I know always carry a purse. I have yet to see a phone that doesn't fit into the smallest purse.

Re: I want an iPhone Mini-sized Android phone

#915

Post by shmel »

BarryMilo wrote: post #846
crossroadsguy wrote: post #839

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I faced a similar problem when I didn’t find a sanely sized flagship non-bloated (though that’s essentially an oxymoron in Android world including the Pixels) Android phone sometimes back and I decided to vote with my wallet and I bought the first iPhone SE, then 7, and now 12 Mini. I am an Android developer and the way the OS is designed (UX and privacy wise; even the stock one) I don’t really see myself moving back…

Growing up I was told the major advantage of capitalism is that you get a diversity of offerings. This seems less and less true as time goes on, but maybe it was always an illusion.

It is only true when entry barriers to the market are low. Capitalism will give you a diversity of toasters or beer. Complex tech devices like phones have higher barriers, you can't just hack up a phone in a team of 5 people. Besides, economy of scale makes niche products more expensive.

Re: I want an iPhone Mini-sized Android phone

#916

Post by askvictor »

shmel wrote: post #914
askvictor wrote: post #909

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A recent discussion on this at my work was centred around the notion that large phones don't generally fit in women's clothes pockets (when they have pockets), as the pockets tend to be smaller. There seems to be an inherent sexism in phone design (and clothing design, and many other things).

Overwhelming majority of women I know always carry a purse. I have yet to see a phone that doesn't fit into the smallest purse.

Maybe that's because women's clothing tends not to have pockets?

Re: I want an iPhone Mini-sized Android phone

#917

Post by usrn »

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…

This is the problem with mobile stuff. It's always "one size fits all" and "fuck you if it doesn't work for you, too bad." I'm so tired of it I've just given up on normal smartphones. There's really nothing they add to your life when you look closely. I have a flip phone running "kai OS" now (which is actually pretty neat but I don't bother with a data plan) and a Linux PDA. I don't miss owning a smartphone at all, they're terrible.

Re: I want an iPhone Mini-sized Android phone

#919

Post by dspillett »

throwaway675309 wrote: post #660
dspillett wrote: post #172

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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 d…

> I would think if you were running that you would prefer a smaller screen

On of the reasons I'd like a smaller device, though there is the already stated compromises around smaller battery too, and it being a general use device. If I had a small device with excellent battery life I could carry that normally and tether a larger device, in my backpack when not in such use, for mapping and other when needed (I'm not talking nipping out for 10K here, sometimes this is full- or multi-day walking-or-faster events).

> having to stick a gigantic slab in my pocket … reminds me that I've got a brick flopping around in my shorts.

While the perfect phone doesn't exist, I have found the holy grail of shorts: big enough pockets that the slab fits, but tight enough and small enough that it doesn't jiggle noticeably, but not tight to me such that is exacerbates sweat in that patch. Also, the phone for nav on long routes is tertiary, I have breadcrumb trail on my wrist and a printed map (on rip- & water-resistant paper), so if I'm going far enough to require a bag for water/foot/1st-aid/other then there is room for the slab in there too and it isn't too out of reach.

Re: I want an iPhone Mini-sized Android phone

#920

Post by Siira »

askvictor wrote: post #909
sudosteph wrote: post #526

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Thank you for taking initiative on this! As a 5'5" woman with small hands, I haven't had an android phone that I could use with one-hand since my Nexus 5 (which I used for 5 years straight). The current android flagships are unwieldy even with two-hands for me, and it's been just a quality of living downgrade ever since my Nexus 5 broke. I'm not into apple products myself, but I know many other women swear by the iph…

A recent discussion on this at my work was centred around the notion that large phones don't generally fit in women's clothes pockets (when they have pockets), as the pockets tend to be smaller. There seems to be an inherent sexism in phone design (and clothing design, and many other things).

Obviously, these are tradeoffs decided by the capitalistic (pseudo)majority. It’s not sexism. (And I have hands smaller than your average woman.)
Post reply on HN