Why can’t we go back to small phones?
Why can't we go back to small phones?
Submitted 1 month ago by corbin@infosec.pub to technology@lemmy.world
https://www.spacebar.news/cant-go-back-to-small-phones/
Comments
Sterile_Technique@lemmy.world 1 month ago
Interstellar_1@lemmy.blahaj.zone 1 month ago
I think this is correlation, not causation, as this was also when touch screens started being made
acosmichippo@lemmy.world 1 month ago
it’s also when mobile media in general was available. tv, movies, YouTube, games, everything. not everything is about porn.
OfficerBribe@lemm.ee 1 month ago
I definitely was looking at porn on my 240x320 Nokia screen.
rc__buggy@sh.itjust.works 1 month ago
240x320
One boob takes up 76000 of your 76800 pixels.
caseyweederman@lemmy.ca 1 month ago
Sexy sexy nibbles the snake
Habarug@lemm.ee 1 month ago
Well, I can’t speak for everyone else, but I can’t go back because they don’t sell any small phones.
sugar_in_your_tea@sh.itjust.works 1 month ago
I picked the Pixel 8 because:
- it runs GrapheneOS
- It was a little smaller than the Pixel 8 Pro
If there was a smaller version available, I would’ve gotten that instead.
EngineerGaming@feddit.nl 1 month ago
I picked the Pixel A because:
- It runs GrapheneOS
- It’s slightly smaller and slightly cheaper than the normal version
- The back is plastic and not glass
Glad I can use it and type on it one-handed, can’t imagine using a bigger phone.
rc__buggy@sh.itjust.works 1 month ago
I’ve been using the “A” branch of the Pixel line for years now.
But I use CalyxOS so I guess you and I have to be enemies now. My name is Inigo Montoya, you use a different OS, prepare to die.
thanksforallthefish@literature.cafe 1 month ago
I can’t trust anything made by google. It’s a company that literally makes its money capturing everything everyone does on the internet…and yet the phone they make is the ONLY phone immune to having everything captured…
Sorry. Not buying it. There will be a chip in there phoning home we’ll find out about in a decade.
Krelis_@lemmy.world 1 month ago
I picked the Sony Xperia 1v because: 71mm width Flagship specs (*for 2023 - Snapdragon 8 gen2 / 12gb) Decent cameras Sd card expandable Headphone jack 3.5mm (though I haven’t used it yet) No glass back (solid build quality allround) LineageOS support (for when vendor support runs out) I got a good refurb deal in late 2024
H1jAcK@lemm.ee 1 month ago
Is there an 8a? Those are usually the smallest model
JustEnoughDucks@feddit.nl 1 month ago
If the pixel series had a damn SD card slot it would be the perfect phone for me.
I just want to sync all of my music and local backups to an SD card via syncthing dammit. I don’t want to have to pay 200€ for them adding a 5€ chip
otacon239@lemmy.world 1 month ago
I’m clinging to my SE. It’s the last small phone made by anyone other than Chinese no-names. I will be sad when it’s no longer viable as an option.
nylo@lemmy.dbzer0.com 1 month ago
my Chinese tiny phone has a name, it’s the Unihertz Jelly Star. they even have a subreddit, not sure what makes you think it’s a “no name” they make a lot of phones for niches in today’s world including one with a physical qwerty keyboard.
now the fact that they’re the only company filling those niches sucks, but it’s better than nobody doing it.
TheRealKuni@midwest.social 1 month ago
There was the iPhone 13 Mini. It’s adorably small. But it didn’t sell well so they stopped making the Mini line.
MellowYellow13@lemmy.world 1 month ago
Still using mine too and it’s awesome, all my coworkers also notice and compliment it.
nylo@lemmy.dbzer0.com 1 month ago
I’ve been maining a Unihertz Jelly Star, I quite like it.
rc__buggy@sh.itjust.works 1 month ago
I want one. Can you put a custom ROM on them?
Xanthrax@lemmy.world 1 month ago
They do, but service providers don’t like selling them. There isn’t as much of a return on smaller/ dumb/ cheap phones. I used to work at spectrum, and we’d speak of the cheap phones in hushed tones like they were the boogeyman. It felt horrible because I was using my cheap android selling people iPhone 15s.
nondescripthandle@lemmy.dbzer0.com 1 month ago
So once again instead of providing choice the market is simply phasing out things with smaller profit margins as if they planned it together in some kind of cartel.
Shdwdrgn@mander.xyz 1 month ago
I upgraded to a Sony Xperia XZ2 compact last year. It has a 5" screen and decent capabilities, the only down side is it doesn’t support 5G. For a phone that’s over 5 years old, it’s probably the most recent usable phone available which actually fits in my pocket.
Seriously, don’t show me a damn tablet computer and try to sell it to me as a mobile phone. If you can’t make a compact phone then you’re not really advancing the technology, are you?
myplacedk@lemmy.world 1 month ago
If I can’t use it one-handed (using ALL physical buttons and ALL parts of the screen), then it’s not a phone.
Seriously, this is how we used to define the difference between phones and tables - one-hand or two-hand use.
atomicbocks@sh.itjust.works 1 month ago
I don’t understand why so many people here keep saying that it’s too hard to make a small phone when all these companies literally make watches with 5G connections…
captain_aggravated@sh.itjust.works 1 month ago
They always lean a little too hard into making the small one the “budget” phone and end up gimping it into something nobody wants, and yet they still don’t make it cost attractive.
Compared to the SomePhone Pro, the SomePhone Mini has:
- 6GB of RAM rather than 8. (I mean, okay, what do I need that much RAM for?)
- 128GB onboard storage rather than 512GB (Those chips are the same footprint so that wasn’t done for miniaturization, but I don’t store a lot on my phone so ok)
- No SD card slot. (I suppose you could argue that IS for miniaturization but it’s still a kick in the pants)
- 1080p display rather than 4k. (fine, the PPI is still finer than my eyes)
- 3100mAh battery instead of 3600 (You know the reduced resolution on the display will probably make up for that anyway)
- No NFC (really?)
- No fast charging (fucking sigh)
- No wireless charging (pegwarmer says what?)
- 5.9 inch 9:21 display (so it’s 89% the size of the Pro model anyway?)
- a laptop grade VGA camera (you’re actively trying to make this product fail, aren’t you?)
- Locked bootloader, locked carrier (because of course)
- $899 instead of $949 MSRP (Okay just stop saying words and drown yourself in the septic tank)
AlexWIWA@lemmy.ml 1 month ago
This is exactly the problem. I don’t need a budget phone, I need a small phone
JustEnoughDucks@feddit.nl 1 month ago
Hell I wish the big phones had SD card slots…
There are very very few phones that have them anymore. Chinese phones, Sony, fairphone, and Samsung midrange, that is about it…
Buffalox@lemmy.world 1 month ago
Yes they should put HUGE batteries into small phones!!!
/sPlantJam@lemmy.world 1 month ago
The latest pixel pro is available in both the regular size and the XL. In previous models the pro was only available as the XL.
Buffalox@lemmy.world 1 month ago
Seems like a straw man, because I can’t see a single comment claiming that.
acosmichippo@lemmy.world 1 month ago
i don’t think it’s “too hard” to make small phones. but i bet it’s easier to sell bigger phones with more profit margin.
potustheplant@feddit.nl 1 month ago
Who said that? That’s not the limiting factor. Also, smartwatches have crappy processors.
Supposedly, what’s hard is making a phone with good performance and battery life that’s also small.
sommerset@thelemmy.club 1 month ago
I don’t want a small phone
tal@lemmy.today 1 month ago
3.5 jack.
They exist, but it’ll constrain your phone choices a lot.
I’d just get a USB-C-to-1/8"-TRS adapter. If you want to charge while playing, you can get one with passthrough.
Without passthrough:
or with passthrough:
Can probably just leave the thing plugged into your headphones.
sommerset@thelemmy.club 1 month ago
Yeah I get they exist, but I will lose that in a day
IDKWhatUsernametoPutHereLolol@lemmy.dbzer0.com 1 month ago
3.5 jack is easy, most budget phones have them (along with a MicroSD card slot)
The replaceable battery? That’s gonna be hard to find. There the obvious Fairphone, but its very costly for its specs and is only made for EU, and even if someone from the US imports it, the only US carrier allowing it is Tmobile.
Samsung Galaxy XCover series have IP67 Water resistance, headphone jack, and MicroSD card slot, and the replaceable battery, but its specs are not that good for its cost (as reported by various Reddit users).
I wouldn’t trust the water resistance tho. One drop into a puddle and the back comes off exposing the internals.
SnortsGarlicPowder@lemmy.zip 1 month ago
The xcovers backs usually stay on when you drop them and the back only really holds the battery in. The internals are protected by another layer of plastic.
As you say the specs do suck though.
TheWilliamist@lemmy.world 1 month ago
Galaxy Xcover series.
IDKWhatUsernametoPutHereLolol@lemmy.dbzer0.com 1 month ago
Because most people use their phone as their main, if not only, device, so a bigger screen is more desirable to consume content.
iopq@lemmy.world 1 month ago
By that logic everyone should buy a foldable
needanke@feddit.org 1 month ago
I would if they were more durable, easier to repair and cheaper…
the@sh.itjust.works 1 month ago
I would, if long term durability is not a concern and the price is not too damn expensive.
Basically if money is no issue.
IDKWhatUsernametoPutHereLolol@lemmy.dbzer0.com 1 month ago
Unfortunately, they haven’t figured out a way to get gorilla glass to bend and not shatter so the current plastic screen is way too weak and a fingernail can scratch it. Not good for a $1500+ device.
A $100 Motorola Moto G Play has a 6.5 inch screen. To get a foldable big enough to double the screen area would cost $1400 more. Most people couldn’t afford that, so the budget phone is the best price/screensize compromise. The foldable still get more easily scratched than the $100 phone which just makes foldables very bad.
weew@lemmy.ca 1 month ago
Because every time a manufacturer releases a small phone, nobody buys them.
Jtotheb@lemmy.world 1 month ago
Well yeah, the people who want a small reliable phone are unlikely to replace them every year for no discernible reason. Cue more articles and comments about how there’s no sale data to support the idea that people want small phones! The odds are stacked against us.
Kolanaki@pawb.social 1 month ago
Why can’t we have both? I want a bigger phone. Bigger than what I have now, and many people would consider this to be a fairly large phone.
But I don’t want to stop people who want smaller phones from having those, too.
cm0002@lemmy.world 1 month ago
Right? Everybody has different size hands, my hands are on the larger side and these bigger phones of today are actually pretty comfortable to me
user224@lemmy.sdf.org 1 month ago
I have fairly small hands, but still prefer a larger phone. More content on the screen and space for battery.
HOWEVER, I’d take both. A small phone would be a good secondary device. I want something modern the size of my Samsung Galaxy Ace (GT-S5830i). The back also has a really nice texture.
Oh, yeah, it also has a headphone jack, MicroSD card slot and quickly swappable battery which I should probably replace because it seems it has slightly increased its capacity… volumetric capacity.But I also prefer a bit more thickness so it doesn’t feel like a fragile, slippery sheet of glass (rugged phones are good for that).
EngineerGaming@feddit.nl 1 month ago
I am a very average-sized woman with average-sized hands, and big phones would have been unusable for me. Seems like they’re all for big men’s palms.
gianni@lemmy.ca 1 month ago
You can already get big phones though.
scarabic@lemmy.world 1 month ago
I’d like to see more options out there. But there are reasons it could be difficult. I’ve been a software dev for 25 years and we’ve had take our software from local installs to web services, then mobile web services or responsive interfaces for all screen sizes. Then mobile APPs came along… and we do have to decide which devices and screen sizes we’re going to support. It’s hard to justify spending 20% more time so that you can support 2% more people. And for my app anyway that’s how many tablet users we have. 2%. So we’ve never done tablets, period. If we had to support some phones that were 3x the size of others, that would be kinda hard too, and we’ll always choose to spend the bulk of our time where the bulk of our users are.
Just a real answer. Supporting different screen sizes isn’t free.
CoolMatt@lemmy.ca 1 month ago
Yep, got big hands myself and own an S21+, and the keys on the keyboard are still too fucking small. Sick of correcting nytypos after 10 years, so finally not giving a fuck.
Ironically, i typed this entire comment without a typo, gotta love how that works.
BlueBaggy@sh.itjust.works 1 month ago
“Why can’t we go back to small phones”
Company releases small phone
“No one” buys it
Company stops making small phones
People complaining why there are no small phones
glitchdx@lemmy.world 1 month ago
no one bought it because it was shit. companies do this all the time so they can make more expensive things more cheaply, and force people into buying the most expensive.
I want an easily removable battery. As in, I want to be able to have two batteries, one in my phone and another in a charger and I just swap them once a day. I used to be able to do that, and it was normal. Now, the only phones that have that are either extremely garbage or also feature a barcode scanner and cost as much as a “flagship” device.
moonbunny@sh.itjust.works 1 month ago
Don’t forget that company does fuck all in advertising the small phone at a similar level as the “regular sized” phone
c10l@lemmy.world 1 month ago
I don’t know which small phones have been released recently but I’ve used an iPhone Mini and decided against it. Not because it’s small but rather because it’s not small enough.
See, I do like a big screen more than a small one. That said, the phone is something I carry in my pocket so there’s a balancing act to be done there. What was really great about the original iPhone’s size was not that it had a small screen. It’s that it was small enough that I could reach all corners of the screen with my thumb.
None of the recent small phones I tried had that advantage. In that case, since there’s no clear usability advantage to the smaller model, I’ll take the larger screen instead.
Pregnenolone@lemmy.world 1 month ago
How many times is this going to be regurgitated? The question has been well and truly answered.
We don’t buy them.
lka1988@lemmy.dbzer0.com 1 month ago
That, and small phones on the Android side are often nerfed beyond reason, like a bottom-of-the-barrel Mediatek SoC with low RAM and shit storage option instead of the bigger model’s Snapdragon and quality storage, or shit cameras, or garbage screen resolution, etc etc.
There is something to be said about the larger variant having more room for better cameras, but outside of that, the nerfing feels almost intentional.
MangoCats@feddit.it 1 month ago
Not to mention: the old people (the ones with money) can’t see them.
tal@lemmy.today 1 month ago
Why can’t we go back to small phones?
The iPhone SE is dead,
Is there any chance that you chose to lock yourself into a very small walled garden with a vendor who might make decisions about product that you might not agree with?
Apple is the only one making iOS phones, and Apple doesn’t seem interested in small devices anymore, so that door is shut.
Right. You stick yourself in that garden, you are gambling that the vendor is going to come out with the product that you want.
There are still a few niche companies working on smaller devices, like Unihertz, but those phones almost always have low-end hardware and limited software support.
Well, size is kind of a constraint on what hardware you can put in the thing.; I’d think that he’d be okay
If what you mean by “limited software support” is “apps are going to be optimized for the bulk of users and will probably feel small if the great bulk of users are using larger screens”, well…I mean, yeah.
The iPhone 3 SE you have:
4.7-inch (diagonal) widescreen LCD Multi‑Touch display with IPS technology
1334-by-750-pixel resolution at 326 ppi
Memory 4 GB LPDDR4X RAM
www.gsmarena.com/results.php3?nYearMin=2022&nRamM…
Let’s grab one from that list:
gsmarena.com/ulefone_armor_mini_20t_pro-13298.php
Size 4.7 inches, 53.3 cm2 (~63.1% screen-to-body ratio)
Same screen size as your phone.
Resolution 720 x 1600 pixels, 20:9 ratio (~373 ppi density)
30 pixels narrower, but 266 pixels taller than your phone.
8GB RAM
Twice the memory of your phone.
Can buy online in the US:
Now, you may not be able to get an iOS phone that fits your hardware wants, but them’s the breaks when you go with a platform that has only a single vendor making hardware for it.
User79185@discuss.tchncs.de 1 month ago
I do, I bought smallest phone available from known company. But most of those companies just decided you need huge phone that can’t fit everywhere, removed sdcard slot, removed headphone jack. Last time I remember nobody asked them to remove those features. I think it is the same enshittification like with everything, they no longer make cheap houses, smaller cheaper cars, actual budget gpus etc, etc. Feels like every company targets top 20% and the rest - gtfo and be damned.
Imhotep@lemmy.world 1 month ago
people spend a third of their lives on those things. And while cumbersome, a big screen simply is better for media consumption
only way I see smaller phones make a comeback is if we change our habits or if a new technology comes along
kamen@lemmy.world 1 month ago
Because apparently people want big phones.
For the last 10-15 years it’s been a boiling frog situation really - .1 or .2" increase every generation until 7" somehow becomes the norm (for a phone, not a tablet, mind you).
I wish there were more small hi-end phones too.
FinishingDutch@lemmy.world 1 month ago
Consumers just aren’t that interested in a product that’s visibly cheaper and worse than what everyone else is carrying. And that is what a smaller phone signals.
Phones are a status purchase; they all do basically the same things, but most people gravitate towards higher end phones because they offer all the fancy features. Flagship phones are all large, so that’s what you see in the marketing. Just like you’ll never see a car company put its cheapest base model on a car catalog cover.
A smaller phone tends to cut corners; it’s not just smaller, but also functionally worse. While the price might be appealing, the potential customer also knows that using said phone will mean a worse experience, and might even get them ridiculed because they got ‘the cheap one’.
So we can absolutely go back to small phones - we just don’t want to. Smaller, cheaper, worse products just don’t appeal to a status-conscious buyer. If phone manufacturers offered the same specs at different sizes, that might change. But any savvy tech buyer knows a smaller phone is worse than the bigger one.
Back in the pre-smartphone days, size was a thing companies could compete on since customers wanted small, light, distinctive designs in premium materials. Like the Motorola Razr V3. These days, that just doesn’t work.
sugar_in_your_tea@sh.itjust.works 1 month ago
Here’s what I want, roughly in order of priority:
- long term OS support
- repairable
- privacy friendly
- small
I currently have a Pixel 8:
- 7 years software support, maybe more
- 6/10 on ifixit score; not great, but better than many
- supports GrapheneOS
- on the smaller end of “normal” today
A community-supported Linux phone would be awesome, since I’d get 1 and 3 by default and 2 by convention, but they don’t meet my minimum needs from a phone: reliable basic feature support. Hopefully we get there by the time my Pixel dies.
chiliedogg@lemmy.world 1 month ago
People don’t buy them for the price they’ll buy bigger phones. That’s it. That’s the whole story.
They have to make the phone cost $300 less to sell in meaningful numbers. Why do that when they could just not make them at all and sell fewer models at higher prices?
jordanlund@lemmy.world 1 month ago
Because most people don’t buy them?
It’s like asking “Man, why don’t they make slider phones anymore?” (and I loved my slider phone).
Ghostalmedia@lemmy.world 1 month ago
This author should’ve spent digging into the iPhone 12 / 13 mini, and how it was received in Apple communities a few years ago.
That experiment really showed that the small phone demographic is passionate and vocal, but small. Those phones sold well when the small-phone-fans ran out to buy them, but the sales numbers cooled off quick.
Given that Apple is working on a lightweight 17 “air” phone, my guess is that they learned screen size is too important for too many people, but they’re going to see if they can strike a middle ground with weight / pocket fit.
jaschen@lemm.ee 1 month ago
You can. Ditch Apple and join us. Plenty of small phone selections here on the other side.
Petter1@lemm.ee 1 month ago
Answering single handed on me iPhone 12 mini on latest iOS 😇
It is a great small phone!
nylo@lemmy.dbzer0.com 1 month ago
there is one option.
well and a couple others that are also made by Unihertz depending on your needs/wants
more companies making them would be cool but the general consensus I’m reading here is that there are 0 and that is incorrect.
yarn@lemmy.ca 1 month ago
Yes please. I really dislike iOS, but I use the iPhone 13 Mini for work and it’s the perfect form factor. I desperately want an Android phone that’s the same size, but I’m rocking a Flip which is the best I can do for small form factor right now.
surph_ninja@lemmy.world 1 month ago
When are we finally going to get curved phones on some kind of bracer? They wear them in every futuristic movie, we finally have curved screens, and no one’s made one for wearing on your forearm yet.
HipsterTenZero@dormi.zone 1 month ago
because i want to play the entire gamecube library on my phone goddamnit
Ulrich@feddit.org 1 month ago
Because people don’t buy them.
lightnsfw@reddthat.com 1 month ago
If they’re going to make only bog phones they could at least bring back all the hardware features they’ve removed over the years.
Cataphract@lemmy.ml 1 month ago
Here’s my dilemma:
- Been without cell service since the pandemic (eventually stopped using the smart phone altogether)
- All my digital needs are satisfied, devices and functionality in every room for every purpose I need
- Have multiple forms of solid and satisfactory communication channels (don’t need a cell number)
I’ve thought about buying a model I could jailbreak, but again it’s just to use a system that’s abusive. “Download our app!”, “Use our digital coupons!”, “Link your phone number!”, “Scan our code!”, “Let us track your location for your convenience!”.
I’m really a niche subgroup though, I already need other devices while at work that a phone wouldn’t suffice for. I kinda see more people going this route though. If your transportation has a computer, then what’s the endpoint in carrying a phone? If your job requires digital devices, the phone is basically reduced to a large brick of a communication device. I see more and more equipment being specialized and having added communication aspects for more complicated machinery, cell phones are not going to keep up with it in a general sense.
tldr: cell phones are just a fad with an abusive system that will die out one day and be remembered like rotary phones. They’re generally subpar for any specific task and are only a place holder till we figure out better systems.
Vespair@lemm.ee 1 month ago
Bigger screens mean bigger and more obtrusive ads.
I’m convinced this is 90% of the reason right here.
Bloomcole@lemmy.world 1 month ago
I don’t know how you youngsters do it.
One hand eternally glued to this big phone and now they need the other for a soup thermos they suddenly feel the need to drag with them everywhere.
mesamunefire@piefed.social 1 month ago
I want a repairable phone. A phone where I can replace the battery
sugar_in_your_tea@sh.itjust.works 1 month ago
And screen. And buttons.
I also want something that’s supported more than 3 years so there’s a point to repairing it. Ideally, support should come from the community so it can be infinite as long as someone is willing to do the work.
user224@lemmy.sdf.org 1 month ago
Based on postmarketos.org/install/ the Nokia N900 can run the latest stable release of PostmarketOS.
Nokia N900 was a proper Linux-powered phone released in Nobember 2009.
So yeah, it’s been getting over 15 years of community support so far.
NeilNuggetstrong@lemmy.world 1 month ago
What’s wrong with Fairphone then? Think I’m gonna buy FP 6 when it arrives
Dremor@lemmy.world 1 month ago
Hum… So Fairphone ?
NaibofTabr@infosec.pub 1 month ago
I really wanted to buy the Fairphone 5, but they don’t ship replacement parts to where I live which makes the entire concept pointless.
OfficerBribe@lemm.ee 1 month ago
HMD (Nokia) Skyline has a cool feature where you unscrew 1 screw and can change various things like battery. Unfortunately phone itself is not impressive especially from OS update standpoint (only 2 year support for major Android versions). I would love to see this idea being copied by other manufacturers.
ShepherdPie@midwest.social 1 month ago
I swear to god manufacturers do this on purpose so that they can point to the low volume of sales and claim “See! People don’t really want these features” when in reality they’ve just slapped a couple good features onto a completely dog shit device.
thanksforallthefish@literature.cafe 1 month ago
Fairphone
IDKWhatUsernametoPutHereLolol@lemmy.dbzer0.com 1 month ago
Besides the obvious Fairphone, theres a Samsung Galaxy XCover series, which acoording to many users on Reddit, the specs are not great for its price. The latest XCover 6 Pro is like $599 USD at release.
daw@feddit.org 1 month ago
I bought a refurbished Xcover 6p and so far it’s great. There’s also the perks of being intended for companies: very long software support and pogo pin charging accessoires.
captain_aggravated@sh.itjust.works 1 month ago
Whoever owns the Nokia badge are selling phones designed specifically for repairability by end users; the only issue I have with them is they don’t really say much about how long they’re going to have software support, so expect it to last 4 to 6 years tops before replacing it becomes required anyway.