just make normal sized cellphones again, please!
Large phones are the new normal size now.
Going back to small phones now feels like trying to type through a postage stamp
I’m waiting for a free upgrade to switch to a flip phone. I didn’t want one immediately because I was worried about quality, but from what I hear they’re doing well. Decent compromise for me
Ive been using the galaxy fold 3 for 2 years now and i could never go back to one that doesnt fold. The tablet style screen has become my main screen. Its just functionally superior to any normal phone screen and if im only performing simple tasks the smaller outer screen is fine.
I’ve been torn on whether to go with that or the flip. Most of my clothes have smaller pockets so the flip would be great, but then the larger screen with the fold would be handy too!
Fair enough. The fold is quite tall when closed but not very wide. Might be better to get the flip. My brother got the flip and it looks pretty good tbf
I saw a review for a new Motorola Razr, and thought that maybe I’d switch to one of those, but I love a good camera and it’s camera wasn’t good.
But the siren song of manageably sized phones still calls to me.
Motorola of today is unfortunately not the Motorola of yesterday. I loved my Razr and Really really loved my Droid with the side charging port, it docked into the nightstand cradle and the driving cradle perfectly.
Yeah, I was thinking who’s to say what “normal” size even is? In hindsight, it was awkward as hell taking calls on my tiny nokia brick. Personally, I think we’ve hit a sweet spot between functionality and size practicality. I’m happy with my 6" screen as long as women’s clothes continue on the trend of indulging us with functional pockets.
People asked Apple for this, and when they obliged, it sold so terribly that retailers literally could not give them away. Unfortunately, it seems those who actually want smaller phones are a vocal minority
Capitalism: Providing infinite consumer choice, so long as your choice is to consume what everyone else is consuming.
I’ve got about a billion issues with capitalism, but I’m not sure how you think something like this should work otherwise? Product design/development/manufacturing takes a bunch of resources, so it doesn’t make sense in any model to make things people generally don’t want.
I moved from Android phones to Apple specifically for the iPhone mini. Seems when it eventually dies I’ll be out of luck.
Apple user here. If they don’t come out with a new generation of iphone mini, I am simply going to never buy another phone again.
I am simply going to never buy another phone again.
This will not happen.
Everytime someone says this and manufacturers end up making a smaller phone… no one buys them.
I did. I bought the original Jelly. Now I use the biggest phone of them all, a Fold 4…
In saying that, I might buy the new Jelly too, it’s IR blaster feature would come in handy as a universal remote, plus, in case I ever decide to take up running, would be easier to carry the Jelly around instead of a Fold.
Most people prefer big phones.
As a man they still would need to fit in my jeans pocket though… So we are kinda at a limit now.
It’s these glass backs that I can’t stand. I bought a phone not a wet bar of soap.
I’m a big guy, with big hands.
Got the s22 ultra, and it feels like it’s finally a me sized phone. I’ve been fighting tiny phones for decades!
In the end, we need a range from small to large.
The comments section of a post like this feels like early reddit. Love it!
I adored my Pixel 3a. The size was perfect in my opinion. Small enough to handle with one hand and to put it in my pockets, big enough to enjoy watching videos on it. The Samsung S10e was lovely too.
I don’t have sources but I remember them stating that small form factor phones were not selling too well. So I guess we won’t see many flagship or even midrange phones in the near future.
Unironically if there was enough demand they would be made. Even the iPhone mini failed in market penetration, not to mention things like the Sony compacts and the Zenfones.
Sony are quite overpriced, and ZenFones have very limited software support. I hope they improve it for zenfone 10
deleted by creator
And that doesn’t require water resistance, my A52s has an IPX 67 rating and has both.
A52s is one of the most goated midrange phones ever made IMO
It is, it has such a perfect balance of features. Now that the A series is losing the headphone jack as well, I’m going to have some serious questions when I’m looking at a replacement phone some time in 2026 or 2027.
I switched to a Pixel 7 today from a Xiaomi Android phone. I always felt my existing phone was too big, and when looking for a new one the first thing I did was go to gsmarena and search for a phone released relatively recently with a smaller screen. Literally the only result was the Iphone SE.
The Pixel phone is practically the same size as my existing phone, just a tad smaller and just a tad heavier. But there is a significant difference in the gesture support, which is usually something I don’t bother with. The result is that the basic system navigation and app switching can be done with my right hand only, in its normal holding position. The swipe from the left to go back a screen can be done from the bottom of the screen, so I don’t need to stretch my thumb up and across to do it from the middle of the screen.
Stretching unnaturally is still required to swipe down from the top of the screen, or I guess if third party app design puts buttons in the top left. But as a software solution to this hardware problem which also preserves the larger screen size for cases where that’s useful or desired, I think it’s pretty good.
you should be able to install a custom ROM that allows you to have notification bar on bottom so that you can swipe up.
I figured out that the swipe down doesn’t need to begin from the actual notification bar, like it does on my older Android phones. I can just naturally extend my thumb up to halfway up the screen and swipe down from there. Doesn’t work if I have scrollable content already on screen though
@LordShrek @gila iphones used to have the control center by swiping up. Took a while to adjust to doing it from the top right. Wish we had the option to add it to the bottom
Wish we had the option to add it to the bottom
@apple @android feature request here. submitting ticket.
Interesting feedback
Over the past day of use I’ve realised I can also swipe left from anywhere on the right edge of the screen to go back, and the swipe down doesn’t actually need to start from the notification bar. I can just swipe down from wherever and it seems to consistently figure out that I’m trying to do a gesture. I installed my normal launcher Niagara and the gestures all still work fine, so with that inclusion general operation is fairly one-handed and comfortable now, other than typing.
Not possible at the moment. Without the large size, you can’t fit an adequate battery to last a day or longer.
Not to mention that many people want good cameras on their phone, an they need space as well.
Display needs a lot of battery, less of it and you dont need such a big one. Than make it two millimeters thicker and the problem is solved.
That is a factor, but not a big one anymore. Not as big as the communication chips (bluetooth, wifi, 4g/5g). Also rendering apps and websites is excessively expensive, specially if you want to have HiDPI and 60Hz or more.
I’m typing this comment on a Zenfone 9, which is a pretty reasonably sized phone with a decent battery and camera. Charging to 80% usually lasts me over a day of usage. The camera is good enough as well. Phones don’t have to be so massive to have those features
deleted by creator
Why do people prefer smaller phones? Like I use a realme 7. So not small but I don’t feel like it’s massive. And ths screen is nice if I want to watch a video or play a game. I feel like with more people using their phone as a primary computing device they will be bigger to accommodate that. Genuinely interested in why people prefer smaller phones
Small hands. My Pixel 4a is as big as I’ll go at 5.8", as I can reach the other side of the phone with my thumb to type one-handed.
Also smaller phone fit pocket better. I miss the day when i can put my phone inside my pocket and not having it waving it’s upper side out side of the pocket
I miss my pixel 4a everyday. one-handed, back fingerprint scanner
@eighty the main feature I miss from my Note 9 is the back fingerprint scanner. It just worked so much quicker than the under the screen type.
100%. It feels much more natural scanning at the back while it’s in my pocket. I was able to bring the notification shade by swiping down the scanner. It felt more like the device was an extension of myself rather than a cumbersome large screen. Aiming towards a smaller one-handed phone for my next everyday carry.
deleted by creator
My desktop is my primary computing device, and I still want a large phone. Using small phones is no fun, and I’m actually looking for larger. I prefer the screen width to be at least 7cm, most phones don’t clear that.
I feel like with more people using their phone as a primary computing device they will be bigger to accommodate that. Genuinely interested in why people prefer smaller phones
I understand where you’re coming from here, however I think there’s still enough folks for whom their phone isn’t their primary computing device that explains the desire for smaller phones. That and smaller hands as Throwsbooks mentions.
Frankly mobile OSes still don’t really cut it for more involved computing work even when bigger, so with that in mind, personally I’ll take improved portability via smaller size over larger size and a still subpar computer experience.
Also when I do want a larger portable computing experience, I’m simply going to opt for a laptop instead, for a number of reasons ranging from a physical keyboard, OSes built for general computing work, and a screen size that’s not some awkward in-between of a phone and a tablet yet still isn’t as good as a larger laptop screen.
Edit: Adding here that I’ve also given tablets a fair shake, as I had a Nexus 7 back when Google was trying to do tablets, and have briefly dabbled with iPads here & there. They’re not bad devices, but they’re supplementary computing devices imo, not primary ones (i.e. for more involved document creation/programming/creative activity, etc.).
You make a real good point.
My laptop’s my primary driver, and the device I go to when I need to do any real work. I sometimes get frustrated trying to do something on my phone and switch to my laptop because it’s far more efficient. My phone’s for doomscrolling and music primarily, so I don’t need all the bells and whistles.
For my mum, on the other hand, her phone is her primary driver and the big screen is especially useful with aging eyes so she can make the font bigger and still have real estate. The pocket thing isn’t an issue either because she just throws it into her purse.
Though, she does drop her phone and crack the screen way more often than I do, bit unwieldy when they hit the phablet size. 🤔 I wonder if manufacturers like that, more money in warranties/repairs.
It’s easier to carry around, lighter, doesn’t take much space in my desk, etc
I’m generalising here and obviously it won’t apply to everyone, but I tend to think most people with small phones look at huge phones and say “whoa, too big” and thus never bother to give it a go. People with large phones either love them already, or they love the idea of a small phone — so they go get one, and in most cases, immediately miss their large phone.
Of course, some people have experienced both formats enough to know that they definitely prefer small phones — but, unfortunately, they appear to be a minority. Small phones don’t sell well, or else there’d be more of them. And so, these people fall into that all-too-common market category ‘You’re Not Significant Enough’.
All that said, it absolutely depends on what you want from your phone. I use my S23 Ultra to edit photos and videos, play a few games, get some work done — and all of those things benefit from a big display. Hell, even typing is easier for me on a big screen, thanks to my sausage thumbs. 😂
Of course, some people have experienced both formats enough to know that they definitely prefer small phones — but, unfortunately, they appear to be a minority. Small phones don’t sell well, or else there’d be more of them.
The conundrum with sales though is, if almost no major brands are selling them, how would a regular person ever find them? In the Android market, there are few companies making & selling them & they arguably aren’t widely popular for phones (sorry Asus, no surprises Unihertz) , so almost inevitably they won’t sell well.
In the iOS market, they still have the iPhone SE which I think is the smallest of that lineup, and I don’t think Apple would continue to make those if there wasn’t still a market for them. Also to swing back to the first part of what I’ve quoted here, I guess I’m in that minority.
I recently got a new phone as I was concerned about the battery of my old one, but it turned out I may have gotten ahead of myself, so I have a very clear point of comparison between the two when it comes to their form factors and uh…Yeah, when you do it’s no contest. The smaller device is way more comfortable to use, as I can reach most of the screen with one hand without feeling like I’m about to fumble it & drop it.
aa
Agreed. I went from pixel 3a to 6a and thought okay this is definitely as big as I’m willing to use but prefer the smaller 3a size.
Unihertz, interesting, thanks!
I had the atom XL for a while, it was ok. Battery life was awesome, but it was hobcobbled together software wise and not actually rugged (both mine and it’s warranty replacement broke their screens from a 3’ fall out of my pocket stooped over). Their support sucked as well. 3 months after shipping my phone back for warranty they approved the replacement and then shipped out the replacement.
Thanks for relating your experiences. I did kinda get that cheap vibe when I was perusing the site. For now I’ll continue driving my pixel 4a until the wheels fall off.
