this post was submitted on 05 Nov 2023
334 points (95.4% liked)

Android

27551 readers
157 users here now

DROID DOES

Welcome to the droidymcdroidface-iest, Lemmyest (Lemmiest), test, bestest, phoniest, pluckiest, snarkiest, and spiciest Android community on Lemmy (Do not respond)! Here you can participate in amazing discussions and events relating to all things Android.

The rules for posting and commenting, besides the rules defined here for lemmy.world, are as follows:

Rules


1. All posts must be relevant to Android devices/operating system.


2. Posts cannot be illegal or NSFW material.


3. No spam, self promotion, or upvote farming. Sources engaging in these behavior will be added to the Blacklist.


4. Non-whitelisted bots will be banned.


5. Engage respectfully: Harassment, flamebaiting, bad faith engagement, or agenda posting will result in your posts being removed. Excessive violations will result in temporary or permanent ban, depending on severity.


6. Memes are not allowed to be posts, but are allowed in the comments.


7. Posts from clickbait sources are heavily discouraged. Please de-clickbait titles if it needs to be submitted.


8. Submission statements of any length composed of your own thoughts inside the post text field are mandatory for any microblog posts, and are optional but recommended for article/image/video posts.


Community Resources:


We are Android girls*,

In our Lemmy.world.

The back is plastic,

It's fantastic.

*Well, not just girls: people of all gender identities are welcomed here.


Our Partner Communities:

!android@lemmy.ml


founded 1 year ago
MODERATORS
 

Manufacturers don’t make displays under 6 inches available for purchase, with special cases (such as the iPhone Mini) being made under exclusive contracts. The best lead they have so far is to try to use displays designed for the front part of a foldable phone, but they’re yet to strike an agreement.

TIL that display manufacturers are also part of the reason why we aren't getting small phones and why it's probably even harder for manufacturers like Fairphone to make them.

top 50 comments
sorted by: hot top controversial new old
[–] A_Very_Big_Fan@lemmy.world 94 points 10 months ago (5 children)

I just want one with a removable battery and a headphone jack...

[–] brax@sh.itjust.works 46 points 10 months ago (6 children)

And SD card support. Why TF do I want to pay a mint for storage when I could spend like $50 (or less) for the equivalent (or more) in SD form?

[–] applejacks@lemmy.world 25 points 10 months ago (3 children)

it's not that you want to, but rather that the companies want to charge you $100 more for $5 of ROM.

[–] freebread@lemm.ee 12 points 10 months ago (1 children)

Either that or get you on a cloud storage subscription

[–] Sir_Simon_Spamalot@lemmy.world 10 points 10 months ago

That you'll need stable internet to use (so goodbye using your media library while camping/offroading)

[–] GeekyNerdyNerd@sh.itjust.works 6 points 10 months ago

Not just that, but they get to charge $100 dollars more for the $5 of ROM while avoiding the support costs and reputation hit of idiots who force the SD card in the wrong way or blaming the device when the SD card is inevitably sheered in half after being forgotten about during a battery replacement.

Unfortunately every market incentive just aligns against expandable storage in phones.

load more comments (1 replies)
[–] CaptainBlagbird@lemmy.world 11 points 10 months ago (3 children)

This, also should the phone die, you can still take out the card and don't lose your photos (fuck the cloud).

load more comments (3 replies)
load more comments (4 replies)
[–] Jesus_666@feddit.de 26 points 10 months ago (1 children)

Wait until 2027 and buy a Sony then, I guess. They're the only manufacturer who consistently includes a headphone jack and starting in 2027 all phones sold in the EU have to have removable batteries. Yeah, it's pretty sad that that's the only option...

[–] A_Very_Big_Fan@lemmy.world 12 points 10 months ago (3 children)

Guess I'll be moving to the EU in a few years ;-;

[–] Jesus_666@feddit.de 34 points 10 months ago (1 children)

You don't need to; the Brussels effect has you covered.

It's cheaper to sell phones with replaceable batteries worldwide than to design the same phone twice for different markets. So most major manufacturers will probably just sell EU-friendly phones everywhere just like when the EU required USB charging ports.

load more comments (1 replies)
load more comments (2 replies)
[–] XiELEd@lemmy.world 13 points 10 months ago

Like the old days, man

[–] Deconceptualist@lemm.ee 7 points 10 months ago

Me too, Fan, me too.

load more comments (1 replies)
[–] gamermanh@lemmy.dbzer0.com 48 points 10 months ago (3 children)

Meanwhile me, a 6'4" man with big ass hands, is finally happy that most phones actually feel big enough for my fucking hands for once

Have an older iPhone we use at work and I almost can't type on it with how small the fuckin screen is lol

But yeah, options are nice, make small screens more often ya nerds

[–] helenslunch@feddit.nl 7 points 10 months ago

Man I have enormous hands. I can barely fit into most XXL gloves. I still prefer 6" phones.

[–] DudeDudenson@lemmings.world 5 points 10 months ago

I just want a small screen and a physical keyboard like phones had when BlackBerry was still a thing. I had absolutely no trouble blind tiping on those even tho I have sausage fingers.

These days I depend on autocorrect and it betrays me fairly often

load more comments (1 replies)
[–] inspxtr@lemmy.world 42 points 10 months ago (8 children)

I don’t get what the obsession with big phones is. Is it that most people really want big phones or that companies can charge more for them?

[–] guacupado@lemmy.world 31 points 10 months ago

It's not that people want big phones, it's that people like big screens.

[–] Pechente@feddit.de 24 points 10 months ago (2 children)

Two main reasons I think:

  • it’s easier to make a big phone as there’s more space for all the components
  • the average consumer doesn’t use computers as much anymore, so people start using their phone for all kinds of things where they benefit from the bigger screen
load more comments (2 replies)
[–] weew@lemmy.ca 16 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago)

People generally just want the biggest screen they can hold in their hands comfortably.

For most people that seems to have settled into the 6.5-6.7" range, depending on aspect ratio and bezels.

[–] Ryan213@lemmy.world 13 points 10 months ago

I'm old and my eyesight requires them now. Lol

[–] Socsa@sh.itjust.works 7 points 10 months ago (1 children)

For me it's the bigger battery.

load more comments (1 replies)
load more comments (3 replies)
[–] EnderMB@lemmy.world 40 points 10 months ago (2 children)

Most of the issues people have with Android are one and the same. Compared to a decade ago, there isn't any choice any more

Years ago, there was almost too much variety at times, and manufacturers would experiment heavily alongside Google. Some phones had physical keyboards, some had no headphone jacks, some had no physical buttons at all, and they came in either stupidly small or (at the time) freakishly large.

Now, for some reason Android feels very sanitized, even the shite that manufacturers stick on top of stock to make it feel like it's their product and not Google's. There aren't even that many manufacturers any more, and unlike the past when Android embraced being a bit different, it all feels like everyone is trying to follow Apple instead of Android leading the pack....

[–] Zoomboingding@lemmy.world 16 points 10 months ago

Very surprising that there's no 5.5" phones on the market. I still have good eyes and I'd rather have more pocket space. Sticking with the pixel 7a for now, but yearning for a new Xperia X Compact.

[–] RobotToaster@mander.xyz 8 points 10 months ago

It's all become so bland.

[–] Zippit@lemmy.world 32 points 10 months ago

I have small hands and I hate that I have to jerry rig my phone with shit to just reach the upper part of it.

[–] AlmightySnoo@lemmy.world 29 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago)

also, interesting side-by-side comparison of the Zenfone 10, the iPhone 15 and the Pixel 8 from the article:

[–] mulcahey@lemmy.world 28 points 10 months ago (2 children)

Anyone who wants to keep this convo going, check out !compactphones@lemmy.world

load more comments (2 replies)
[–] Kerb@discuss.tchncs.de 25 points 10 months ago (3 children)

i want a smartphone, that i can hold securely
while still being able to reach the entire screen.

i have pretty big hands, and even i cant reach the upper left quarter of my phone (pixel6a) without letting go of the left and bottom edges.
its ridiculous

[–] circle@lemmy.world 11 points 10 months ago

Oh yes, to top it I have small hands - I can't reach almost any of the opposite edge without using two hands. Sigh.

load more comments (2 replies)
[–] JimmyChanga@lemmy.world 20 points 10 months ago

This is what is pushing me towards a flip phone. I just don't have a need for a 6.7" phone or bigger.

[–] BlueSquid0741@lemmy.sdf.org 19 points 10 months ago (5 children)

My favourite phone ever was my first android phone in 2010, the Sony Ericsson Xperia Mini (e10i). Every time I’ve had to buy a phone since, I’ve looked around trying to find something similar, but it feels like no such thing will ever exist.

load more comments (5 replies)
[–] freebread@lemm.ee 13 points 10 months ago

I'm a cyclist in the city so for me, a smaller size phone is ideal to keep it secure in a pocket. I got gifted a Pixel 6 about a year ago (wanted to stick with the Pixel 2!) and now I always need to bring some sort of pack to put it in.

[–] Escew@lemm.ee 13 points 10 months ago

I’m on the iPhone mini and I wish I could get a smaller phone. It is way better than the tablets my family carry!

[–] SternburgExport@feddit.de 13 points 10 months ago (3 children)

Mainstream ruined everything. Like it always does.

load more comments (3 replies)
[–] tswerts@lemmy.world 13 points 10 months ago

Thank for bringing this up. I'm currently using a Samsung Galaxy S10e. I mostly use the smartphone from my pocket:

  • listening to podcasts with earbuds on;
  • running with Strava on;
  • working in the garden with music on;
  • checking messages with my smartwatch on;
  • driving my car with Android Auto on;
  • ... . Of course I also use my smartphone itself for messaging, shopping online, banking, ordering takeaway, ... . And a larger screen would definitely be more comfortable in these cases. But having a larger smartphone when I'm currently using my smartphone while it's in my pocket, is a step back. In fact, for use at home I still have a Samsung tablet to have a bigger screen die when that's more useful. When I would switch to the SG S23 version, it seems that the dimensions of the new device are quite similar? Dimensions: S10e: 5.60 x 2.75 x 0.31 inches (142.2 x 69.9 x 7.9 mm) S23: 5.76 x 2.79 x 0.30 inches (146.3 x 70.9 x 7.6mm) Zenphone 10: 5.77 x 2.68 x 0.37 inches (146.5 x 68.1 x 9.4 mm)

So as long as the basic version of the SG s-series is sold in the above dimensions, I'm not worried 🤞

[–] RobotToaster@mander.xyz 11 points 10 months ago (4 children)

On the other end there doesn't seem to be any phablets either. they are all weirdly long screens.

[–] helenslunch@feddit.nl 18 points 10 months ago (1 children)

They're all phablets. People used to make fun of my Note 4 endlessly but it's practically tiny by modern standards.

load more comments (1 replies)
[–] guacupado@lemmy.world 7 points 10 months ago

Width has to still fit in hands to be mainstream.

load more comments (2 replies)
[–] Socsa@sh.itjust.works 10 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago) (4 children)

It's not really that complicated, people expect high end phones to have all day battery, which is hard to do with a small phone.

[–] falkerie71@sh.itjust.works 18 points 10 months ago

If only high end smartphone chips focus more on efficiency rather than performance, which for most people is already powerful enough for day to day use.

[–] DudeDudenson@lemmings.world 16 points 10 months ago (3 children)

It would stand to reason that a smaller screen would lend to less power draw both for the screen's power usage and being able to use a lower resolution keeping the CPU draw lower too

load more comments (3 replies)
[–] blackbarn@lemm.ee 12 points 10 months ago (1 children)

My zenphone is small and has good battery life. Wish more would shoot for this type of form factor

[–] applejacks@lemmy.world 9 points 10 months ago (3 children)

the sad reality is many people will say they want a small phone like this, but then not buy it for some reason or another, then they sell less, and so companies abandon making them.

I am a very happy owner of a ZF10 too, lovely device.

load more comments (3 replies)
load more comments (1 replies)
[–] FallenGrove@lemmy.world 9 points 10 months ago

There was actually a meme I saw a while back where a guy was wielding a sword and shield. Except the sword was an iPhone and the shield was a samsung phone.

[–] XiELEd@lemmy.world 9 points 10 months ago (4 children)

At this point I'd rather buy a super outdated smartphone. They're small enough for my hands and pockets, dirt cheap and still functional, and most of the good games left on Android are only available on those old versions.

load more comments (4 replies)
[–] root@aussie.zone 8 points 10 months ago (1 children)

I just want Sony to make another XZ1 Compact but with updated internals. Keep the screen size, camera shutter button, 3.5mm plug and make it thicker to squeeze in either wireless charging or a slightly bigger battery.

load more comments (1 replies)
[–] cerement@slrpnk.net 8 points 10 months ago (1 children)

and one of the driving forces behind the design of the Palm Pilot was that it had to fit in a shirt pocket …

load more comments (1 replies)
[–] aluminium@lemmy.world 8 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago)

Not just small phones actually big phones as well. Remember the Huawei P8 Max, Sony Xperia Z Ultra or Mate 20X?

Phones these days only seem to exist between 6" and 6.8".

[–] jivemasta@reddthat.com 7 points 10 months ago (1 children)

I'm currently using a Samsung flip 5. I have it set up to use all my main apps on the outer screen, so I can just have a small screen. Then I have the option to open it for apps that I might want to be on a larger screen.

It's working out pretty well. Some days I never even use the inner screen.

load more comments (1 replies)
[–] obinice@lemmy.world 7 points 10 months ago

For myself, phone screens have finally gotten to the perfect size for my hand, and a good size to actually use them for stuff comfortably.

But there should always be variation and choice, for the other users in the market!

load more comments
view more: next ›