Becoming tired of big Android phones

[gordie3131]

I love phones with a screen size around 5.0 inch

 

[mj0]

This all didn't happen overnight. There was a period where both small and large phones were available. What happened? The large phones (back then we're talking 4.5 - 4.7" range) sold big. Much more than everyone expected. When the Note 2 and S3 dropped, there were jokes about how big the phones were.

But they sold tons of them ... and everyone stopped laughing.

OEMs pushed things a little bigger, and sold tons of them, bigger again, more sales. All the while, the smaller phones tailed off... There were plenty of choices, but fewer and fewer purchased them.

While I agree with your general assumption that it's a market driven development I would like to raise the question: why did bigger phones sell better? The problem is that even during this transition phase, which I absolutely agree did happen, a 5" phone and a 4" phone were not equipped equally, meaning that the specs on the 5" phone were generally speaking much better than the specs on the 4" phone. Be that higher resolution displays, bigger batteries, faster SoCs, more memory, additional features such as NFC, Bluetooth 4.0, etc.

In my personal opinion larger phones did not sell better because of the bigger display but despite of it, at least in some cases. Yes, some people prefer large displays and don't mind a 6" phablet. But there certainly are those that want a flagship phone with top of the line specs but a smaller display, and those phones simply weren't available. People were forced to make a comprimise - either high specs and large display or small display and low specs. Apparantly, many more went for the former than the latter. Which is why in a way what seems like a market driven development became a self-fulfilling prophecy.

That being said I'm sick of phones I have to take out of my pockets when sitting down, phones that dig deep into my hip bones when climbing stairs, and phones that I have to use two-handed. However, since there are no alternatives, I was forced to adapt. Even the iPhone 5s isn't an opition anymore since that phone is a more than two years old model at this point.

 

[Laura Knotek]

While I agree with your general assumption that it's a market driven development I would like to raise the question: why did bigger phones sell better? The problem is that even during this transition phase, which I absolutely agree did happen, a 5" phone and a 4" phone were not equipped equally, meaning that the specs on the 5" phone were generally speaking much better than the specs on the 4" phone. Be that higher resolution displays, bigger batteries, faster SoCs, more memory, additional features such as NFC, Bluetooth 4.0, etc.

In my personal opinion larger phones did not sell better because of the bigger display but despite of it, at least in some cases. Yes, some people prefer large displays and don't mind a 6" phablet. But there certainly are those that want a flagship phone with top of the line specs but a smaller display, and those phones simply weren't available. People were forced to make a comprimise - either high specs and large display or small display and low specs. Apparantly, many more went for the former than the latter. Which is why in a way what seems like a market driven development became a self-fulfilling prophecy.

That being said I'm sick of phones I have to take out of my pockets when sitting down, phones that dig deep into my hip bones when climbing stairs, and phones that I have to use two-handed. However, since there are no alternatives, I was forced to adapt. Even the iPhone 5s isn't an opition anymore since that phone is a more than two years old model at this point.

My thoughts are that bigger phones became more popular due to changing usage. As people chose to do more watching videos and gaming on their phones, they found those use cases provided better experiences on larger screens. Granted, not everyone watches videos and plays games on his/her device, but more and more people do so, hence the popularity of larger devices.

 

[mj0]

My thoughts are that bigger phones became more popular due to changing usage. As people chose to do more watching videos and gaming on their phones, they found those use cases provided better experiences on larger screens. Granted, not everyone watches videos and plays games on his/her device, but more and more people do so, hence the popularity of larger devices.

This is absolutely true for those people who bought the phones for the display. However, if you were looking for a flagship phone that didn't sport a chopping board sized display you were out of luck. Yes, there were 4-4.5" devices available but they were far from flagshippy. Which is why the compromise was between flagship/large or non-flagship/small, and many went with the former because of the specs despite the large display.

 

[Inders99]

My thoughts are that bigger phones became more popular due to changing usage. As people chose to do more watching videos and gaming on their phones, they found those use cases provided better experiences on larger screens. Granted, not everyone watches videos and plays games on his/her device, but more and more people do so, hence the popularity of larger devices.

I did a quick search to try to get some objectivity around this. Looks like anywhere from 30-35% of the population plays games on their phones according to recent polls.

 

[Tsepz_GP]

I love my big phones, my Note 4 even has a thick Case•Mate Hybrid case on it, but at the same time I do understand that these Phablets are not for everyone.

Its a shame most manufacturers are ignoring the 4-4.7inch market. With components getting smaller and more powerful these days, they could build some incredible compact high ends, not everyone games or watches series or movies on their phones after all, some people just want to text, make a phone call, do the odd bit of web browsing, email and listening to music, and a 4-4.7inch display is fine for all that. I see a lot of iPhone5S units around and even the odd 4 or 4S.

 

[LeoRex]

Well, there are plenty of rumors of an Apple 6C, which will basically be a 5S wrapped in the same design language as the 6.

On the Android side of things, I think we'll actually see more in that range in the upcoming months than prior. The whole space was in a bit of a flux for the past few years while the form factors settle down. It's clear that there are two established ones... the 'big' phones... 5.5" to 6" and the standard size of 5" to 5.2". There is a market for 'small'.... in the size we're talking about here, but I don't think you'll see many high-end devices in that space. People don't want to spend a ton of cash on a small phone.

Top end phones can be had for $400 to $500... and there are a TON of really good phones $200/$300.... for a small but highly spec'd Android device to be viable, a company would most likely have to sell it on a razor thin margin to avoid being viewed as overpriced. Near as I can tell, the only real compact high-end phone out there right now is the Xperia Z5 Compact.... Google has prices ranging from $460 to $520. There's no real market for a $500 4" phone, well other than if it has an Apple logo stamped on the back (they'll buy anything). In that space you are butting up against phones like the 6P, 5X, Moto X Pure and X Style.. OnePlus... and for a ton less you have the Zenfones, Moto G's, etc.

I just picked up a Moto E over Thanksgiving... the $10 one from BB that's a Verizon exclusive that I am going to give to my 6-year-old as a Wifi device. No, it's not going to remind anyone of a top end phone, but it still performs extremely well for what are 'low end' specs. I suspect that we'll see some small phones with mid-range specs that will actually perform extremely well. 'Cheap' phones are no longer dogs.

 

[mbbarron]

Looking for a similar option as the OP. My husband has a Droid Mini which he's been very happy with for the last two years. Great battery life and great camera. In a smaller size which he prefers. He dropped it last week and shattered the screen and is looking for a new device. Needs it to work on the Verizon network. Doesn't need to be the latest and greatest model for his needs but prefers to stay around a 5" screen size. And also seems to prefer the Motorola platform. Any recommendations?

 

[mj0]

On the Android side of things, I think we'll actually see more in that range in the upcoming months than prior. The whole space was in a bit of a flux for the past few years while the form factors settle down. It's clear that there are two established ones... the 'big' phones... 5.5" to 6" and the standard size of 5" to 5.2". There is a market for 'small'.... in the size we're talking about here, but I don't think you'll see many high-end devices in that space. People don't want to spend a ton of cash on a small phone.

Top end phones can be had for $400 to $500... and there are a TON of really good phones $200/$300.... for a small but highly spec'd Android device to be viable, a company would most likely have to sell it on a razor thin margin to avoid being viewed as overpriced. Near as I can tell, the only real compact high-end phone out there right now is the Xperia Z5 Compact.... Google has prices ranging from $460 to $520. There's no real market for a $500 4" phone, well other than if it has an Apple logo stamped on the back (they'll buy anything). In that space you are butting up against phones like the 6P, 5X, Moto X Pure and X Style.. OnePlus... and for a ton less you have the Zenfones, Moto G's, etc.

I think you've nailed it. People seem to be thinking "bigger phone equals better phone" but just like cars, larger car doesn't equal better car. Otherwise we'd all be driving 18-wheelers to work. Once this nonsense stops and people will realize that size isn't in any way proportional to greatness maybe OEMs will reconsider, but as long as everybody and their mom is walking around saying "get that bigger phone because bigger is automatically better" things won't change even a bit.

 

[NathansWallpapers]

Well I just saw yesterday, and can't remember if it's a rumor or confirmed, but that there's going to be a one plus 2 mini. Supposedly it may have a 4.6 inch 1080p screen and as much as 64gb of rom, so that sounds like it might be pretty cool if it shapes up that way.

Posted via the Android Central App

 

[LeoRex]

I think you've nailed it. People seem to be thinking "bigger phone equals better phone" but just like cars, larger car doesn't equal better car.

Partially true. For a lot of functions, larger doesn't improve the experience (in some ways it can hurt)... but there are a couple of features where it DOES give an advantage, and those features have become more and more important.... video and gaming. As I've mentioned before, people are watching more and more video on their phones, and you will be hard pressed to convince anyone that watching video on a 4.5" phone is better than a 5.7" one. Game goes for gaming. Everything just looks better.

This shouldn't really come as a shock... the same thing happened with TVs. When things shifted to panels (and HD) and tubes and projectors went the way of the dinosaur, the size of TVs exploded. 20 years ago, a 32" TV was big... Now? Those are the cheap, throw-aways and everyone's going after 40, 50, 60+" units.... they improve the experience.

But you'll still be able to find smaller phones, they just won't be the fastest and most powerful.

 

[mj0]

As I've mentioned before, people are watching more and more video on their phones, and you will be hard pressed to convince anyone that watching video on a 4.5" phone is better than a 5.7" one. Game goes for gaming. Everything just looks better.

While it's true that people are watching more and more video on their phones you should pay close attention to how they do it. More often than not I see people watching video in portrait mode not realizing that if they rotate the device 90° either way their video watching experience will improve tenfold. My wife is such a specimen, and I have given up reminding her to rotate the device. She'll happily watch Youtube video after Youtube video on her iPhone in portrait mode for hours without ever thinking about rotating the phone to improve the experience.

 

[Inders99]

The amount of gamers/movie watchers is disproportionate to the number of flagship giant phones. If that was a relative factor there'd only be 30-40% large devices.

And I differ with Leo Rex's assertion that people don't want to spend a ton of cash on a small phone...Apple disproves that every day.

 

[anon(5719825)]

The amount of gamers/movie watchers is disproportionate to the number of flagship giant phones. If that was a relative factor there'd only be 30-40% large devices.

And I differ with Leo Rex's assertion that people don't want to spend a ton of cash on a small phone...Apple disproves that every day.

How is Apple proving this? The iPhone 6S was the #1 searched for phone on Google in 2015. It's not exactly a cheap phone.

 

[Inders99]

How is Apple proving this? The iPhone 6S was the #1 searched for phone on Google in 2015. It's not exactly a cheap phone.

Because the iPhone 6 is 4.7"...small by today's gargantuan standards. The 5 is still selling well and there's a possibility that the 5 gets upgraded to the newer platform...another small phone.

 

[ScottColbert]

As someone who openly derided the note when it came out, and then the other phablets, I never saw myself getting one.

Then about 6 months ago I switched to t-mobile and found myself using - and loving- the LG G Stylo, with a 5.7 inch screen. I for used to the size within about 10 minutes and could never go back to anything smaller. As far as using a phone one handed, I never liked to, because it was easier to drop it that way.