No such thing as a 'small' phone anymore

[Morty2264]

Thanks for all the replies, very interesting to read, good to know I’m not alone, although still the minority!

It’s bizarre that in an age where technology gets ever smaller, these devices are getting ever bigger (think 80’s mobile phone, compared to phones up to around 2006 before Smartphones).

I suppose the analogy for TV’s is relevant, it’s more about the screen size than the phone size, but they do impact each other. For me the screen size isn’t really the problem, it’s more the phone’s overall size. In order to fit a 5-6” screen, the phone needs to be bigger than 4”, so therein lies the problem. Small bezels is also frustrating because now it’s becoming even harder to hold or re-position a phone without accidentally touching the screen and making unwanted gestures.

I don’t play games or watch movies on my phone – that’s what my PC/console/TV is for, but I realise a lot of people do.

For me my Moto G was a perfect size phone, and screen. I could hold it in one hand, and operate it mostly one handed – e.g my thumb could reach every corner of the screen, but it aged pretty quickly and the newer equivalent – Moto G5 or 6, has a 5 - 5.7” screen, and are rather large in the hand, so before I’d admitted defeat these were already off my shortlist.

In the end I did get a Sony Xperia XA2, and it’s mostly been ok, apart from it being a bit of a brick. I often have to use it with 2 hands, and it protrudes from pockets sometimes, and it’s a little heavy, but I knew this would be the case – there simply weren't any other options that were within my price range at the time, or had all the features the XA2 has.

Having lived with the XA2 for a few months now, I actually think I prefer my Wileyfox physically – the screen seems better, and it was nice to use generally, the Sony is a bit awkward for some reason – but I couldn’t deal with the random freezes of the WF so can’t go back to it...

I suspect some of the negative experiences I’ve been having with my Sony are self-inflicted – I have a gel case to protect it from drops – making it feel bigger than it is, and a tempered glass screen protector, which is mostly awful and quite badly affects screen sensitivity. I’ll be removing it soon, once I find a replacement or the nerve to run it without one!

Finally very interesting about aspect ratios – this is something I’d read about in newer phones, 18:9 being the new preferred standard - but it doesn’t really bother me I’m quite happy with 16:9 and a physically smaller screen and phone!

Hope you enjoy your XA2 a bit more! Perhaps changing to a slimmer yet harder case will help it not be as bulky. And good tempered glass screen protectors are everything! I'd recommend getting a new one as soon as you can. Nothing is more frustrating than unregistered touches on a phone screen!