What happened to the small phone?

[louied72]

Am I the only one that still loves a small phone that you can comfortably used one handed? I mean seriously one handed with a beautiful small (4.6 inch) screen that fits perfectly in your front or back pocket of your pants? It seems like every phone is at least 5 inches +?? Am I alone here? I've recently acquired a brand new Sony Z5 compact because I was sick of my Moto G5 and is the best thing since sliced bread! I remember when I used to have an iPhone 5 and again I loved that phone so much! would love to hear the communities thoughts

 

[codeda]

Am I the only one that still loves a small phone that you can comfortably used one handed? I mean seriously one handed with a beautiful small (4.6 inch) screen that fits perfectly in your front or back pocket of your pants? It seems like every phone is at least 5 inches +?? Am I alone here? I've recently acquired a brand new Sony Z5 compact because I was sick of my Moto G5 and is the best thing since sliced bread! I remember when I used to have an iPhone 5 and again I loved that phone so much! would love to hear the communities thoughts

I thought I wanted a small phone, but currently using the xz2 compact and finding it too small. Think I’m going to go up in size a little bit. It’s 5 inches but with the new aspect ratio so it’s still pretty small compared to 16:9 phones like the pixel 2.

 

[Itsa_Me_Mario]

They're gone! No, but seriously, with the new aspect ratios and smaller bezels, a huge screen can go on a tiny device. As an example, this was shared a year or so ago showing how reducing the bezels could create a device the size of the Nexus 5 (4.95" display) with a 5.43" or even 5.50" display.



One of my favorite devices that I've ever had was the Moto X (2013). However, this example below I can show that I could keep the existing design and modify the display to a 18:9 aspect ratio with less bezels and generate a device with a 5.25" display in the same body as the previous 4.7" display.

 

[Morty2264]

You are not the only one! My boyfriend has large hands and actually preferred using his iPhone SE (my brother, too, for that matter); and I myself have small hands and love smaller phones. My current phone is five inches and my old one was 5.2". I like the five-inch form factor; as I think anything under that may be too small.

But I do think that phablets and bigger phones is the current trend right now; and hopefully smaller phones will make a comeback.

 

[belodion]

You’re not alone. The current paucity of small Androids is lamentable, and in my opinion, ridiculous. It’s why I use little iPhones when out and about and preferring to have a small device.

 

[Ry]

Use an iPhone SE with all of Google's apps.

 

[anon(10388027)]

Asia is the largest mobile market, and the largest market prefers big phones.

Apple handed over a tonne of market share to Android, through Samsung, when they slow played their move to larger displays.

People forget the original iPhone had the largest display on the market when it was released.

I'm a tall human, so no large phones are difficult. I appreciate big phones because I don't own or need a laptop... My phone is my only online device.

Follow the money.. All manufacturers can charge the most possible only on the largest phones.

I'd suggest the utility of smartphones is wasted on a tiny screen.

 

[Morty2264]

Asia is the largest mobile market, and the largest market prefers big phones.

Apple handed over a tonne of market share to Android, through Samsung, when they slow played their move to larger displays.

People forget the original iPhone had the largest display on the market when it was released.

I'm a tall human, so no large phones are difficult. I appreciate big phones because I don't own or need a laptop... My phone is my only online device.

Follow the money.. All manufacturers can charge the most possible only on the largest phones.

I'd suggest the utility of smartphones is wasted on a tiny screen.

While I do agree with you that the smartphone market will follow trends and what people like - and what people like right now are big screens - smartphone manufacturers can and will charge big bucks for smaller phones, as well. Take the Pixel 2 for example. It has a five-inch screen and retails for $900.

Then you have all of the iPhone variants that will charge top dollar for smaller screens. The iPhone 8 is 4.7" and retails for $930 (from my carrier, anyway); whereas the Plus is 5.5" and $1059. All of those phones are on the "smaller end" of the spectrum and are still getting flagship-level price tags. There are still people who prefer smaller phones and these phones, though smaller indeed, still have flagship-level specs and their price tags reflect that.

Tiny phone screens do not necessarily mean that they have less utility; especially with the other socially-accepted trend of bezel-less or 2:1 aspect ratios on many current devices. Smaller phones can still have larger screens based on things like aspect ratios and using as much of the form factor as possible to create a better user experience.

I certainly respect your opinions and am glad you posted about this; as phone size is an important aspect of smartphone manufacturing and is certainly a subject about which people have different viewpoints.

 

[Tsepz_GP]

I personally prefer larger screened devices.

I remember making the jump to Android, I went from a Nokia 5800XpressMusic, with 3.2inch display to a Sony Ericsson Xperia X10i with a 4.0inch display that was seen as absolutely huge in its time.

Even with the 4inch X10 I felt that I could use a bigger phone, got a Galaxy S2 after that with 4.2inch them a S3 with 4.8inch, at this point I began consuming more content on my phones and less on my iPad.

The Galaxy S4 was great, 5inch display fitted in a small body, but I still felt there was room to grow.

Got a Galaxy Note 4 at launch and absolutely fell in love with Phablets

My Galaxy Note8 is perfect for me right now, anything with a smaller display than 6.3inch is now too small for me.

Asia is the largest mobile market, and the largest market prefers big phones.

Apple handed over a tonne of market share to Android, through Samsung, when they slow played their move to larger displays.

People forget the original iPhone had the largest display on the market when it was released.

I'm a tall human, so no large phones are difficult. I appreciate big phones because I don't own or need a laptop... My phone is my only online device.

Follow the money.. All manufacturers can charge the most possible only on the largest phones.

I'd suggest the utility of smartphones is wasted on a tiny screen.

Agreed, especially with your last sentence. The smaller the display on a smartphone, the less utility it provides, IMO.

I cannot take phones with a Display less than 5.5inches seriously anything that small makes it difficult to watch anything for a reasonable amount of time.

 

[Inders99]

I cannot take phones with a Display less than 5.5inches seriously anything that small makes it difficult to watch anything for a reasonable amount of time.

Some of us don't watch anything on a phone, I use my laptop, desktop or TV for that. I'd love to see more small offerings from Android.

 

[Chuck Finley69]

If the market for smaller phones truly exists, someone would already be filling it. Smaller devices were still found with cheaper prepaid devices until large screen demand eliminated those. Carrying expenses and sales dilution ultimately prove the market for people that will actually pay the same price for a smaller device is very small.

 

[anon(10388027)]

Last comment by Chuck nailed it... If there was a market for small Android smartphones, it would already be looked after.

To add to my earlier post:

Samsung led the move to larger displays. I bought one iPhone... The 4S, and then moved to Android because is was obvious Apple would slow play their way to larger screens.

In spite of echo chambers like this one... Most people don't need a laptop for work, or have high incomes that can afford regular device upgrades. Sales have proven Consumers upgrade their smartphones most frequently.

A large smartphone today can replace a laptop. Tablets are now only a niche for education.

Google play books are enjoyable on large phones. Content like newspapers, Facebook, Twitter, etc are enjoyable. Email, word processing, and spreadsheets... All can be used productively on a large phone.

I'm most productive using the largest sized keyboard on a large phone.

The 18.5.9 aspect ratio on my Note 8 is easier to use than the Note 5 16.9.

Laptop computers are pretty... But I can't rationalize owning one... And if I did, no chance I'd upgrade it often.

People forget how little real estate exists on a 3.5 inch iPhone 4S or its 1430 mAh battery.... How tiny the links were when using a mobile browser... How you had to increase the text size of everything... It's why big phones are so great!

I don't recommend any Pixel phone (maybe one day... But certainly not today), UT the 5 inch Google Pixel 2 is your smallest contemporary Android phone on the market.

 

[anon(10388027)]

Ps Full disclosure, my first phone was an Ericcson GH 388 in 1995.

The Nokia 3310 in 2000 was a great small phone... But the Nokia 6234 in 2005 was my favourite 'dumb' phone phone.... Memories... Maybe what was good was simply being younger.

 

[louied72]

I agree with you on this, not everyone is watching everything on their phone, yes the occasional clip here and there, but that's about it. I seriously think that watching alot of clips, movies, etc on your phone is no good for your eyes or your posture? Agree the bigger 6 inch + phablets might be great for watching movies but do you love lugging that around??

The other reason I love a small phone is I guess I'm becoming a bit of a minimalist .. hehe. I'm sure there are many more of you out there, and if not, try it and you will feel totally liberated when you down size your phone, your wallet, etc.

 

[chanchan05]

UT the 5 inch Google Pixel 2 is your smallest contemporary Android phone on the market.

It's not. the 5inch pixel is actually just 2mm shorter than the 5.8inch S9. Those bezels add a lot. The 5 inch Sony XZ2 compact on the other hand is actually 1cm shorter than the Pixel 2, and 5mm narrower.

https://www.gsmarena.com/compare.php3?idPhone1=8733&idPhone2=8966&idPhone3=9082

 

[anon(10388027)]

Nice.... Good point Chan Chan!

I forgot about bezels... No, I don't miss them on my Note 8.


PS That Nokia 6234 dumb phone from 2005?

2MP camera
70MB internal storage
Micro SD expandable to 2GB!
240x320 display
FM radio
Memories.....

 

[chanchan05]

Nice.... Good point Chan Chan!

I forgot about bezels... No, I don't miss them on my Note 8.

While we're at it, the 5.8inch S9 is also about the same size as the 5inch Galaxy S5. It's also narrower and thinner than a 4.7inch Galaxy S3. It's 1cm taller though.

https://www.gsmarena.com/compare.php3?idPhone1=8966&idPhone2=6033&idPhone3=4238

The small phone didn't go away. The screen size of the small phone just got bigger becase bezels got smaller. People should stop looking at screen sizes to judge how big or small a phone is. I mean look at the iPhone 8 Plus and it's archaic design. I't s got a 5.5 inch screen, but the phone is bigger than the 6.2inch S9 Plus.

https://www.gsmarena.com/compare.php3?&idPhone3=4238&idPhone1=8967&idPhone2=8131

 

[anon(10388027)]

Again... Great reply. Cheers bud.

 

[Inders99]

I agree with you on this, not everyone is watching everything on their phone, yes the occasional clip here and there, but that's about it. I seriously think that watching alot of clips, movies, etc on your phone is no good for your eyes or your posture? Agree the bigger 6 inch + phablets might be great for watching movies but do you love lugging that around??

The other reason I love a small phone is I guess I'm becoming a bit of a minimalist .. hehe. I'm sure there are many more of you out there, and if not, try it and you will feel totally liberated when you down size your phone, your wallet, etc.

Agree, purging stuff in my home too these days, very liberating!

 

[kramer5150]

The bigger complaint I have is that carriers do not allow multiple simultaneous active devices on the same line. I shouldn't have to swap SIM cards, or contact my carrier to switch. I have an old iPhone 5C and it still does everything I need from a phone. So between that and my LGV10 I bounce back and forth between the two. I wish I could have both active simultaneously. There are times the V10 is just too big and the 5C is just too small. But I can't just grab and go.