Where have all the small phones gone?

[Inders99]

I still see tons of iPhone 5/5s models, clearly there's a demand for smaller one handed phones. I'd chuck my LG G4 for a small competent smaller phone in a heartbeat.

 

[Blacklac]

You're just not going to get newer phones under 4.5" with today's flagship specs. You really want a phone with an SD810 and 2000mah battery or even less, 1500mah? OEM's would get annihilated in reviews for that.

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[wxboss]

Trouble with small screens is the typing and reading.

But if you only do basic call and text, then I guess small phones are more practical.

Sent from my LG-H818 using Tapatalk

That was my biggest gripe with "smaller" phones, and I say smaller relatively speaking (I don't know if we've decided on the screen size that delineates 'small' from 'big'). For example, I liked my Samsung Galaxy Avant with its 4.5" screen, but typing anything on it was a frustrating experience. I don't have big hands, but even so, I found the phone often registering letters that I didn't to type (not a software issue but a too small of a key issue). I bit the bullet and bought a Zmax which is much bigger than any phone I've ever had, but wow, what a typing dream! Not that a big screen doesn't have other advantages, but now I have to intentionally hit another key in order to get the undesired letter - the keys are so big with this phone that typing is actually pleasurable instead of frustrating.

 

[roiyak]

I think 5'' is ok, not bigger that that

 

[badaboum52]

I am sure, we gonna assist to a come back of the small phones.

 

[Ry]

I know but the price tag is too high for me this year. I'd love to get that compact.

Still doesn't cost $1000 though.

 

[Geodude074]

Once physical QWERTY keyboards started disappearing, virtual keyboards appeared to replace them. Since virtual keyboards take up half the real estate of the screen, phone screen sizes became bigger so people could text on the virtual keyboard easier. Coincidence? I think not. Want small screen phones back? Bring back the QWERTY.

I remember back in the good ol' days of 2012 when the Motorola Photon Q was introduced. It was a 4.3 inch Android phone, with a slide out 5 row QWERTY keyboard. Easy to hold and use with one hand, and even easier to text with two thumbs when you wanted to hammer out an email. It was water proof, dust proof, had expandable storage, was made out of kevlar, and it had a micro HDMI port (where the heck did those go?)

But alas it was not meant to be, as consumers wanted slimmer and slimmer phones, so the QWERTY got thrown out the window. Three years later and my pinky is sore just thinking about how I have to hold my phone and balance it on my pinky to do anything with it.

 

[LeoRex]

Once physical QWERTY keyboards started disappearing, virtual keyboards appeared to replace them. Since virtual keyboards take up half the real estate of the screen, phone screen sizes became bigger so people could text on the virtual keyboard easier. Coincidence? I think not. Want small screen phones back? Bring back the QWERTY.

While that may have played a part in it, but not the direct cause. Software keyboards still slide away when not in use. I think the increase in size had a lot more to do with the shift in how people used their phones. In a short span, mobile networks had a substantial increase in speed (going from 3G to 4G speeds was critical) and people could then easily consume higher definition content on their phones. Videos, pictures... sites like Instagram and Pinterest, you name it. And size is the name of the game there. Who wants to watch an episode of their favorite show on a 4" screen when you can watch it on a 5.5" screen? The larger screens even make for better camera viewfinders.

So don't blame Swiftkey, blame Netflix.

 

[CaffeineBomb]

I thought for ages that I'd rather go back to a smaller phone from my Nexus 5, but I've had to swap back & forth to an iPhone 5 for work recently and I've been surprised how awkward I found it going back to typing on the smaller device. I did find I missed the larger screen as well.

My personal gripe with the march to much larger handsets is the simultaneous increase in processors/screen resolution etc instead of minimising the existing components and increasing the battery capacity. I love smartphones, but every single new one I've upgraded too has had a shorter battery life than the one before. I'd genuinely be happy if the new nexus 5 only improved spec was a bigger battery. I love the phone but as a power user (a lot of email accounts & social media apps active all the time and regular gaming) I just can't get a full days use out of a single charge .

 

[Tsepz_GP]

Surely I can't be the only one bothered by the fact that our phones seem to be growing ever larger and larger. For a long time Apple has remained the only company still offering a 4" flagship phone but as we all know they went all in with the iPhone 6 and 6+. Nowadays, some OEMs have started referring to 4.6" devices as being compact or mini, which makes me cringe and laugh simultaneously every time I see it. Sure, 4" smartphones still are available here and there, but they're either massively outdated (and have been for years) or contain cheap, slow, and bad quality hardware with little to no internal memory, such as the really bad display on the 4GB Lumia 530 or the terrible camera without LED flash on the 4GB/8GB ASUS ZenFone 4. Infact, the ZenFone 4 is the only 4" smartphone I was able to find that runs Android 5.0 and to my knowledge there isn't a single 4" smartphone running Android 5.1 as we speak (not talking about rooted/modded/flashed phones). My point is: yes, 4" devices are still available, but they're far from desirable or sometimes even usable. They're cheap low-end phones for less than US $100 unlocked, and they sure as hell let you know it.

I bet within the next two years some OEM is going to start marketing 5" phones as the new micro/nano/whatever, while flagships will grow from 5.5" to 6" and beyond, and I'm trying to figure out why these things keep growing larger and larger. I've made peace with the fact that I'm a dinosaur destined for extinction when it comes to screen size since most users clearly seem to be craving for ever larger displays, but why? Has the usage pattern moved so far away from mobile phone into the media consumption space that these devices are rarely ever used as communication devices for human interaction anymore but rather gaming devices that can also be used as cameras and for watching movies? Do people simply not care that a modern smartphone doesn't really fit in your pants' pockets anymore? Or that it feels like a brick when you take it to the gym or out running?

I know I'm part of a (silent/vocal) minority here, and I'm just trying to understand the majority because it's obvious to me that large screens must have some sort of benefit to them, otherwise people wouldn't be going bananas for them. It's just that I can't see an advantage in having a 5" or 6" phone, literally none whatsoever. Maybe somebody here will be able to shed some light on this.

Remember Nokia's tag lines for the N95 and N95-8GB: "Its what computers have become" and how they used to call them: "Multimedia Computers", well, that is what Smartphones have become these days, more than just phones.

I was once reluctant to take the step from my S4's 5inch display to my Note 4's 5.7inch, but days after doing it I was over the moon that I did.

I do find myself consuming a lot more media be it watching loads more YouTube vids, watching movies, Web browsing etc... Heck I even write longer emails and just do a whole lot more on it.

I'm not a big guy at just 5ft8 (178cm), I generally wear either skinny or straigh fit pants and I haven't had issues, and thats with a TPU case on my Note 4. I also use it one-handed with no issues.

Sent from my Note4 +64GB MicroSD via Tapatalk

 

[LeoRex]

My personal gripe with the march to much larger handsets is the simultaneous increase in processors/screen resolution etc instead of minimising the existing components and increasing the battery capacity. I love smartphones, but every single new one I've upgraded too has had a shorter battery life than the one before.

Well, I, for one, was quite pleased with the increase I saw between the Nexus 5 and 6. SOT numbers aside (everyone's mileage varies there)... I went from having to struggle and manage power on my Nexus 5 to make it through a day (never mind the dance I would have to do if I was on vacation and the nearest charger was back in my hotel room). Now, with the Nexus 6, it gets through a full day without breaking a sweat for the most part and I no longer have to worry about flipping it into Airplane Mode to conserve power.

To be honest, the new Nexus 5, while being a little bit larger at 5.2"... seems like a really good replacement. It stands to be faster, with a better camera and what I am guessing will be a pretty good bump in battery performance over the original Nexus 5. Everything I've seen about it seems to be a rather worthy of the name.

 

[CaffeineBomb]

Yeah, that increased battery life on the 6 seriously tempted me to upgrade. I've got annoyingly small hands and didn't particularly like the size when I tried it, but sounds like I should maybe reconsider if they'll be dropping the price when the new ones are announced. Thanks for the info !

Or maybe the new Nexus 5.....I almost hate this point in the upgrade cycle, just incites my tech lust and makes my wallet weep!

 

[Herocraft_Games]

Well. This is a real problem, some phones just do not fit in pockets. But, otherwise I really like big screen.

 

[Blacklac]

Well. This is a real problem, some phones just do not fit in pockets. But, otherwise I really like big screen.

Not to be argumentative, but I've never had my 6" phone not fit into a pocket. Lol. I can actually fit my Nexus 7 is alot of my shorts pockets and I don't have oddly designed clothing... Lol

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[Blacklac]

Not to be argumentative, but I've never had my 6" phone not fit into a pocket. Lol. I can actually fit my Nexus 7 is alot of my shorts pockets and I don't have oddly designed clothing... Lol

I suppose when you say "fit" you don't mean literally, but comfortably?

Posted via the Android Central App

Posted via the Android Central App

 

[Herocraft_Games]

Not to be argumentative, but I've never had my 6" phone not fit into a pocket. Lol. I can actually fit my Nexus 7 is alot of my shorts pockets and I don't have oddly designed clothing... Lol

Maybe I was a bit exaggerated, but smartphones getting bigger every year. Someday it must stop.

 

[anon8380037]

It may stop after the phone version of this 85 inch 8k screen is sold out:

First 8K TV screen to be put on sale by Sharp in October - http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-34267265

 

[Tsepz_GP]

Maybe I was a bit exaggerated, but smartphones getting bigger every year. Someday it must stop.

It has slowed down. Your "normal" phones are around 5.0-5.2inch, your phablets are mostly 5.5-5.7inch, and then a few hit 6.0inch. The +6inch devices seem to be more popular in Asia. Samsung used to have a Galaxy Mega range with phones having 5.8inch-6.3inch displays, the 1st gen was sold globally, but the later gens are sold solely in Asian markets.

Sent from my GALAXY Note 4

 

[laxu]

It's all about the screen to body ratio. Small bezels and big screen. This is why the Galaxy S4 is so great. It crams a big 5" screen into minimal bezels and due to the hardware buttons those take up no screen space either. I still haven't found a good successor for it. Tried a Sony Z5 Compact for a while but returned it because it ran hot and didn't perform any better than my S4. Real shame too because I liked the phone otherwise and it was really the only decent contender for a smaller phone.

For one handed use the iPhone 6 is the perfect size though I think even it could have a bit less bezels and slightly larger screen. Unfortunately it's also pretty slippery so you have to put it into a case which negates the size advantages. On the S4 you can just use a better back cover with more grip.

The king of small bezels is Sharp though. Their XX Mini from late 2013 was amazing, a 4.5" 1080p display that covered almost the whole device. It was really nice to hold when I tried one but unfortunately it was only available in Japan. They have a XX Mini 2 (4.7" 1080p) coming in 2016 but I fear it will also be Japan only. So it is possible to make phones with much smaller bezels but for some reason no other manufacturer wants to tackle it.

 

[Blacklac]

There you go, guys. Z5 Compact. SD810, 720p, 4.6", 2700mah battery. Still can't believe the battery in that phone.

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