I loved my jelly star (it’s battery died this year). I would still like something like 1.5x the size of the jelly star. The jelly max kinda disappointed me with somehow removing features from the smaller phone whilst somehow still being as chonky.
All tech is killing off budget options because of the increasing percentage of wealth owned by the top 1% who will just buy the most expensive option without regard for features or practicality.
Small phones would be cheap and cheap phones break the illusion that 2000$ phones are normal.
It has nothing to do with demand, it’s just that the bottom 99% isn’t a profitable market segment anymore.
Call me crazy but I miss 16:9 5"/5.5" standard smartphones(aka pre 2018) made it possible to comfortably 1-hand. Then they had to switch to doom-scroll long ratio sizes.
Of all the foldables, I liked moto’s implementation the best. I don’t want them to fold out to a larger screen. I want them to fold into a smaller form.
I’m sad they didn’t keep the retro razr design language from the second generation onwards and instead just copied samsungs design language and tweaked it. I really liked how the original had a chin that slid the display under slightly when folding so the fold didn’t have to be as drastic and crease inducing
But yeah, it’s a shame there isn’t really a market with competition. Basically all serious phones are already too big for my taste. I have an iPhone 13 Mini and that is already slightly too big and I couldn’t even replace that with a similar sized one if I wanted to.
The Unihertz Titan 2 Elite is surprisingly small. The Minimal Phone 2 might be as well. And they have physical keyboards — yay.
Comfortably reach all points with one thumb? Would that not be really small? For me that would be like 1/2 the size of a normal phone when I don’t actually hold it but just having it lay on my hand (aka high drop risk). When I actually hold it like usual I can reach, with that is thumb, maybe 1/4th?
Yeah, they are on the 8th generation. My wife has an older one, she’s pretty happy with it. She got it with her contract, so paying about 30 euros for 24 months for the phone and service, average price actually.
Yeah, I’m on Pixel 10a, which is ostensibly the same size as the 7a I had prior, and for that I give a real half-hearted thanks to Google for at least not making it bigger. I still miss phones the size of my s4. I want a phone that discourages watching long form content, and we’re unfortunately in the opposite direction.
How much could it cost to design and mass produce a phone that’s exactly the size I want?
I had to stop with the pixels after the 3. The 3 was already my upper limit on size and i wanted a slightly smaller phone. Sadly at the time i upgraded their was only bigger phones and then the jelly star which is tiny. I got the jelly star and it lasted me a good few years before the battery fully crapped out on me, but i would still prefer a phone in-between those two sizes.
I just want a phone that I can comfortably reach all points on with one thumb without having to juggle it about.
So when foldables started getting attention i was hoping they’d make smaller phones that unfolded to have average sized screens.
Instead we got average sized phones that unfold in to a tablet. Even the vertical folding ones are too wide.
Unihertz Jelly Star
I loved my jelly star (it’s battery died this year). I would still like something like 1.5x the size of the jelly star. The jelly max kinda disappointed me with somehow removing features from the smaller phone whilst somehow still being as chonky.
I don’t use Android. Can you de-google it at least somewhat? I would consider giving it to a kid as a cheaper harder to break phone.
Running LineageOS on my Jelly Star. Only thing that doesn’t work is the nifty LED ring on the back.
Thanks
Drives me crazy how small phones died because “not enough demand” but a fragile gimmicky $2000 folding phone is perfectly commercially viable
All tech is killing off budget options because of the increasing percentage of wealth owned by the top 1% who will just buy the most expensive option without regard for features or practicality.
Small phones would be cheap and cheap phones break the illusion that 2000$ phones are normal.
It has nothing to do with demand, it’s just that the bottom 99% isn’t a profitable market segment anymore.
Seems like more people rant online about small phones than buy them.
I guess the problem is that the kind of person who buys a small phone is also the kind of person who only buys a phone once every 5+ years.
If they can’t milk you for $1000 every year they’ll just give up trying to sell you anything. :P
That and there’s a good chance they buy second hand, too.
Still rocking my 13 mini, with no intention to upgrade. Definitely need to replace the battery soon though.
Certainly has not bern a shortage of demand for the duo, people have been losing their minds over the thing
Call me crazy but I miss 16:9 5"/5.5" standard smartphones(aka pre 2018) made it possible to comfortably 1-hand. Then they had to switch to doom-scroll long ratio sizes.
Moto razr and I believe there’s a samsung one which does just that
Of all the foldables, I liked moto’s implementation the best. I don’t want them to fold out to a larger screen. I want them to fold into a smaller form.
I’m sad they didn’t keep the retro razr design language from the second generation onwards and instead just copied samsungs design language and tweaked it. I really liked how the original had a chin that slid the display under slightly when folding so the fold didn’t have to be as drastic and crease inducing
You want small? There you go: https://gadgetbond.com/bluefox-nx1-4-inch-compact-android-15-smartphone/
But yeah, it’s a shame there isn’t really a market with competition. Basically all serious phones are already too big for my taste. I have an iPhone 13 Mini and that is already slightly too big and I couldn’t even replace that with a similar sized one if I wanted to.
The Unihertz Titan 2 Elite is surprisingly small. The Minimal Phone 2 might be as well. And they have physical keyboards — yay.
Oof a cutout on such a small phone is awful. Just give it a little forehead (and chin) then it can also fit in an even bigger battery
sadly, no 5G on these phones
What’s that? Smartphone for ants?
Comfortably reach all points with one thumb? Would that not be really small? For me that would be like 1/2 the size of a normal phone when I don’t actually hold it but just having it lay on my hand (aka high drop risk). When I actually hold it like usual I can reach, with that is thumb, maybe 1/4th?
you need bigger hands. /s
Didn’t one company basically made a GBA SP kind of phone, where you fold vertically to make a small square?
Edit: samsung galaxy z flip i think
Yeah, they are on the 8th generation. My wife has an older one, she’s pretty happy with it. She got it with her contract, so paying about 30 euros for 24 months for the phone and service, average price actually.
And Motorola razr 70 and 60.
I have seen one of these, folds lengthways into more of a square shape. No idea what the model is though.
Z flip series from samsung. Crazy expensive though, I don’t know if there are any reasonable alternatives
Motorola’s Razr is probably 300-400 less. But Ive never owned any of them
The problem with all of those types is that they’re still too wide to reach across with a firm grip.
Yeah, I’m on Pixel 10a, which is ostensibly the same size as the 7a I had prior, and for that I give a real half-hearted thanks to Google for at least not making it bigger. I still miss phones the size of my s4. I want a phone that discourages watching long form content, and we’re unfortunately in the opposite direction.
How much could it cost to design and mass produce a phone that’s exactly the size I want?
I had to stop with the pixels after the 3. The 3 was already my upper limit on size and i wanted a slightly smaller phone. Sadly at the time i upgraded their was only bigger phones and then the jelly star which is tiny. I got the jelly star and it lasted me a good few years before the battery fully crapped out on me, but i would still prefer a phone in-between those two sizes.