Manufacturers don’t make displays under 6 inches available for purchase, with special cases (such as the iPhone Mini) being made under exclusive contracts. The best lead they have so far is to try to use displays designed for the front part of a foldable phone, but they’re yet to strike an agreement.

TIL that display manufacturers are also part of the reason why we aren't getting small phones and why it's probably even harder for manufacturers like Fairphone to make them.

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[–] 104 points 2 years ago (31 children)

I just want one with a removable battery and a headphone jack...

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  • [–] 48 points 2 years ago (13 children)

    And SD card support. Why TF do I want to pay a mint for storage when I could spend like $50 (or less) for the equivalent (or more) in SD form?

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  • [–] 26 points 2 years ago (4 children)

    it's not that you want to, but rather that the companies want to charge you $100 more for $5 of ROM.

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  • [–] 26 points 2 years ago (5 children)

    Wait until 2027 and buy a Sony then, I guess. They're the only manufacturer who consistently includes a headphone jack and starting in 2027 all phones sold in the EU have to have removable batteries. Yeah, it's pretty sad that that's the only option...

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  • [–] 12 points 2 years ago (4 children)

    Guess I'll be moving to the EU in a few years ;-;

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  • [–] 9 points 2 years ago (5 children)

    I don't mind not having a removable battery, and a headphone jack is nice but not make or break... but so few phones apparently have expandable storage these days.

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  • [–] 12 points 2 years ago

    This brothers me so much. It's such an obvious cash grab - manufacturers can force you to buy a more expensive model of the same phone, cloud services can tap your wallet for additional space, and carriers can tap your wallet for a larger data plan.

    It's gross. There's literally no consumer-friendly reason to strip it.

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    [–] 49 points 2 years ago (3 children)

    Meanwhile me, a 6'4" man with big ass hands, is finally happy that most phones actually feel big enough for my fucking hands for once

    Have an older iPhone we use at work and I almost can't type on it with how small the fuckin screen is lol

    But yeah, options are nice, make small screens more often ya nerds

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    [–] 45 points 2 years ago (11 children)

    I don’t get what the obsession with big phones is. Is it that most people really want big phones or that companies can charge more for them?

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  • [–] 17 points 2 years ago*

    People generally just want the biggest screen they can hold in their hands comfortably.

    For most people that seems to have settled into the 6.5-6.7" range, depending on aspect ratio and bezels.

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    [–] 43 points 2 years ago (2 children)

    Most of the issues people have with Android are one and the same. Compared to a decade ago, there isn't any choice any more

    Years ago, there was almost too much variety at times, and manufacturers would experiment heavily alongside Google. Some phones had physical keyboards, some had no headphone jacks, some had no physical buttons at all, and they came in either stupidly small or (at the time) freakishly large.

    Now, for some reason Android feels very sanitized, even the shite that manufacturers stick on top of stock to make it feel like it's their product and not Google's. There aren't even that many manufacturers any more, and unlike the past when Android embraced being a bit different, it all feels like everyone is trying to follow Apple instead of Android leading the pack....

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  • [–] 33 points 2 years ago

    I have small hands and I hate that I have to jerry rig my phone with shit to just reach the upper part of it.

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  • [–] [S] 31 points 2 years ago*

    also, interesting side-by-side comparison of the Zenfone 10, the iPhone 15 and the Pixel 8 from the article:

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  • [–] 29 points 2 years ago (2 children)

    Anyone who wants to keep this convo going, check out !compactphones@lemmy.world

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    [–] 26 points 2 years ago (4 children)

    i want a smartphone, that i can hold securely
    while still being able to reach the entire screen.

    i have pretty big hands, and even i cant reach the upper left quarter of my phone (pixel6a) without letting go of the left and bottom edges.
    its ridiculous

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  • [–] 20 points 2 years ago

    This is what is pushing me towards a flip phone. I just don't have a need for a 6.7" phone or bigger.

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  • [–] 20 points 2 years ago (5 children)

    My favourite phone ever was my first android phone in 2010, the Sony Ericsson Xperia Mini (e10i). Every time I’ve had to buy a phone since, I’ve looked around trying to find something similar, but it feels like no such thing will ever exist.

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    [–] 14 points 2 years ago (3 children)

    Mainstream ruined everything. Like it always does.

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    [–] 13 points 2 years ago

    Thank for bringing this up. I'm currently using a Samsung Galaxy S10e. I mostly use the smartphone from my pocket:

    • listening to podcasts with earbuds on;
    • running with Strava on;
    • working in the garden with music on;
    • checking messages with my smartwatch on;
    • driving my car with Android Auto on;
    • ... . Of course I also use my smartphone itself for messaging, shopping online, banking, ordering takeaway, ... . And a larger screen would definitely be more comfortable in these cases. But having a larger smartphone when I'm currently using my smartphone while it's in my pocket, is a step back. In fact, for use at home I still have a Samsung tablet to have a bigger screen die when that's more useful. When I would switch to the SG S23 version, it seems that the dimensions of the new device are quite similar? Dimensions: S10e: 5.60 x 2.75 x 0.31 inches (142.2 x 69.9 x 7.9 mm) S23: 5.76 x 2.79 x 0.30 inches (146.3 x 70.9 x 7.6mm) Zenphone 10: 5.77 x 2.68 x 0.37 inches (146.5 x 68.1 x 9.4 mm)

    So as long as the basic version of the SG s-series is sold in the above dimensions, I'm not worried 🤞

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  • [–] 13 points 2 years ago

    I'm a cyclist in the city so for me, a smaller size phone is ideal to keep it secure in a pocket. I got gifted a Pixel 6 about a year ago (wanted to stick with the Pixel 2!) and now I always need to bring some sort of pack to put it in.

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  • [–] 13 points 2 years ago (1 child)

    I’m on the iPhone mini and I wish I could get a smaller phone. It is way better than the tablets my family carry!

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  • [–] 11 points 2 years ago (5 children)

    On the other end there doesn't seem to be any phablets either. they are all weirdly long screens.

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    [–] 10 points 2 years ago* (11 children)

    It's not really that complicated, people expect high end phones to have all day battery, which is hard to do with a small phone.

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  • [–] 12 points 2 years ago (4 children)

    My zenphone is small and has good battery life. Wish more would shoot for this type of form factor

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    [–] 9 points 2 years ago

    There was actually a meme I saw a while back where a guy was wielding a sword and shield. Except the sword was an iPhone and the shield was a samsung phone.

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  • [–] 9 points 2 years ago

    For myself, phone screens have finally gotten to the perfect size for my hand, and a good size to actually use them for stuff comfortably.

    But there should always be variation and choice, for the other users in the market!

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  • [–] 9 points 2 years ago (4 children)

    At this point I'd rather buy a super outdated smartphone. They're small enough for my hands and pockets, dirt cheap and still functional, and most of the good games left on Android are only available on those old versions.

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    [–] 8 points 2 years ago*

    Not just small phones actually big phones as well. Remember the Huawei P8 Max, Sony Xperia Z Ultra or Mate 20X?

    Phones these days only seem to exist between 6" and 6.8".

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  • [–] 8 points 2 years ago (1 child)

    I just want Sony to make another XZ1 Compact but with updated internals. Keep the screen size, camera shutter button, 3.5mm plug and make it thicker to squeeze in either wireless charging or a slightly bigger battery.

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    [–] 8 points 2 years ago (1 child)

    and one of the driving forces behind the design of the Palm Pilot was that it had to fit in a shirt pocket …

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