Where have all the small phone fans gone?

[Brian Stirling]

For years we've had a group of people here that never missed an opportunity to lambaste the latest Android phones because they were too big. They went positively nuts when the Note came out and ridiculed the idea of holding one up to your ear to make a phones call.

They had Apple of course as holdouts with top spec small phones, but now Apple has abandoned the small phone in favor of large phones and phablets.

So, where are all the small phone types now -- pre-ordering the iPhone6+...


Brian

 

[JimKiler]

i will let you know next year when my brother in law has to upgrade his iphone. He has the 4 or 4s and was adimant that anything larger was not good. I disputed his claim but he stuck to his guns.

On the other hand my coworker who also had a personal iphone 4 got his work blackberry upgraded earlier this year (yes we all had blackberries until April!) and he decided to get the Galaxy 4. He does not like the size because he cannot use it one handed like he does his iphone and I get that but at the same time i always use two hands and i do not use a bulky case so i have no issues with these larger screens.

 

[bearxor]

Troll post aside, you nailed it in your second paragraph.

It doesn't matter if you preferred 3.5" phones or 4" phones. There is now only one "flagship" device with a screen under 4.5". And that's the Sony Xperia Z3 Compact.

At this point, if you want flagship, you're (most likely) buying a large phone.

Edit: To say that, even in the iPhone realm, the 5.5" model is now the flagship with it's better specs and features.

 

[Dulanic]

It's not cool, until Apple says it is cool.

 

[zerogear]

It's not cool, until Apple says it is cool.

So much this.

 

[Zaap]

I'm glad then to always be YEARS ahead of the Apple coolness-curve.

 

[Kaido]

I still miss my flip phone. Loved answering & hanging up on calls by flipping it

 

[s44]

It doesn't matter if you preferred 3.5" phones or 4" phones. There is now only one "flagship" device with a screen under 4.5". And that's the Sony Xperia Z3 Compact.

It's actually 4.6"! Although that's under 4.5" effective when you eliminate the button area.

 

[bearxor]

It's actually 4.6"! Although that's under 4.5" effective when you eliminate the button area.

I'm really just rounding. But you're correct. Which is getting pretty sad. Even the "compact" phones are starting to edge up. And I debated even doing that because it's not a 1080p screen but I think if you're at LEAST delivering 1280x720 then you can be considered a flagship. Especially for smaller screen size.

 

[purbeast0]

well for me personally, i was in the camp that didn't care about size. by that i mean i didn't NEED a larger phone for anything. i have been using the ip4 on verizon since it came out 3.5 years ago. i watched tv shows and movies on it 2x a day while taking the train to work for nearly 2 years. i browse the web on it and i have used google maps and all the apps no problem with it. i definitely liked the compact size of it though when putting it in my pocket or in a book bag or something.

so it wasn't that i necessarily said the size was perfect, it was that it was good enough for me and i didn't "need" anything bigger. and pretty much anyone who ever told me that my phone was too small and i needed a bigger screen, i simply asked them "why?" and to that, they had absolutely no response other than "because its bigger, blah blah blah". they couldn't give me one reason why me personally would NEED a bigger screen.

now with the ip6, i opted to get the ip6+ for a couple reasons. the main reason was because i wanted to see if a big phone would be okay to me and if i would like how large it is. if i didn't like it, i could downsize to the ip6 and then i know that the ip6+ is too large for me. had i gone with the ip6 first, i would be wondering if i would have been happier with the ip6+.

2nd reason is the specs on it over the ip6. the battery is better, has a slightly better resolution (which to be honest i don't care about personally), the camera is better and with my first kid on the way, i'm thinking i will be using my phone for a lot more pics/vids than i did in the past.

3rd reason was because my wife is getting the ip6 next month. i develop apps on the side, and it will be nice to have 2 physical devices to test out my stuff on. the simulator with the ios SDK is pretty awesome and works great (million times better than android emulator, but that is for another thread) but using the physical phone is simply easier to test stuff than with a touchpad on my laptop.

but regardless, i was going to upgrade, because im on a phone that is 4 years old and i'm on ios6, and things are starting to slow to a crawl on it. and i also NEED to upgrade to ios7 for some of the apps i use, including the one that controls my home theater, and no way i was putting ios7 on my ip4 for performance reasons.

i just opened it and it honestly doesn't feel as big as i expected. i haven't turned it on yet, waiting to set it up after this roger goodel press conference. but i think part of the reason it doesn't feel as big is because it's pretty thin. in the case i got for it, it's thinner than my ip4 is without a case on it.

 

[bearxor]

but i think part of the reason it doesn't feel as big is because it's pretty thin. in the case i got for it, it's thinner than my ip4 is without a case on it.

I think we're at the point with iPhones that they HAVE to have a case.

I went naked with my 4 for two years. Never really found a case I liked and it always seemed bulky.

When I got a 5, it seemed too thin. Now a 6+ is even thinner than that. Sheesh.

I've been in the camp that one of the best design features on the iphone was the uniform body design. That it didn't need camera humps. Now we have a camera hump. Sheesh.

I think Apple is trying to take their phones through a reproduction of SJ's life. Thinner and more frail every year.

I mean, I'd take a uniform back any day over a camera hump. Heck, I'd even take a tapered design where it starts thinner at the bottom and gradually gets thicker at the top to enclose the camera.

At this point, I'm worried the lens is going to start catching on things.

 

[purbeast0]

I think we're at the point with iPhones that they HAVE to have a case.

I went naked with my 4 for two years. Never really found a case I liked and it always seemed bulky.

When I got a 5, it seemed too thin. Now a 6+ is even thinner than that. Sheesh.

I've been in the camp that one of the best design features on the iphone was the uniform body design. That it didn't need camera humps. Now we have a camera hump. Sheesh.

I think Apple is trying to take their phones through a reproduction of SJ's life. Thinner and more frail every year.

I mean, I'd take a uniform back any day over a camera hump. Heck, I'd even take a tapered design where it starts thinner at the bottom and gradually gets thicker at the top to enclose the camera.

At this point, I'm worried the lens is going to start catching on things.

camera hump is irrelevant to me. i have probably the thinnest case that is available for the ip6 and with it sitting on it's back, it lies flush on the table.

much a do about nothing.

 

[bearxor]

I mean, I'm going to use a case too just because I feel like I have to with how thin the damn phones are now.

But you know someone is not going to and they're going to catch that camera ring on a piece of clothing or the corner of a wall or something and it's going to turn in to a big issue.

 

[vi edit]

I think Apple is trying to take their phones through a reproduction of SJ's life. Thinner and more frail every year.

LOL. So wrong. Funny. But wrong.

I agree though. I don't like the thinner craze. I would much prefer them to smooth out the backside and stuff in a slightly higher volume battery with the room.

 

[bearxor]

Another issue I've been contemplating with is privacy.

With my previous iPhone's, they've been kind of easy to hide what's on the screen. In my new job, there are a LOT of Windows Phones. And quite a few 1520's floating around. I can be sitting several seats away or at another table and clearly see what's on the screen. Emails, web pages, etc.

I'm pretty much at the point where I feel like I'm going to have to buy a privacy screen protector.

 

[bearxor]

I don't like the thinner craze. I would much prefer them to smooth out the backside and stuff in a slightly higher volume battery with the room.

Seriously. I don't recall one person picking up an iPhone 4 or 4S and going "Oh my god, this is so thick and heavy!"

 

[QueBert]

It's not cool, until Apple says it is cool.

It's still not cool, I was tempted to get a new iPhone but the screen sizes kill it for me. I want 4" or under, preferably under. Lucky for me the 5S is still plenty fast and will be a great phone for at least 2 more years. So I'll be buying used.

F**K Apple for turning into a follower, I understand a lot of people want a huge phone, but many of us want a small phone. They could have offered an iPhone 6S(small)

 

[purbeast0]

I mean, I'm going to use a case too just because I feel like I have to with how thin the damn phones are now.

But you know someone is not going to and they're going to catch that camera ring on a piece of clothing or the corner of a wall or something and it's going to turn in to a big issue.

yeah and you know what? who gives a shit.

it's like that idiot who dropped his ip6 on national tv earlier this morning. i bet it's apples fault he did that too according to many people huh.

 

[bearxor]

i bet it's apples fault he did that too according to many people huh.

Well... They do design that packaging so that the phone is just kind of "on top" of all the packaging when you slide open the box...

 

[Crono]

Goldilocks. You have to ease the market into the larger devices, it's just not something everyone will pick up right away.

The same thing happened with feature phones in the early 2000s, just in the opposite direction. People used to joke how eventually phones would be the size of a thimble, because of how fast companies were shrinking the designs. Eventually there was a range that was settled on that fit the average person's use.

4.7" to 5.5" seems to be where we've settled on for most people, with the outliers wanting smaller or larger screen devices. It's not just about the screen size, but with bezels, overall size, and weight factored in. The 5" and 5.5" phones now can be very reasonable in total size and weight. But 6" seems to be the upper limit before it's uncomfortable unless you have larger hands. Manufacturers are trying to accommodate that now with gestures and other features built into the OS, because it's literally a stretch (for your fingers) to try and use those very large screens otherwise. I'm sure plenty of people love Galaxy Mega-sized phones with 6.3"+ displays, but I doubt the majority of smartphone users really want to carry devices that size.

If you talk to iPhone users, many were just waiting for larger screen iPhones. The larger displays on Android and WP smartphones wasn't and isn't enough to convert everyone.

I don't know why Android users have to take it so personally, or act like it's a point of superiority that the shift has largely already happened on the Android side of things (Note users in particular are looking for vindication after being made fun of ). Things change with technology and people still take time to adjust. We should actually be surprised at how diverse and large the market is for the latest smartphones and technology overall.

 

[purbeast0]

right now, with playing around with the ip6+ for an hour or so and coming from an ip4, i'm having trouble using it 1 handed simply due to the witch of it. i'm just used to wrapping my fingers around the phone easier than this. i'll give it a little bit though to see if i like it (like a couple weeks) and if not i'll return it and get the ip6. but definitely something that will take some getting used to.

 

[corkyg]

Where have all the small phone fans gone?

We're still around - lurking and laughing.

 

[Mopetar]

I still prefer phones 4.3" or smaller, so I imagine that most of us haven't gone anywhere. Had Apple released a new 4" model I probably would have jumped on it as I'm due for an upgrade, but I might just start using the Lumia I have as a daily driver.

I'm curious if now that Apple has seemingly abandoned the ~4" space if more Android manufacturers will start to fill it in. I was a little disappointed with Motorola bumping up the Moto G to a 5" screen, though I could likely pick up the first generation model for relatively cheap by now.

Apple might eventually release a new 4" phone (perhaps something like a 6C) but I wouldn't wait a year just for that chance.

 

[s44]

I was a little disappointed with Motorola bumping up the Moto G to a 5" screen, though I could likely pick up the first generation model for relatively cheap by now.

See, this is where going by screen size alone is misleading.

Last year's G, despite its smaller screen, is actually bigger than last year's X and this year's Galaxy Alpha & Z3 Compact. And in turn, despite its larger screen that G is actually smaller in 2/3 dimensions (not height) than the original EVO 4G and pretty damn close to the Droid X (both 4.3").

We should be applauding the streamlining of bezels and so on, not looking at one number and saying "bigger bigger bigger!"

 

[bearxor]

Yeah, I think it will still be interesting to see what happ be next year. The thing is that, right now, even the 5C and 5S are pretty decent pbones. The hardware for the last couple of years has been "good enough" for a couple of years now so it has that going for it.

Will be interesting to see if they do the standard trickle down model or if the try to do something new in the 4" space.