I actually think the opposite is true as well. Phones these days mostly exist between 6.2 and 6.8". We don’t actually have any huge phones as like the Galaxy Mega 6.3 (which with modern 19:9 aspect ratio screens and smaller bezels would be more like 7.5") don’t exist either
I used to like small phones. I thought the form factor of my erstwhile iPhone 5 was perfect.
But then I got older, and my eyesight got worse. Reading small fonts on small screens is becoming increasingly difficult, but I’m not yet at the point where I have to wear glasses or contacts all the time. I also don’t like just increasing font sizes, as I lose screen realestate. So I’m kinda starting to see why some people like phones with bigger screens.
It started as a hardware problem and doesn’t seem to be slowing down. LTE needed more and larger antennae for lower frequencies than older tech. Four cellular antennae are now pretty standard. Then you have wifi, Bluetooth (which can share if they can TDM), wireless charging, NFC, ultra wideband, GNSS. Then the chips are so powerful they need heat dissipation systems installed (or just lame thermal throttling like what Apple does.)
The modems require more power, (especially at the beginning of LTE) which means bigger batteries. LTE and NR have reduced range compared to the older narrowband technologies, so the phone needs to use more power to transmit, especially when carriers like Verizon didn’t backfill cell sites to compensate for the reduced coverage.
Then, cameras, one wasn’t enough, 4 or 5 are very common now (usually 3 primary and depth or low res sensors for aiming.)
When tablets became popular, many people decided to just have a large phone screen rather than a tablet, further entrenching the size.
The tech is more mature now, a 2-antenna MIMO antenna for cellular would suffice, albeit at the expense of network performance. Likewise one camera with a depth sensor would work, although mobile photography would be more limited. Dropping some limited-use items like wireless charging and ultra wideband could further shrink space.
So it would be possible now, but as others here have mentioned, the supply side focuses on larger hardware.
Ironically, at this point I’d almost prefer a smart watch with LTE and stop carrying a phone altogether. However, the aforementioned antenna issue makes it so watches generally have poor to unusable signal, poor battery life in cellular mode, no camera, and the 5G NR low power spec/chips aren’t fully done yet, so it’s LTE only on them, which, with carriers transitioning to 5G will make it so watches can only access a handful of congested bands.
Also, that device manufacturers tend to design smart watches to be companion devices to a smartphone rather than primary makes that concept’s execution problematic.
Another idea I had that was anti small phone but huge battery boost was to just bring a backpack or a satchel or whatever. Carry a full sized tablet around, and use a Bluetooth headset for calls. However, tablets are also often crippled by carriers/manufacturers so they can’t do common things like SMS or voice calls, and Apple has basically monopolized that market.
I just went phone shopping not too long ago and had the opposite experience. Bigger phones are way harder to find now. Where the hell are the 6 or 7 inchers? 😩
I agree with you except the headphone jack part. My Bluetooth headset is great, but losing the convenience of using a non-battery device and not worrying about the battery life really is a great loss. I’m so glad my steam deck and switch have a headphone jack.
Much as I like Bluetooth, it’s another thing to charge, has lower sound quality than wired unless you can afford LDAC, and other technical and real life reasons it seems your low quality privileged ass can’t comprehend.
Read a book, truly embarrassing to read how you think.
I mean, the loss of the headphone jack was a downgrade for no reason beyond profits. Big screens were a tradeoff made on purpose because customers demanded it.
What are you on about? Just because someone is in a minority doesn’t mean their preferences or desires are invalid. Infeasible maybe, but not invalid. There are all sorts of products made for people in a minority of some kind. I can’t imagine left handed versions of common right handed objects are an extremely lucrative market, but there are products that exist for those minorities.
Plus it’s not like minorities or majorities are ever static, things evolve and change over time. If no one ever voiced an opinion, how would anything ever change?
You can keep crying about people stating a preference, and I’ll be sure to keep reminding you they are as free say what they want as you are.
What are you on about? Just because someone is in a minority doesn’t mean their preferences or desires are invalid. Infeasible maybe, but not invalid. There are all sorts of products made for people in a minority of some kind. I can’t imagine left handed versions of common right handed objects are an extremely lucrative market, but there are products that exist for those minorities.
Plus it’s not like minorities or majorities are ever static, things evolve and change over time. If no one ever voiced an opinion, how would anything ever change?
You can keep crying about people stating a preference, and I’ll be sure to keep reminding you they are as free say what they want as you are.
What are you on about? Just because someone is in a minority doesn’t mean their preferences or desires are invalid. Infeasible maybe, but not invalid. There are all sorts of products made for people in a minority of some kind. I can’t imagine left handed versions of common right handed objects are an extremely lucrative market, but there are products that exist for those minorities.
Plus it’s not like minorities or majorities are ever static, things evolve and change over time. If no one ever voiced an opinion, how would anything ever change?
You can keep crying about people stating a preference, and I’ll be sure to keep reminding you they are as free say what they want as you are.
I don’t get why you’d want a smaller phone unless you’re looking to get one in a flip-phone style form factor. I’d be down for that. I miss being able to accurately text from my pocket.
Never really felt my phone was too big, though there are times where I’ve got a show to go to and wish I had a cheap flip phone to fall back on. The older phones seemed fine at the time until I realized how much better the bigger screens were. I’m not sure I’d want one bigger than the S23 Ultra, unless it folded out to a tablet.
Being able to hold the phone comfortably and securely in your hand is really important for me. I’d love to be able to reach the vast majority of the screen without having to shuffle the phone in my hand or use two hands. I very rarely watch any videos on my phone, or play any games that require a large screen.
One-handed mode exists if you need to reach the whole area of the interface with one hand, albeit it won’t help if grip is an issue. Maybe a pop socket kinda thing for that?
Ok? The issue wasn’t clearly defined. There’s always pop sockets and similar to make it easier to hold. That said, my teenaged kids have 0 be issue holding this phone so idk what OP is on about
Nah, I have average hand size and can use that size phone with one hand easily. Though I do prefer smaller phones in general and would rather see more choice in that space.
I find for me it is half about the usability of thw phone one handed and the other half being pocketability. I don’t want to have to carry a man-purse just to be able to have my phone with me at all times. Front pocket of jeans is where i keep my phone and the pockets are not deep enough to contain the phone without pressing into my hips when i sit. Keeping the phone in the back pocket is just inviting theft.
I just want another Sony Xperia XZ1 Compact with updated specifications.
@BearOfaTime@warm at 6", even smaller hands like mine are able to reach within .5cm of the top of the screen. At that size, the weight distribution of the phone is what makes a difference in terms of manageability. For example, the weight distribution of the Pixel 6a (6.1") makes it a breeze to use with my right hand, but a tad more difficult with my left one. Using it in reverse (had to once) is impossible one-handed.
Yeah, that size is certainly the limit for usability tbh. Its diminishing returns past that, I dont need a wider or longer phone, everything can be displayed perfectly on a 6 inch.
Because there is no demand, display manufacturers don’t produce small phone displays anymore. And because there’s no small display in stock, phone manufacturers have given up on producing small smartphones. Technically, you can contract the display manufacturers to restart production of small phone displays, but no one seems to be interested in taking the upfront risk.
There is at least the Unihertz Jellystar, which is a fairly nice tiny phone. Personally I’m likely stuck with Pixel phones because I’m a big fan of Graphene OS, otherwise I’d likely pick one up after my Pixel 4a fails, which might be awhile, since it’s still going strong.
I used an iPod touch 4G thru 7G as my 'phone'. WiFi was available enough where I live that it was all I needed. And if I was off in the woods somewhere, I was ok not having service, and the intarwebs instantly answering my every curiosity. I tried to keep it small.
it’s more or less the idea that companies are starting to ditch the idea. Apple introduced the mini with 12, and 13, and ditched it for the plus models after 2 generations. Asus had it for the 9 and 10, and 11 (so far) is only launching with an Ultra, ditching it after 2 generations. Samsung just has the unique position that its catalog is large enough that itll have some reasonable in terms of SOC, but not technically flagship as it lacks the camera functionality of the top model.
I guess I’m having a little trouble about the “flagship” definition then. I always assumed that the S line was the best Samsung has to offer, the Pro line was the best from Apple, and so it goes. So the S24 and the 15 Pro are flagships, and those have the same size of the Zenfone 10.
But if “flagship” is only the most expensive phone from a company, I’d argue that the ROG phones are flagships from ASUS, not the Zenfone ones. IDK.
The baseline S series is not a flagship product. Samsung deliberately cuts features from it to sell their actual flagship, the Ultra series. A definition of flagship:
the best or most important product, idea, building, etc. that an organization owns or produces
Flagship does not mean “it has an 8 series Snapdragon or equivalent inside”. This has never been the definition of flagship. Please stop using the word like this.
It’s annoying but I get it. If you want to make it or stay big on YT you gotta play the game, and the majority of people eat up click-baity titles and obnoxious thumbnails.
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