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Also I don't know how common the sentiment is but I would happily take an extra 1-2 millimeters in depth and the extra weight for more battery life in said hypo

Also I don't know how common the sentiment is but I would happily take an extra 1-2 millimeters in depth and the extra weight for more battery life in said hypothetical smaller phones.

JustSomeNobody 11y ago
I think most people would. The problem is the same with size, OEMs have to retrain people that thinner is not better. Unfortunately, OEMs currently have an oddly obsessive compulsion to make phones thinner and thinner. I honestly don't fully understand this.
- return0 11y ago
  OEM's follow what sells, which is probably whatever has been pushed to consumers via big corp marketing. i wouldn't be surprised if "smaller is better" is the next fad though.
  - TeMPOraL 11y ago
    And since marketing is a science of convincing people to buy absolutely arbitrary stuff, it seems to me that what ultimately decides the direction of the next trend is random fluctuations. When you can't win the market by making your phone even thinner, some other - likely random - factor will temporarily attract more customers, at which point the marketing machinery of everyone will focus on it, and again push it into its limits.
  - JustSomeNobody 11y ago
    > OEM's follow what sells... To a degree, yes. But lately it seems OEMs have been using the "I can make mine thinner than yours because we have more engineering fu than u." to one up one another despite what consumers are saying they want (battery life).
- soylentcola 11y ago
  I think that aesthetically, thinner looks more impressive and "cooler" so that's what sells. We're moving past it but for a majority of (anecdote warning) people I know, buying a phone still consists of walking into an electronics store or a carrier store, walking up to the wall of phones, and comparing the hardware and price. Sure, branding, advertising, OS preference, and other stuff has a large influence but once that is decided, they're still comparing between two or three Android phones or the big iPhone and the regular iPhone. And in that situation, even if the spec sheet lists claimed battery life, it's a number in the small print. But impossibly thin slabs with bright, crisp screens have a more immediate appeal I think. To get a real idea of comparative battery life, you almost need to do some proper research and compare battery test results from technical sites which most people simply don't do. And even then, the difference between 3000mAh, 3200mAh, and 3400mAh is just gonna be lost on most people. To make the inevitable car analogy, it's like asking someone to choose the plain looking car over the cool looking car because it gets 4 more MPG for the same price.
  - deleted 11y ago
    [deleted]
aikinai 11y ago
It's not just hypothetical. You should check out the Xperia Z5 Compact. It's very small but surprisingly thick which gives it a good feel and amazing battery life.

Also I don't know how common the sentiment is but I would happily take an extra 1-2 millimeters in depth and the extra weight for more battery life in said hypothetical smaller phones.

JustSomeNobody 11y ago

I think most people would. The problem is the same with size, OEMs have to retrain people that thinner is not better. Unfortunately, OEMs currently have an oddly obsessive compulsion to make phones thinner and thinner. I honestly don't fully understand this.

return0 11y ago
OEM's follow what sells, which is probably whatever has been pushed to consumers via big corp marketing. i wouldn't be surprised if "smaller is better" is the next fad though.
- TeMPOraL 11y ago
  And since marketing is a science of convincing people to buy absolutely arbitrary stuff, it seems to me that what ultimately decides the direction of the next trend is random fluctuations. When you can't win the market by making your phone even thinner, some other - likely random - factor will temporarily attract more customers, at which point the marketing machinery of everyone will focus on it, and again push it into its limits.
- JustSomeNobody 11y ago
  > OEM's follow what sells... To a degree, yes. But lately it seems OEMs have been using the "I can make mine thinner than yours because we have more engineering fu than u." to one up one another despite what consumers are saying they want (battery life).
soylentcola 11y ago
I think that aesthetically, thinner looks more impressive and "cooler" so that's what sells. We're moving past it but for a majority of (anecdote warning) people I know, buying a phone still consists of walking into an electronics store or a carrier store, walking up to the wall of phones, and comparing the hardware and price. Sure, branding, advertising, OS preference, and other stuff has a large influence but once that is decided, they're still comparing between two or three Android phones or the big iPhone and the regular iPhone. And in that situation, even if the spec sheet lists claimed battery life, it's a number in the small print. But impossibly thin slabs with bright, crisp screens have a more immediate appeal I think. To get a real idea of comparative battery life, you almost need to do some proper research and compare battery test results from technical sites which most people simply don't do. And even then, the difference between 3000mAh, 3200mAh, and 3400mAh is just gonna be lost on most people. To make the inevitable car analogy, it's like asking someone to choose the plain looking car over the cool looking car because it gets 4 more MPG for the same price.
- deleted 11y ago
  [deleted]

aikinai 11y ago

It's not just hypothetical. You should check out the Xperia Z5 Compact. It's very small but surprisingly thick which gives it a good feel and amazing battery life.