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> I was itching for this announcement, not because I want to buy an iPhone, but because this will finally mean other manufacturers will start to make compact ph

> I was itching for this announcement, not because I want to buy an iPhone, but because this will finally mean other manufacturers will start to make compact phones. There are plenty of compact and competent phones. A Samsung A40 for example is barely larger than this new iPhone SE, but has a 5.9 inch display. A friend wanted a smallish smartphone and she's quiet happy with the form factor.

deleted 7y ago
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MattRix 7y ago
There's no way the iPhone SE or the Samsung A40 can be considered compact. They're still huge.
orangepanda 7y ago
> A Samsung A40 for example is barely larger than this new iPhone SE, but has a 5.9 inch display A major pro of having a smaller phone is being able to reach anywhere on the _screen_ with just a thumb. While A40 and SE may have the same physical form factor, the former does not achieve this.
- graeme 7y ago
  Yup. This is the central point that big phone people don't understand about small phone people. It isn't phone width. It's screen size. Usually when using a phone one handed I'm not even touching the other side.
- jdietrich 7y ago
  Most Android distributions (including Samsung's) have a one-handed mode that enables a gesture to shrink the screen into one of the bottom corners.
  - findthewords 7y ago
    That is an ugly hack. We can do much more.
- findthewords 7y ago
  What your thumb can and cannot do is down to the human-computer interface. Shift the active area within thumb reach. Innovate.
_jal 7y ago
> has a 5.9 inch display That is not a compact phone. I know I'm in the minority here, but the iPhone4, in my view, was the ideal form factor (3.5", I think). At least half of the time I glance at my phone, the informational payload is not even a full sentence and requires no interaction. Otherwise, I check mail and sometimes use maps. More or less, my phone occupies the niche that I'm supposed to want a digital watch for, but don't. If I need more screen, there are a plethora of options. I really don't want a tablet in my pocket. And I don't keep it with me like anywhere nearly like I used to - it has turned in to more of a 'desk phone' that I check when I think about it.
- findthewords 7y ago
  I compromised comfort and upgraded to SE after 4’s usability was consumed by unoptimized software updates. 4\S was perfection as far as ergonomics go. Timeless design. The natural 2:1 ratio was ruined in 5 by stretching in the vertical dimension. What they should have done was to expand the screen and have it eat the top bezel. They stopped pushing. Supersizing was the easy road.
  - dwaite 7y ago
    > The natural 2:1 ratio 3:2 ratio?
- deleted 7y ago
  [deleted]
Felger 7y ago
I'm still using a A3 2016 with android 8 (4.7" amoled, good battery, audio jack and wow, a type-C USB connector), I would smply like the same one with a refreshed CPU/RAM/eMMC.

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MattRix 7y ago

There's no way the iPhone SE or the Samsung A40 can be considered compact. They're still huge.

orangepanda 7y ago

> A Samsung A40 for example is barely larger than this new iPhone SE, but has a 5.9 inch display A major pro of having a smaller phone is being able to reach anywhere on the _screen_ with just a thumb. While A40 and SE may have the same physical form factor, the former does not achieve this.

graeme 7y ago
Yup. This is the central point that big phone people don't understand about small phone people. It isn't phone width. It's screen size. Usually when using a phone one handed I'm not even touching the other side.
jdietrich 7y ago
Most Android distributions (including Samsung's) have a one-handed mode that enables a gesture to shrink the screen into one of the bottom corners.
- findthewords 7y ago
  That is an ugly hack. We can do much more.
findthewords 7y ago
What your thumb can and cannot do is down to the human-computer interface. Shift the active area within thumb reach. Innovate.

_jal 7y ago

> has a 5.9 inch display That is not a compact phone. I know I'm in the minority here, but the iPhone4, in my view, was the ideal form factor (3.5", I think). At least half of the time I glance at my phone, the informational payload is not even a full sentence and requires no interaction. Otherwise, I check mail and sometimes use maps. More or less, my phone occupies the niche that I'm supposed to want a digital watch for, but don't. If I need more screen, there are a plethora of options. I really don't want a tablet in my pocket. And I don't keep it with me like anywhere nearly like I used to - it has turned in to more of a 'desk phone' that I check when I think about it.

findthewords 7y ago
I compromised comfort and upgraded to SE after 4’s usability was consumed by unoptimized software updates. 4\S was perfection as far as ergonomics go. Timeless design. The natural 2:1 ratio was ruined in 5 by stretching in the vertical dimension. What they should have done was to expand the screen and have it eat the top bezel. They stopped pushing. Supersizing was the easy road.
- dwaite 7y ago
  > The natural 2:1 ratio 3:2 ratio?
deleted 7y ago
[deleted]

Felger 7y ago

I'm still using a A3 2016 with android 8 (4.7" amoled, good battery, audio jack and wow, a type-C USB connector), I would smply like the same one with a refreshed CPU/RAM/eMMC.