5 ms·

Just because something or someone is successful doesn't mean all decisions that are made are optimal, close to optimal, or even not an active detriment. The fa

by throwaway2048 5y ago

Just because something or someone is successful doesn't mean all decisions that are made are optimal, close to optimal, or even not an active detriment. The famous example is people conflating Steve Jobs being an asshole with being successful.

kaba0 5y ago
I generally agree with you, but in this generic case, phones are actually truly packed to the max. Similarly to how you could easily fix your older car with just a few tools, modern engines are so complex that such home-twinkering is impossible. Phones go in the direction of having less and less separate parts, which is bad from a repairability pov, but the reason why these gigantic screen sizes are the new norm is also the side-effect of having to put n cameras, 5G, a huge battery, LiDAR and what not into a comparatively small body, while at the same time making it dust and water proof.
- TeMPOraL 5y ago
  Yes, but those are all choices, and they're all vendor-driven. It's not users demanding these things - users just select from what's available on the market. And here, it's not even the case of all those weird nerds complaining about missing headphone jack. Go poll normies about screen sizes. Regular people complaining about phones being too large is pretty much a meme now. (Engineering-wise, phones do get thermal advantage from the current form factor trends - thinner but larger -> more surface area. But I suspect it's more than compensated by the extra heat from the larger screen.)
  - fshbbdssbbgdd 5y ago
    Apple released a smaller phone called the Mini and it only makes up 5% of their sales: https://9to5mac.com/2021/07/15/iphone-12-line-accounted-for-63-of-us-iphone-sales-in-q3-iphone-12-mini-has-5-share/ https://9to5mac.com/2021/07/15/iphone-12-line-accounted-for-... Those are the revealed preferences of millions of customers. How many people did you poll?
    - ulucs 5y ago
      A smaller underpowered phone. You aren't calculating the effect of phone size correctly.
      - turtlebits 5y ago
        Other than screen resolution and smaller battery (due to the size difference), the 12 mini and the 12 have the exact same specs.
      - fshbbdssbbgdd 5y ago
        You might be thinking of the iPhone SE, which is the budget offering that’s almost as small as the Mini and has lower-end specs.
    - emodendroket 5y ago
      Not only that but the 12 Pro Max sells substantially better than the 12 Pro, according to the chart.
  - mrgordon 5y ago
    Most people I know keep buying bigger phones even though smaller ones from the same companies exist now
- 8ytecoder 5y ago
  Agreed. It's like saying mid-engine cars are intentionally made complex to repair to make more money of service whereas it's more likely that the primary driving factor is better performance & handling and the extra service revenue is an added benefit.

kaba0 5y ago

I generally agree with you, but in this generic case, phones are actually truly packed to the max. Similarly to how you could easily fix your older car with just a few tools, modern engines are so complex that such home-twinkering is impossible. Phones go in the direction of having less and less separate parts, which is bad from a repairability pov, but the reason why these gigantic screen sizes are the new norm is also the side-effect of having to put n cameras, 5G, a huge battery, LiDAR and what not into a comparatively small body, while at the same time making it dust and water proof.

TeMPOraL 5y ago
Yes, but those are all choices, and they're all vendor-driven. It's not users demanding these things - users just select from what's available on the market. And here, it's not even the case of all those weird nerds complaining about missing headphone jack. Go poll normies about screen sizes. Regular people complaining about phones being too large is pretty much a meme now. (Engineering-wise, phones do get thermal advantage from the current form factor trends - thinner but larger -> more surface area. But I suspect it's more than compensated by the extra heat from the larger screen.)
- fshbbdssbbgdd 5y ago
  Apple released a smaller phone called the Mini and it only makes up 5% of their sales: https://9to5mac.com/2021/07/15/iphone-12-line-accounted-for-63-of-us-iphone-sales-in-q3-iphone-12-mini-has-5-share/ https://9to5mac.com/2021/07/15/iphone-12-line-accounted-for-... Those are the revealed preferences of millions of customers. How many people did you poll?
  - ulucs 5y ago
    A smaller underpowered phone. You aren't calculating the effect of phone size correctly.
    - turtlebits 5y ago
      Other than screen resolution and smaller battery (due to the size difference), the 12 mini and the 12 have the exact same specs.
    - fshbbdssbbgdd 5y ago
      You might be thinking of the iPhone SE, which is the budget offering that’s almost as small as the Mini and has lower-end specs.
  - emodendroket 5y ago
    Not only that but the 12 Pro Max sells substantially better than the 12 Pro, according to the chart.
- mrgordon 5y ago
  Most people I know keep buying bigger phones even though smaller ones from the same companies exist now
8ytecoder 5y ago
Agreed. It's like saying mid-engine cars are intentionally made complex to repair to make more money of service whereas it's more likely that the primary driving factor is better performance & handling and the extra service revenue is an added benefit.