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Somehow they managed to make it larger in every direction, larger than all previous 'a' models.

bigstrat2003 2y ago
Turns out that unlike the joke in Futurama (where Amy has a tiny phone dwarfed by its enormous charger), phones are going to just get bigger and bigger. They're already too big for human hands, and still no end in sight.
- hnlmorg 2y ago
  The change in trends happened around the same time phones became a viable alternative to laptops. One people started using a phone as their primary computing device, the inconvenience of a larger device to carry around became less than the convenience of having a larger screen. Futurama predates modern smartphones. In fact quite a lot of classic Futurama hasn’t aged particularly well for modern audiences. It’s still a fantastic show though.
  - bigstrat2003 2y ago
    I don't disagree with you (except that imo phones are still not, and never will be, a viable alternative to laptops). But it's still annoying to have a handheld device which is too big for any reasonable person's hands.
    - hnlmorg 2y ago
      > except that imo phones are still not, and never will be, a viable alternative to laptops For our kinds of uses, I completely agree. But for a lot of people, most if not all of their computer usage is done inside a web browser. For example, my mum sold her laptop because she never used it and, being a nontechnical individual, finds a phone much less confusing to use and maintain than a laptop.
- ddejohn 2y ago
  As long as people continue to use their phones in lieu of a PC, they'll continue buying larger and larger phones :( I hate it and I feel like there's a not-insignificant market of people that want to go back to small phones. The Moto X (2013) was, in my opinion, the perfect smart phone. The curve of the back and the rubberized texture were so comfortable in the hand. Never once dropped it. I drop my Pixel all the time because it's so light and thin and slippery. Drives me crazy.
flerchin 2y ago
Is that true? It looks thinner, especially the camera bump.
zoklet-enjoyer 2y ago
I went from a 5a to 7 and don't like the size. So when I saw 9a I was like hell yeah time to upgrade. Nope.
- morsch 2y ago
  They got smaller until the Pixel 8 and have gotten bigger since. Fortunately the Pixel 8 is supported until 2030; supposedly anyway. https://www.gsmarena.com/compare.php3?&idPhone1=11903&idPhone2=12546&idPhone3=13219 https://www.gsmarena.com/compare.php3?&idPhone1=11903&idPhon...
dialup_sounds 2y ago
The logical progression of Android phones is for them to become so large that they house one or two iPhones inside and perhaps some snacks.
- rchaud 2y ago
  The Unihertz Jelly 2 has a 3 inch screen. Android offers choices. Apple meanwhile will tell you to buy an Apple watch if you want a smaller screen, with their usual "take it or leave it" dismissiveness. RIP iPhone Mini.
  - dialup_sounds 2y ago
    I've been using Pixels since they were Nexuses--in no small part because they've remained smaller than the trend for Android flagships--and I cannot fathom bringing Unihertz novelty phones into the same comparison. It's like extolling the virtues of unicycles to someone trying to buy a car.

bigstrat2003 2y ago

Turns out that unlike the joke in Futurama (where Amy has a tiny phone dwarfed by its enormous charger), phones are going to just get bigger and bigger. They're already too big for human hands, and still no end in sight.

hnlmorg 2y ago
The change in trends happened around the same time phones became a viable alternative to laptops. One people started using a phone as their primary computing device, the inconvenience of a larger device to carry around became less than the convenience of having a larger screen. Futurama predates modern smartphones. In fact quite a lot of classic Futurama hasn’t aged particularly well for modern audiences. It’s still a fantastic show though.
- bigstrat2003 2y ago
  I don't disagree with you (except that imo phones are still not, and never will be, a viable alternative to laptops). But it's still annoying to have a handheld device which is too big for any reasonable person's hands.
  - hnlmorg 2y ago
    > except that imo phones are still not, and never will be, a viable alternative to laptops For our kinds of uses, I completely agree. But for a lot of people, most if not all of their computer usage is done inside a web browser. For example, my mum sold her laptop because she never used it and, being a nontechnical individual, finds a phone much less confusing to use and maintain than a laptop.
ddejohn 2y ago
As long as people continue to use their phones in lieu of a PC, they'll continue buying larger and larger phones :( I hate it and I feel like there's a not-insignificant market of people that want to go back to small phones. The Moto X (2013) was, in my opinion, the perfect smart phone. The curve of the back and the rubberized texture were so comfortable in the hand. Never once dropped it. I drop my Pixel all the time because it's so light and thin and slippery. Drives me crazy.

flerchin 2y ago

Is that true? It looks thinner, especially the camera bump.

zoklet-enjoyer 2y ago

I went from a 5a to 7 and don't like the size. So when I saw 9a I was like hell yeah time to upgrade. Nope.

morsch 2y ago
They got smaller until the Pixel 8 and have gotten bigger since. Fortunately the Pixel 8 is supported until 2030; supposedly anyway. https://www.gsmarena.com/compare.php3?&idPhone1=11903&idPhone2=12546&idPhone3=13219 https://www.gsmarena.com/compare.php3?&idPhone1=11903&idPhon...

dialup_sounds 2y ago

The logical progression of Android phones is for them to become so large that they house one or two iPhones inside and perhaps some snacks.

rchaud 2y ago
The Unihertz Jelly 2 has a 3 inch screen. Android offers choices. Apple meanwhile will tell you to buy an Apple watch if you want a smaller screen, with their usual "take it or leave it" dismissiveness. RIP iPhone Mini.
- dialup_sounds 2y ago
  I've been using Pixels since they were Nexuses--in no small part because they've remained smaller than the trend for Android flagships--and I cannot fathom bringing Unihertz novelty phones into the same comparison. It's like extolling the virtues of unicycles to someone trying to buy a car.