8 ms·

The general population wants larger phones because they are addicted to their screens.

by wyre 1y ago

jittery41 1y ago
For most people the phone is their only computer. Who bring laptop to a friend group hangout anymore ? Only the techies.
- jchw 1y ago
  Well, do you think this is a good state of affairs? On one hand, phones are pretty accessible devices, on the other hand there are many aspects of phones that are objectively pretty terrible for consumers (talking about cost and difficulty of repair, walled garden ecosystems, and generally being geared towards consuming things and a lot less effective at producing them than laptops and desktops.) (Tangential: of course I don't blame anyone for bringing their phone with them everywhere but if you're going to go to a friend group hangout, consider how annoying it is when you're trying to talk to someone and they're clearly checked out browsing some slop on Twitter or talking to someone else entirely. Take a damn break from the phone!)
- bigstrat2003 1y ago
  Who ever brought a laptop to a friend group hangout? I never have seen that happen myself.
  - taraindara 1y ago
    Depends on you and your friends. My group does this regularly.
  - volemo 1y ago
    I’m not sure if your comment is sarcastic, but in case it isn’t: my friend group had a get-together two days ago, three out of six had a laptop with them, and it even came in handy when I started talking about the problem I’m working on, somebody got interested and I was able to show the plots and calculations. Also we have PowerPoint Parties somewhat regularly, where most of us bring their computers to make last minute changes or simply have a known environment.
    - bigstrat2003 1y ago
      Not sarcastic at all. I have never seen people (not even my nerdy friends, least of all normies) bring laptops to a friend hangout. People might bring laptops if they were getting together to work on stuff, but then that isn't just hanging out any more, there's a purpose to the gathering. I would be astonished if someone could show that non-techy people ever brought laptops when they would hang out. Techy people (like your friend group), maybe. But not your average person.
- ghaff 1y ago
  When I was still working full-time, a co-worker told me their kid had told them they didn't need or want a computer. Probably changes at some point with long writing assignments, etc. but still. I do increasingly think about whether I need to bring a laptop on various trips. It can be handy but I try to pack light and another few pounds is a lot for me. I've experimented with a newish tablet but it's a bit too in-between for my taste.
  - Ezhik 1y ago
    I remember people would always be surprised about how home computer ownership was not that high but smartphones (well, Japanese "garakei") were were ubiquitous. I guess Japan was ahead of the curve once again.
    - ghaff 1y ago
      Mini-computer sizes were pretty popular in Japan for a period even though they never really took off in the US--and pretty much died off entirely.
nunez 1y ago
Yes, and people are using their phones for what they previously used TVs, laptops, music players and other dedicated devices for. It's a bit of a cycle. There's also the accessibility factor. Many people become farsighted later in life. It's much easier to see things on a big phone, especially with increased zoom. (I see this all of the time when I fly.)
- theshackleford 1y ago
  > There's also the accessibility factor. Many people become farsighted later in life. It's much easier to see things on a big phone, especially with increased zoom. (I see this all of the time when I fly.) Or for those of us with higher end myopia whose lenses effectively “shrink” everything they see. I’m -6.75 in each eye and my glasses make my everything seem significantly smaller than it is. Sometimes I look at my phone or monitor without my glasses and am momentarily shocked at how large they seem and then saddened when I put them back on.
al_borland 1y ago
Apple did a horrible job marketing the mini. I ran into a lot of people who saw my 12 mini and said they would prefer that size, but didn’t know it existed. When I went to buy it, and the case, the employees at the Apple Store questioned me and tried to push me toward the normal iPhone. This is the first and only time I’ve ever felt Apple Store employees steering purchasing decisions. I had to go in there knowing what I wanted, and had to assert that it was what I wanted repeatedly. Are people buying big phones because they are addicted to their screens, or are people addicted to their screens because of big phones?
- microtonal 1y ago
  When I went to buy it, and the case, the employees at the Apple Store questioned me and tried to push me toward the normal iPhone. Probably because they knew that customers would come back to complain about the abysmal battery life of the Mini? I had a 12 Mini, I loved that phone, but man was it hard to get through the day on a single charge.
  - ginko 1y ago
    I generally only charge my 13 mini every other day or so. The only time I recently struggled getting through the day was when on vacation and constantly using google maps & translate. But that is with a 3 year old phone.
    - gargan 1y ago
      May I ask what your approximate screen on time is each day? You must be less addicted than the general population where its 4-6 hours a day
      - ginko 1y ago
        Hm, looks like ios won't show screen time unless reporting is enabled which I haven't done.
      - urxvtcd 1y ago
spaceisballer 1y ago
I just want a decently large screen because I have old eyes. A 6.1” phone works fine for me.
knubie 1y ago
The other problem is that more and more content now is designed for (or only tolerable on) larger phone screens. Go to any website these days on a smaller phone like an iPhone mini and more than 50% (being charitable here) of the screen will be taken up by garbage like ads, cookie banners, popups, etc. It's a vicious cycle. Phone manufactures make the screen bigger, app and website developers realize they can cram more junk on the page, consumers demand larger screens as a result, return to step 1.
- agosta 1y ago
  Ya'll see adds? I use Brave Browser on all my devices and haven't seen traditional ads in years. Even Youtube ads are blocked on Brave by default
  - pclowes 1y ago
    Apple is putting ads as pop ups inside the wallet app now… every social media app is crammed with them too. Browser is the easy fix.
  - knubie 1y ago
    Most people just use whatever the default browser is on their phone.
    - philistine 1y ago
      This is HN. OP is 100% right to be flabbergasted that people on this site are not using the best and brightest of the ad blockers available. I know I am.
- bigstrat2003 1y ago
  Ironically, I have the opposite problem with website design. So many sites are clearly designed for mobile screen sizes, with a teensy-tiny strip of text on my large monitor. It's very unpleasant to read lines of text that short, so on a lot of sites I have to go into dev tools and set the text width to 1200px to make it an actual comfortable reading experience. I should not have to mess with CSS to make websites readable, but here we are.
Nursie 1y ago
I want larger phones because I am at that particular stage of middle age where I should probably start using reading glasses, but I'm also damned if I'm going to start carrying reading glasses everywhere with me. Larger screen = easier life.
- ako 1y ago
  I’m even older, walking around with reading glasses on my head all day. Had an iPhone 13 mini, miss the form factor, would prefer a mini as my next phone. But for most mobile use, on the couch, watching videos, etc, I use an iPad, not my phone. For me a large phone is mostly a tablet that’s too small.
  - Nursie 1y ago
    Yeah fair enough. At the moment the pro max is a sweet spot for me, but we'll see over time.
t0bia_s 1y ago
Advertisers supports bigger screen for bigger space for their ads.
sayamqazi 1y ago
I want larger monitors, laptops, tablets and phones because I can't f**ing see well. Book reading is a real strain on small screens.
swat535 1y ago
> The general population wants larger phones because they are addicted to their screens. I would rephrase that to: The general population wants a larger phones because phones are defacto PCs these days. They can watch movies, browser the news, listen to music, FaceTime, Maps, .. Outside of business applications likes Word / Excel, phones basically handles 90% of people's requirements for "computers".

The general population wants larger phones because they are addicted to their screens.

by wyre 1y ago

The general population wants larger phones because they are addicted to their screens.

For most people the phone is their only computer. Who bring laptop to a friend group hangout anymore ? Only the techies.

jchw 1y ago
Well, do you think this is a good state of affairs? On one hand, phones are pretty accessible devices, on the other hand there are many aspects of phones that are objectively pretty terrible for consumers (talking about cost and difficulty of repair, walled garden ecosystems, and generally being geared towards consuming things and a lot less effective at producing them than laptops and desktops.) (Tangential: of course I don't blame anyone for bringing their phone with them everywhere but if you're going to go to a friend group hangout, consider how annoying it is when you're trying to talk to someone and they're clearly checked out browsing some slop on Twitter or talking to someone else entirely. Take a damn break from the phone!)
bigstrat2003 1y ago
Who ever brought a laptop to a friend group hangout? I never have seen that happen myself.
- taraindara 1y ago
  Depends on you and your friends. My group does this regularly.
- volemo 1y ago
  I’m not sure if your comment is sarcastic, but in case it isn’t: my friend group had a get-together two days ago, three out of six had a laptop with them, and it even came in handy when I started talking about the problem I’m working on, somebody got interested and I was able to show the plots and calculations. Also we have PowerPoint Parties somewhat regularly, where most of us bring their computers to make last minute changes or simply have a known environment.
  - bigstrat2003 1y ago
    Not sarcastic at all. I have never seen people (not even my nerdy friends, least of all normies) bring laptops to a friend hangout. People might bring laptops if they were getting together to work on stuff, but then that isn't just hanging out any more, there's a purpose to the gathering. I would be astonished if someone could show that non-techy people ever brought laptops when they would hang out. Techy people (like your friend group), maybe. But not your average person.
ghaff 1y ago
When I was still working full-time, a co-worker told me their kid had told them they didn't need or want a computer. Probably changes at some point with long writing assignments, etc. but still. I do increasingly think about whether I need to bring a laptop on various trips. It can be handy but I try to pack light and another few pounds is a lot for me. I've experimented with a newish tablet but it's a bit too in-between for my taste.
- Ezhik 1y ago
  I remember people would always be surprised about how home computer ownership was not that high but smartphones (well, Japanese "garakei") were were ubiquitous. I guess Japan was ahead of the curve once again.
  - ghaff 1y ago
    Mini-computer sizes were pretty popular in Japan for a period even though they never really took off in the US--and pretty much died off entirely.

nunez 1y ago

Yes, and people are using their phones for what they previously used TVs, laptops, music players and other dedicated devices for. It's a bit of a cycle. There's also the accessibility factor. Many people become farsighted later in life. It's much easier to see things on a big phone, especially with increased zoom. (I see this all of the time when I fly.)

theshackleford 1y ago
> There's also the accessibility factor. Many people become farsighted later in life. It's much easier to see things on a big phone, especially with increased zoom. (I see this all of the time when I fly.) Or for those of us with higher end myopia whose lenses effectively “shrink” everything they see. I’m -6.75 in each eye and my glasses make my everything seem significantly smaller than it is. Sometimes I look at my phone or monitor without my glasses and am momentarily shocked at how large they seem and then saddened when I put them back on.

al_borland 1y ago

Apple did a horrible job marketing the mini. I ran into a lot of people who saw my 12 mini and said they would prefer that size, but didn’t know it existed. When I went to buy it, and the case, the employees at the Apple Store questioned me and tried to push me toward the normal iPhone. This is the first and only time I’ve ever felt Apple Store employees steering purchasing decisions. I had to go in there knowing what I wanted, and had to assert that it was what I wanted repeatedly. Are people buying big phones because they are addicted to their screens, or are people addicted to their screens because of big phones?

microtonal 1y ago
When I went to buy it, and the case, the employees at the Apple Store questioned me and tried to push me toward the normal iPhone. Probably because they knew that customers would come back to complain about the abysmal battery life of the Mini? I had a 12 Mini, I loved that phone, but man was it hard to get through the day on a single charge.
- ginko 1y ago
  I generally only charge my 13 mini every other day or so. The only time I recently struggled getting through the day was when on vacation and constantly using google maps & translate. But that is with a 3 year old phone.
  - gargan 1y ago
    May I ask what your approximate screen on time is each day? You must be less addicted than the general population where its 4-6 hours a day
    - ginko 1y ago
      Hm, looks like ios won't show screen time unless reporting is enabled which I haven't done.
    - urxvtcd 1y ago

spaceisballer 1y ago

I just want a decently large screen because I have old eyes. A 6.1” phone works fine for me.

knubie 1y ago

The other problem is that more and more content now is designed for (or only tolerable on) larger phone screens. Go to any website these days on a smaller phone like an iPhone mini and more than 50% (being charitable here) of the screen will be taken up by garbage like ads, cookie banners, popups, etc. It's a vicious cycle. Phone manufactures make the screen bigger, app and website developers realize they can cram more junk on the page, consumers demand larger screens as a result, return to step 1.

agosta 1y ago
Ya'll see adds? I use Brave Browser on all my devices and haven't seen traditional ads in years. Even Youtube ads are blocked on Brave by default
- pclowes 1y ago
  Apple is putting ads as pop ups inside the wallet app now… every social media app is crammed with them too. Browser is the easy fix.
- knubie 1y ago
  Most people just use whatever the default browser is on their phone.
  - philistine 1y ago
    This is HN. OP is 100% right to be flabbergasted that people on this site are not using the best and brightest of the ad blockers available. I know I am.
bigstrat2003 1y ago
Ironically, I have the opposite problem with website design. So many sites are clearly designed for mobile screen sizes, with a teensy-tiny strip of text on my large monitor. It's very unpleasant to read lines of text that short, so on a lot of sites I have to go into dev tools and set the text width to 1200px to make it an actual comfortable reading experience. I should not have to mess with CSS to make websites readable, but here we are.

Nursie 1y ago

I want larger phones because I am at that particular stage of middle age where I should probably start using reading glasses, but I'm also damned if I'm going to start carrying reading glasses everywhere with me. Larger screen = easier life.

ako 1y ago
I’m even older, walking around with reading glasses on my head all day. Had an iPhone 13 mini, miss the form factor, would prefer a mini as my next phone. But for most mobile use, on the couch, watching videos, etc, I use an iPad, not my phone. For me a large phone is mostly a tablet that’s too small.
- Nursie 1y ago
  Yeah fair enough. At the moment the pro max is a sweet spot for me, but we'll see over time.

t0bia_s 1y ago

Advertisers supports bigger screen for bigger space for their ads.

sayamqazi 1y ago

I want larger monitors, laptops, tablets and phones because I can't f**ing see well. Book reading is a real strain on small screens.

swat535 1y ago

> The general population wants larger phones because they are addicted to their screens. I would rephrase that to: The general population wants a larger phones because phones are defacto PCs these days. They can watch movies, browser the news, listen to music, FaceTime, Maps, .. Outside of business applications likes Word / Excel, phones basically handles 90% of people's requirements for "computers".