7 ms·
Looks like they're still only available in "Huge" and "comically oversized". I guess I can keep buying Pixel 4s until new ones (req for battery) are no longer a
by the__alchemist 1y ago
Looks like they're still only available in "Huge" and "comically oversized". I guess I can keep buying Pixel 4s until new ones (req for battery) are no longer available.
- tetris11 1y agoIt's sad what they did to the Pixel 4a's battery, because that phone was otherwise comfort perfection
- mnmalst 1y agoStill using mine on the stock rom. Mine was luckily not effected by the battery problems. Such a good phone.
- metalliqaz 1y agoI really liked my Pixel4 but in 2025 the hardware and software are getting too out of date.
- sudokatsu 1y agoReally wish they would at least make the Fold a reasonable size when closed. It would scratch my smaller phone itch, and offer a larger screen when I actually do want one. Currently it’s “comically oversized” when folded, and literal tablet when open.
- ortusdux 1y agoI'd hoped others would copy/iterate the Flip form factor. A friend has one and it does feel great. I just don't get along with the Samsung software suite.
- lawn 1y agoI'd buy a Flip as soon as I can install GrapheneOS on it. With the popularity of the Flip I can only hope I won't have to wait too long.
- borgel 1y agoI've enjoyed using a Moto razr+ 2024. If you're interested in trying one check out used devices, their value seems to crater. I think I got mine for ~$300 last year on eBay (while it was still the current gen device)
- leetharris 1y agoI just went from a Z Fold 5 to a Z Fold 7 and I hate it for this exact reason. Z Fold 6 and earlier were slim, one handed use phones when folded, small tablet when opened. Now it's just a regular phone, and a medium tablet when I open it. First phone I've ever regretted upgrading to.
- AshamedCaptain 1y agoConsumers have spoken though. Same as dropping the stylus...
- sylos 1y agoI dont think consumers have as much influence as people believe.
- klabb3 1y agoMy understanding is that smaller phones get less screen time. Thus if you have some interest in increasing it, better to push bigger ones. But I don’t know if those perverted incentives make it back to the manufacturers. Do they make the most money from sale itself or after from the various ad-/data brokers?
- andrepd 1y agoPixel 5 is about as big, but yes, that's as far as it goes. Unfortunately that goes for virtually any phone on the market... Sad.
- jauntywundrkind 1y agoI keep thinking of how the Nexus 7 has a 7.02" screen. And how modern phones tend to be 6.1 - 6.9". But never quite 7!
- mmmlinux 1y agoDont worry theyll all be pushing 8 now that the barrier has been broken.
- kcb 1y agoIt's not really comparable because the Nexus 7 has a 16:10 screen. Looking just at the size in inches without the aspect ratio is really only part of the picture. The Nexus 7 is like twice the width of a phone.
- 51Cards 1y agoI still carry my Pixel 5 for this reason. 2 replacement batteries in now and I have a spare sitting on a shelf. That said the Pixel 9A is tempting as it's not much larger than my Pixel 5. I hate that the finger print readers have moved to the front though. The sensor on the back of my 5 is perfectly postioned and also acts like a little track-pad for opening the notification tray. It was a perfect design IMO.
- bsimpson 1y ago> a spare sitting on a shelf Does that work for batteries? I feel like unused batteries tend to become unusable batteries.
- avidiax 1y agoWould be better in a drawer in the refrigerator. Calendar aging for batteries is mostly about the temperature and storage SoC, which should be in the 30-50% level.
- prmoustache 1y agoI've had a "spare" smartphone kept in a drawer for a year and when I needed it it was impossible to charge and I've never been able to wake it up.
- 51Cards 1y agoSorry, my wording was misleading there. A spare Pixel 5 on the shelf so if something happens to this one I have an immediate replacement. I pop it onto a charger every couple months to prevent the battery from going too low.
- _blk 1y agoAgreed on battery. I started with a 6a and only ever had the fingerprint in the front. I thought it's well designed and works well (as long as I stick to office job activities.. as soon as you start doing handy works it has its issues.. same for Px7).
- slumberlust 1y ago
- markasoftware 1y agoI agree, but I got the Pixel 5 instead; the 5 is actually smaller while the screen size is larger due to the curved screen corners. It also has a fingerprint sensor, unlike the 4. That being said, I still miss the squeeze-activated flashlight on the 4.
- _giorgio_ 1y agoUntil I purchased a Pixel 8a, I thought the same thing. I discovered that all the newer pant models that I purchased have bigger pockets, so that's not a problem anymore.
- bityard 1y ago"Just buy bigger pants" is the 2025 version of "you're holding it wrong"?
- _giorgio_ 1y agoNo, I simply noticed that all my very old pants (that I don't use anymore), have very small pockets, and that all the new pants have very big pockets. My opinion on small vs big screen is all based on that.
- throw-the-towel 1y agoI just hope that all the newer body models I purchase have bigger hands.
- Mistletoe 1y agohttps://static.scientificamerican.com/sciam/cache/file/095D61DA-16CE-47D3-A4691B4BBEEEE0FC_source.jpg?w=1350 https://static.scientificamerican.com/sciam/cache/file/095D6... Shot of humans from the future.
- _giorgio_ 1y agoI have probably normal hands, and I feel that the pixel 8a is perfect, and that I could use a bigger one too. You can choose the size of the keyboard, if this worries you.
- layer8 1y agoThat doesn't solve the weight problem.
- 1y ago
- madduci 1y agoMe crying for a newer Nexus 4, the best device in terms of quality/price ever made by Google
- bscphil 1y agoBest phone I've ever owned and it's not close. Every phone since then has been a compromise, to the point that (in a sunk cost fallacy kind of way) I've just quit caring about phones and just buy whatever the cheapest available unlocked device is. I run them into the ground (way past the end-of-service date) because I know the next one is going to be worse.
- Grazester 1y agoThe Nexus 4 was a nice phone but I thought the battery life was bad and it also ran hot. My Moto-X was truly next level. It was oled and could do always on display that didn't need to power the blacks pixels on the screen. It was the first phone to do this. It has voice recognition for unlocking (getting info that you couldn't when the phone was locked). First to do this too since I believe it uses dedicated hardware at the time. It also knew when I was driving to unlock the phone for voice commands also. It was small.
- nunez 1y agoNice throwback. The Moto X was awesome. Damn, phones were so exciting back then.
- nuancebydefault 1y agoI loved my nexus 4! It's a pity that I at one point could not use it anymore because the updates made it unusable slow.
- rchaud 1y agoThat phone had the worst camera I've ever used. I loved having it because it was XDA custom ROM-friendly, but good lord, that camera....
- 1y ago
- poisonborz 1y agoThere are no alternatives. S25 is 6.2, and Pixels put the Pro/best version in 6.3, while on Samsung you get a step up to 6.7 and 6.9. Much better specs on almost the same size.
- pelagicAustral 1y agos25 is super manageable, it's the most comfy phone I've had since ever.
- daemonologist 1y agoI replaced my 4a (which is not particularly small) after Google nerfed the battery into oblivion, but every once in a while I get it out of its drawer and am always immediately struck by how much better the form factor is. Using a modern phone with a 6+ inch screen feels like trying to tie a knot with one hand.
- jama211 1y agoI have this experience… until I turn it on and start to try and type stuff on the tiny keyboard or watch stuff on it again. Then I realise I’m glad I moved up a little
- red369 1y agoI agree with you, but I like the reminder that I probably shouldn't be using my phone for whatever I'm doing anyway. If I'm at home, I should make the small effort to get a tablet or a laptop. If I'm out, should I just set a reminder and do it later and listen to something instead? I realise that for many people, that time might be their only time available for doing whatever they were going to do, but on the other hand when I look at what other people use their phones for when they're out, it rarely looks important to me. Even the stuff people are doing for fun doesn't look much fun. Definitely not compared with the people who have also lugged a Switch/e-reader/actual book.
- jama211 1y agoThat seems pretty judgemental. Lots of things I do that might not “look important” can be very important. I do a lot of work on my phone including research that would look like browsing to a bystander.
- red369 1y agoYup - I think that's fair. It is completely a value judgement. But without ill will, and not particularly heartfelt. Regarding your point about things that are actually work in disguise, I basically look at browsing web pages as productive work these days compared to alternatives. There are only so many people who can be moderators working for TikTok, or researching endless-scroll or content recommendation algorithms. :) But even taking what people are doing at face-value, perhaps TikTok/Reels/Shorts is actually important for their wellbeing. I think it is more likely harmful, but I'm guessing. I think it would be better if people spent less time looking at phone screens (no matter how big), but as long as it's their choice, people should do what they want to do! I have a vague concern that people might be increasingly doing something that they want to do in the short term, but not in the long term, but probably that's always been the way.
- zamadatix 1y agoIt's interesting how this type of feedback always comes up for phones yet smaller phones have an extremely hard time actually selling enough units to justify making more of them. It seems part of it may be folks remaining in this group seem much more willing to stick with old devices anyways, helping drive less priority for small sizes on top of already being a smaller market segment. Perhaps there are some other big factors beyond those two things too.
- battesonb 1y agoI'm exactly that person. Always running an older device and lamenting the lack of small devices. Unfortunately, the mainstream wants big devices, so we all get big devices.
- silotis 1y agoThe problem is for many years now the smallest phone available has been getting larger and larger. This has lead small phone enthusiasts to cling to their old phones as long as they can stand it until they are forced to step to a larger model.
- coldpie 1y ago> yet smaller phones have an extremely hard time actually selling enough units to justify making more of them I don't buy this. The iPhone 13 Mini all by itself sold 6 million units in a year. That's about half the rate of Google's entire Pixel lineup. The market is small, yeah, but it definitely exists. I think a company could quietly make a high quality, straightforward, small Android device with maybe every-other-year hardware updates, and run away with a whole corner of the market all to itself.
- wijwp 1y agoYou can't just look at units sold, you have to look at net units sold because the version of the product existed. For example, if 5.9 million of those 6 million people would have bought the larger iPhone model anyway, then you didn't actually gain much by offering the Mini unit. I have no idea what those numbers are, though.
- Mistletoe 1y agoJust bought a used iPhone 13 Mini last week to replace my 12 Mini. This has to last me...apparently until the heat death of the universe.
- nunez 1y agoI love my 13 mini but its battery is just too anemic. Slapping a MagSafe battery on it defeats the purpose of having a small phone. My 16 Pro lasts me all day, but I absolutely hate using it, as I don't do very much with my phone in the first place. I feel stuck.
- Mistletoe 1y agoWhy does it run out so fast? I thought the 13 Mini had pretty good battery life? They say it is much better than my 12 Mini which I do fine with in one day. What's your battery health at?
- nunez 1y agoTwo reasons. First is age. These devices are 5-7 years old. Many are using their original batteries, which have several dead cells. So they literally have less capacity than they did back then. Second is JavaScript, in my opinion. I can often see my battery drain in real time when I use the browser, even when Low Power Mode is on. Demanding client side JavaScript is a big reason for that. You also have extensions doing stuff on pre/post-load that also contribute to power usage. Finally, so many web developers test against modern devices, and there isn't enough demand to warrant accommodating less powerful CPUs/SOCs. You can try to use the web without JS, but you'll find that many websites will think that you're a bot and block you.
- jakub_g 1y agoI'm afraid you might be right. Former user of 3a, I upgraded to 6 but it was way too big and heavy, and had a weird mass balance. I'm now on 8 and it has perfect size and weight IMO (using it with a recommended Spigen case). Looks like 10 is +17g heavier than 8 and 1-2 mm bigger. Not as big as 6 but almost as heavy. https://m.gsmarena.com/compare.php3?idPhone1=13979&idPhone2=12546 https://m.gsmarena.com/compare.php3?idPhone1=13979&idPhone2=...
- GuB-42 1y agoThe size is about what every manufacturer settled on, and what most people want, it is unfortunate that smaller phones are not an option but it doesn't sell. What bugs me however is that thin body with a huge camera bulge. Do anybody actually like that? It looks ridiculous, and the bulge defeats the point of having a thin phone. If you can't make the camera thinner, make the phone thicker, there is plenty of things you can do with more space: bigger battery, better speaker, more powerful vibration, more robust, etc...
- 627467 1y agoI dont really buy the issue with "there's no market" just look at the pc market: isnt there are market for convertibles, laptops, tablet+keyboard, different OS, all sorts of sizes... how different is the android phone ecosystem?
- GuB-42 1y agoThere is a market, it is just not lucrative enough for big players to take it. There is however a company that caters to these niches: Unihertz The have small phones, massive phones with huge batteries, rugged phones, phones with keyboards,... From what I have seen, not great on the software side though, and they have entry-level specs, with prices to match. It is a Chinese company.
- abrahadabra 1y agoSamsung S25 is just 3 mm bigger than Pixel 4a. Is that too much of a difference?
- culi 1y agoThe only way Google phones keep up with the battery lives of iPhones is to have larger batteries. iPhone gets the same battery time with a much smaller battery. Unfortunately I think this means Google will keep having to sell huge phones for a while
- ChrisRR 1y agoI just want a 5.5" phone. I'm not even asking for one of these tiny 4" phones like some people, just slightly smaller so that it can be used one handed
- SomeHacker44 1y agoI got a Motorola Razr 2025 Ultra. You can use it closed. Open it is narrower but taller than a Pixel. It fits in my pocket easily.
- chrismcb 1y agoI get, I guess it is the "comically oversized"phone and I consider it to small. So...