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I wonder if the disappearance of small phones is merely to justify a higher price (now around ~$1000). Now that everyone in the world has a smartphone, the only
by beeflet 1y ago
I wonder if the disappearance of small phones is merely to justify a higher price (now around ~$1000). Now that everyone in the world has a smartphone, the only way to increase sales revenue is to sell them more smartphone per smartphone.
On an unrelated note, I found this "small phone" kickstarter project: https://www.ikkoaudio.com/products/mind-one-phone https://www.ikkoaudio.com/products/mind-one-phone
But what is really preventing me from buying one of these is lack of AOSP support. I want to run GrapheneOS or CalyxOS or postmarketOS, so if it can't do that it's off the table for me. I wish there was a way to sponsor the reverse engineering of a single phone's drivers.
- taminka 1y agono, they're just unpopular because more people use a phone as their main device, and so want a larger screen
- mitthrowaway2 1y agoA lot of sites and apps don't support small screens. I've seen notifications on major apps where the "OK" button was beyond the screen boundaries on my older small phone. No way to proceed.
- taminka 1y agoyeah lol, I was carrying an original iphone se up until this year and would often encounter apps where buttons where straight up out of reach bc nobody bothered to test it...
- bigstrat2003 1y agoThat is fine, but it makes no sense that manufacturers are entirely unwilling to serve that market. People who need very large or very small clothes can still get clothes in their size, even though they are a minority. They might have to pay more, but the niche is filled by someone. We should see the same thing with smartphones, but for some reason we don't.
- Forgeties79 1y agoClothes are way cheaper and don’t need as much infrastructure/“parts” to create and distribute. I too want a small phone but my guess is research shows the market is too small to justify. Or they’re just getting bad info and maybe someday a company will figure it out lol
- jerlam 1y agoThe clothes comparison doesn't make a lot of sense. People who wear extra small sizes don't choose to buy a large, unless they're willing to spend a lot of money to modify it. The question is whether you're willing to buy clothes at your own size, not what size to get.
- Zak 1y agoI think the problem is last time someone really tried was the iPhone mini, which launched during the peak COVID lockdown era when a lot of people were using their phones at home on the couch rather than carrying them out in the world. A little earlier or a little later and they might have been a bigger hit. There's likely room in the market for one or two small phones if they're otherwise-competitive.
- toast0 1y ago> I wonder if the disappearance of small phones is merely to justify a higher price (now around ~$1000) Cheap phones are getting bigger and bigger too.
- numpad0 1y agoIsn't it just that shiniest phones sell fastest? Embiggening the screen that will be flashing at stores achieves that goal quickest and bestest. I thought that's why every consumer products eventually gets glitter powders in the plastics.
- saltcured 1y agoIt amuses me to think about a modern smart TV as a really big smartphone. It would be a small tweak to add a 5G cellular modem, touch layer for the screen, and (more?) camera modules. They already have WiFi, speakers, microphones, and processors capable of running the bloated media apps and driving the screen with full motion video. Then, you can really think about the core electronic guts, the screen, and the overall packaging and the price range of these products...
- Zak 1y agoThat thing is short, but it's as wide (72mm) as a Pixel 10.