zlacker

>>asimop+(OP)
My cynical take is that small phones don't exist because they are not the product. Similar to vape pens the product is the addictive substance the device loads. In this case its apps and ads. A smaller screen probably negatively impacts KPIs on many levels, at Google/Apple/Meta/X and on down through the ecosystem.

I understand that Apple did not make enough money to make it worth their while to continue the iphone mini line. However, it does seem like there is a profitable business for someone there given how beloved it was/is.

I only traded out my iphone 12 mini just recently for an iphone 16 pro (likely the last apple product I will ever buy but thats another story) and aside from the camera it is basically the same. Just heavier, awkward to hold and slightly worse designed.

No major player wants a smaller screen because it has downstream impacts on the pipeline of addictive material and ad pixels they can stuff into ocular nerves.

>>pclowe+Cf
You’re way too cynical and have let your cynicism cloud history.

The first phablets were probably the Galaxy Note line starting in 2011 which was met with some skepticism due to the size of them. These were well before the edge to edge screen days. So you had 5.7 inch screens with a bezel.

They were huge but I would routinely see small women pull these things out of their hand bags and press a device that obscured almost their whole face and start chatting.

Things steadily got bigger from there. The general population WANTED this.

>>2muchc+1s
Parent's take is not whether bigger phones shouldn't exist, it's why smaller phones stopped being produced, which is a fairly different angle.

> women

To note, the initial smartphones were already too big for he taste of many: a clamshell feature phone was almost a third of the size of the original iPhone. From that POV, going to a phone that is twice as big is less of a barrier, as they had to keep it in a bag/purse in the first place.

The return of foldables is also pretty well received in that regard.

>>makeit+cv
Just tonight, I saw a friend of mine, pull a new foldable Razr from her purse.

They are cool phones, but I do iOS. I still use a 13 Mini, and will continue to do so, for quite some time.

As to the point of this article, I seem to recall a couple of very small Android phones, some years ago (about credit-card sized). I guess they didn’t sell well.

>>ChrisM+PD
I do wish Apple would make one. The Samsung Z Flip almost follows the Apple design language, if only it ran iOS.

>>dontla+ZR
Are the screens reliable now?

>>2muchc+yN1
I don't think so. Yesterday I was browsing phones and there was a Google Pixel 9 Fold on dislpay, closed and showing something. That has a display on the outside and a foldable display on the inside.

I opened it, and most of the screen looked like a big, roundish black blob of ink, centred on the fold, on top of the Android animations working perfectly underneath, but only visible at the edges. I was impressed that the rest of the screen around worked perfectly, but it was unusuable due to the size of the black blob.

Something had broken at or near the fold while it was on display.

All other devices were in great condition; it was a well-maintained store.