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Manufacturers want you to say goodbye to small phones once and for all
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baatliwala lemmy.world baatliwala@lemmy.world
Joined: 2023-06-22
Quote

98   Original
Lantsu sopuli.xyz manuremy@sopuli.xyz
Joined: 2026-03-13
#2 · (edited) Quote Reply

I'll continue with my Nokia C2-01 then.

4
Ilandar lemmy.today Ilandar@lemmy.today
Joined: 2025-06-12
#3 · Quote Reply

Miss proper small phones with 6-inch screens or less?

No, my phone has a screen size of ~4 inches.

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BakedCatboy lemmy.ml BakedCatboy@lemmy.ml
Joined: 2023-12-14
#4 · Quote Reply

I guess I'm running my pixel 5 into the ground then... Tbh I miss my 5 inch pixel 2. That felt ideal to me.

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joeljoelle piefed.world etherphon@piefed.world
Joined: 2025-07-10
#5 · Quote Reply

[deleted]
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TrackinDaKraken lemmy.world DarrinBrunner@lemmy.world
Joined: 2025-02-26
#6 · Quote Reply

My iPhone 12 mini is the perfect size. I don't want to carry a damn tablet in my pocket. Maybe if I spent all day staring at it, I would, IDK.

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blackn1ght feddit.uk blackn1ght@feddit.uk
Joined: 2023-06-22
#7 · Quote Reply

There haven't been any small phones for about 10 years.

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El Perro Negro lemmy.world elperronegro@lemmy.world
Joined: 2023-06-16
#8 · Quote Reply

I love my Unihertz Jelly Star with its 3" screen! So small, its not easy to use so it stays in my pocket

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RamenJunkie midwest.social RamenJunkie@midwest.social
Joined: 2025-01-24
#9 · Quote Reply

Yet they "don't have room" for a fucking headphone jack or clips for a removable back/battery.

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zod000 lemmy.dbzer0.com zod000@lemmy.dbzer0.com
Joined: 2025-08-12
#10 · Quote Reply

Then said manufacturers can get fucked.

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Pika sh.itjust.works Pika@sh.itjust.works
Joined: 2023-08-15
#11 · Quote Reply

[deleted]

I'm starting to head this direction, at least mobile-wise. I haven't yet because trying to live life without a cell phone is just not pleasant, But the only thing I really use my cell phone for is Discord, Firefox, and the camera

Mobile gaming, which I primarily had got a phone in the first place for has gone down the tube, It seems like every mobile game can fit into one of 4 categories.

  • The live-action-style ones like Clash of Clans that you need money to progress in.
  • The simulation idlers Where you don't actually do anything, You just upgrade every once in a while.
  • The match 3 clones where it disguises as a different game but the primary focus is matching,
  • The bleed you dry energy style games where every action you do costs some form of in-game energy. That takes real time to regenerate.

Used to be able to find puzzlers or simulation games that were outside of that genre, but you can't really anymore. I'm still circulating the same 4 games from when I had an s9 8ish years ago.

Social media is thoroughly screwed. You can't go on there without some sort of ideology being pushed at you or toxicity.

Voice-mails and messaging is hit or miss of whether or not it's someone trying to scam you.

every application out there wants to harvest every bit of data about your life because almost no country has any type of actual regulation against the collection of personal data.

Every once in a while, I look back to see how feasible it would be to go without, but far too many services require a phone number. Any platform worth its salt uses some form of two-factor authentication, which generally is either text message or an app-based two-factor.

Hell, It's hard enough finding a bank that doesn't require a cell phone. I just dumped my last bank due to that reason. They reconsolidated into a slightly larger company, and when they did, that parent company decided that consumers shouldn't have the ability to write their own checks. So if I wanted to write a check, I had to log into the phone app, and then select Send a check, wait four to six business days for the bank to actually send the check themselves, and then wait for the three to four days on top of that to actually receive payments. I closed the account as soon as I got confirmation my funds transfered

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supersquirrel sopuli.xyz supersquirrel@sopuli.xyz
Joined: 2023-12-09
#12 · Quote Reply

Ok, I won't buy a new phone then :)

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lost_faith lemmy.ca lost_faith@lemmy.ca
Joined: 2024-02-13
#13 · Quote Reply

I guess I'm running my pixel 5 into the ground then... Tbh I miss my 5 inch pixel 2. That felt ideal to me.

My pixel 6 is just a touch bigger than I'd like, running it til no more security updates then looking at dumb phones. Miss my old flip phone

2
TJA! sh.itjust.works tja@sh.itjust.works
Joined: 2023-08-02
#14 · Quote Reply

Yet they "don't have room" for a fucking headphone jack or clips for a removable back/battery.

Well, they'll soon have room for a removable battery ✨

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SaveTheTuaHawk lemmy.ca SaveTheTuaHawk@lemmy.ca
Joined: 2025-03-07
#15 · Quote Reply

There haven't been any small phones for about 10 years.

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blackn1ght feddit.uk blackn1ght@feddit.uk
Joined: 2023-06-22
#16 · Quote Reply

I mean a regular, normal form factor phone, not a foldable.

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HM King Charles III DG FD feddit.uk Flax_vert@feddit.uk
Joined: 2023-06-19
#17 · (edited) Quote Reply

There's unihertz, but their quality is unfortunately questionable. I've ordered a Clicks Communicator. It's actually a similar size to a phablet, but using that space for a physical keyboard feels like I'm sending a message to the establishment.

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HM King Charles III DG FD feddit.uk Flax_vert@feddit.uk
Joined: 2023-06-19
#18 · Quote Reply

I guess I'm running my pixel 5 into the ground then... Tbh I miss my 5 inch pixel 2. That felt ideal to me.

Pixel 4a was such a nice phone in terms of form factor.

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AbsolutelyNotCats lemdro.id AbsolutelyNotCats@lemdro.id
Joined: 2023-08-01
#19 · Quote Reply

Testing 1 2 3

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AbsolutelyNotCats lemdro.id AbsolutelyNotCats@lemdro.id
Joined: 2023-08-01
#20 · Quote Reply

Manufacturers killed compact phones because the same display panel costs the same whether it is 6.1 or 6.7 inches, so bigger screens unlock higher price tiers. The Xiaomi 17 and vivo X300 proving 7,500mAh batteries fit inside 6.3-inch bodies demolishes every excuse these brands hide behind.

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SaveTheTuaHawk lemmy.ca SaveTheTuaHawk@lemmy.ca
Joined: 2025-03-07
#21 · Quote Reply

I mean a regular, normal form factor phone, not a foldable.

irrelevant. tiny phones.
They stopped making smaller screen phones because no one was buying them.

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anamethatisnt sopuli.xyz anamethatisnt@sopuli.xyz
Joined: 2025-03-14
#22 · Quote Reply

There's unihertz, but their quality is unfortunately questionable. I've ordered a Clicks Communicator. It's actually a similar size to a phablet, but using that space for a physical keyboard feels like I'm sending a message to the establishment.

If the Aiphor Bluefox NX1 had 5G and wasn't prone to have the screen come loose I would probably try it. I prefer that one's form to the rounded back of the Unihertz Jelly.
But with google working on making android their own walled garden I'm more interested in trying something like Jolla.
https://commerce.jolla.com/products/jolla-phone-sep-ii-2026

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SubArcticTundra lemmy.ml SubArcticTundra@lemmy.ml
Joined: 2023-06-03
#23 · Quote Reply

There's unihertz, but their quality is unfortunately questionable. I've ordered a Clicks Communicator. It's actually a similar size to a phablet, but using that space for a physical keyboard feels like I'm sending a message to the establishment.

I'm writing this on a King Kong Mini 2 and it's sick, plus it only cost $100

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GraniteM lemmy.world GraniteM@lemmy.world
Joined: 2023-08-11
#24 · Quote Reply

I love my Unihertz Jelly Star with its 3" screen! So small, its not easy to use so it stays in my pocket

I got a Jelly Star to use as a music player and I very seriously considered using it as my full-time phone for that exact reason. The only thing that held me back is I take a lot of pictures and the camera wasn't quite up to snuff, and I'm not prepared to commit to also carrying a decent camera around all the time.

1
Captain Aggravated sh.itjust.works captain_aggravated@sh.itjust.works
Joined: 2023-06-20
#25 · Quote Reply

[deleted]

I got kinda conned into a Pixel 10 Pro XL. It's huge and it's heavy, and it doesn't really feel that much more useful than the S10e it replaced.

What I want it for is basically a media player, quick internet look-upper, and maybe instant messenger. The ability to get "Hey I'm at the front entrance" and reply "Cool I'll let you in". My Galaxy S4 Mini did every piece of that.

It's getting uncomfortably difficult to do without a cell phone. Everything wants to be an app. Like, it's one thing when a restaurant allows you to order via app because then they can be making your order while you're on your way to get it. But when they won't print a menu, they'll ONLY allow customers to order via an app, like a waiter comes up to your table and tells you you have to scan a QR code. Parking, public transit, starting into goddamn government functions, now require an app. Which is a problem if you VISIT a city rather than live there.

When I was a teenager, I would have been excited to have a powerful, capable computer with a fantastic screen and constant high speed internet access that fit in my pocket. But damn if they didn't go and ruin it.

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marius feddit.org marius@feddit.org
Joined: 2024-06-23
#26 · Quote Reply

[deleted]

It's time for the iPhone shuffle

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Hond piefed.social Hond@piefed.social
Joined: 2025-08-28
#27 · (edited) Quote Reply

I mean a S26 just weighs 167g. Thats still 30g more than the Z1 Compact i had back in the day. But overall its like 20mm taller and 5mm wider. Its alright. For the modern day i think its a perfectly fine small phone. Its sadly Samsung though and they can fuck themselves. I will never buy anything from them again after past experiences with different products. But i wouldnt say the small phone is dead. Sure you cant buy a 3,5"- 5" screen phone anymore. But my eyesight gets worse by the minute and i dont want a that small smartphone anymore. Rather i would get myself a shitty feature phone where the display doesnt matter at all.

Handlingwise i would be really happy about 16:9 screens again. My thumbs arent tall enough for the upper third of most phones since the last 7 years or so. 19:9 up to 21:9 is IMHO such a stupid format. But i also really want my headphone jack and sd card reader back... It is what it is.

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LaggyKar programming.dev LaggyKar@programming.dev
Joined: 2023-06-17
#28 · Quote Reply

6 inches is not small. Small would be like 4 inches or less.

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SaneMartigan lemmy.world SaneMartigan@lemmy.world
Joined: 2025-11-12
#29 · Quote Reply

I guess I'm running my pixel 5 into the ground then... Tbh I miss my 5 inch pixel 2. That felt ideal to me.

My p5 died and I got a p8a which isn't much bigger. I miss my Nexus 5.

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Cleisthenian lemmy.ml Cleisthenian@lemmy.ml
Joined: 2026-02-03
#30 · Quote Reply

6 inches is not small. Small would be like 4 inches or less.

4 inches is definitely above average...

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Grass sh.itjust.works Grass@sh.itjust.works
Joined: 2023-09-30
#31 · Quote Reply

I'm writing this on a King Kong Mini 2 and it's sick, plus it only cost $100

I want that minus the "rugged tech" aethetic, current gen wireless, micro sd slot, degoogled os options, at least that much bezel, and user swappable battery.

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cheers_queers lemmy.zip cheers_queers@lemmy.zip
Joined: 2025-06-04
#32 · Quote Reply

There haven't been any small phones for about 10 years.

unihertz titan pocket. love mine

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Alberat lemmy.world Alberat@lemmy.world
Joined: 2026-02-03
#33 · Quote Reply

4 inches is definitely above average...

I'm a folder not a shower!

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HM King Charles III DG FD feddit.uk Flax_vert@feddit.uk
Joined: 2023-06-19
#34 · Quote Reply

I'm writing this on a King Kong Mini 2 and it's sick, plus it only cost $100

Could work as a banking device....

1
Hadriscus jlai.lu Hadriscus@jlai.lu
Joined: 2025-06-10
#35 · Quote Reply

What ? I have a Huawei P30 (6.1in screen) and it's considered small ? it's the biggest phone I've owned by far

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Blaze piefed.zip Blaze@piefed.zip
Joined: 2025-06-13
#36 · Quote Reply

unihertz titan pocket. love mine

I'm keeping an eye on the Titan 2 Elite, seems like a promising device

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the16bitgamer programming.dev the16bitgamer@programming.dev
Joined: 2023-06-16
#37 · Quote Reply

For me the iPhone 6s is the perfect size phone.

If you compare the newer iPhone physical size with the 6s it’s about the same. Which I think is best.

Now that phones abandoned the idea of a stable aspect ratio screen size has become irrelevant to me. So I look at the phones dimension. And there is still small phones on the market, they just try their best to pretend to be bigger than they are.

That said I do wish the Mini IPhones lived long enough to get USB C. Was the perfect size for it to be one handed.

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SubArcticTundra lemmy.ml SubArcticTundra@lemmy.ml
Joined: 2023-06-03
#38 · (edited) Quote Reply

I want that minus the "rugged tech" aethetic, current gen wireless, micro sd slot, degoogled os options, at least that much bezel, and user swappable battery.

It's got some of those – the camera is shit but it's literally got screws on the back so you can replace the battery, plus it's got 2 SIM and 1 microSD slot. Idk about the wireless or roms

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neclimdul lemmy.world neclimdul@lemmy.world
Joined: 2023-07-01
#39 · Quote Reply

You know what I want? I know it's a pretty hot take. I want manufacturers to give me what I want.

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psud aussie.zone psud@aussie.zone
Joined: 2023-07-26
#40 · Quote Reply

I guess I'm running my pixel 5 into the ground then... Tbh I miss my 5 inch pixel 2. That felt ideal to me.

I still have a working pixel 3, two of them actually, and they're a perfect size phone

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Pycorax sh.itjust.works pycorax@sh.itjust.works
Joined: 2025-06-26
#41 · Quote Reply

It still folds out to a fairly big device. Unless you're planning on using it always folded, that's not it.

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