- cross-posted to:
- apple_enthusiast@lemmy.world
- cross-posted to:
- apple_enthusiast@lemmy.world
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Perhaps the perfect opportunity to stop buying Apple products?
The options on Android aren’t much better, unless you go for some obscure manufacturer who won’t support the phone with updates 1 year after its life cycle.
Apple was for a while the only remaining flagship manufacturer who actually provided mini models. Ironic, because Android is supposed to be the alternative providing more options.
Moto is still kicking, Samsung has small models too, Asus is going alright, Sony at least the are skinny.
I haven’t seen any phone offered by these manufacturers that is as small as iPhone 13 mini. At best they’re just marginally smaller than iPhone 15.
There is no good alternative anymore if you’re looking for a truly small phone.
The options on Android aren’t much better
Literally every one of them is better, because none of them are running iOS. That’s my subjective opinion.
unless you go for some obscure manufacturer who won’t support the phone with updates 1 year after its life cycle.
Samsung and Google both support devices for 5 years now. Doesn’t matter how long Apple “supports” the software because they don’t support the hardware.
I’m talking about small phones. iPhone 13 mini was the last decent option when it came to small phones. Neither Google or Samsung make phones that small. The smallest phones they make are same size as a regular iPhone 13.
Now there’s only a few “obscure” manufacturers left who make small phones. “Obscure” manufacturers usually lack long term support on both the software and the hardware side to be a decent option.
As if there are equivalent and small phones with Android.
i wish fairphone filled that market gap, and throw in a headphone jack as well.
Fairphone is barely profitable with the current ones. Forget they can Risk making a niche-Product
My pixel 5 was awesome but then they started making their phones big again
Pixel 5 was the sweet spot. Then Google decided to only cater for people with enormous hands…
Depends on their needs. If they purely want a phone that fits nice in a pocket, a Z Flip will do. But if they really want the small screen, there are niche brands like Unihertz, which recently released the Jelly Star, a 3" phone with pretty decent specs.
Isn’t the Z flip the one with the screen that has the consistency and hardness of jelly beans?
Yes if you open it. You could also only use the outside screen which would give you a phone with a small screen.
That’s a bit of a painful workaround considering paying for and not using the main selling point and then having to use a phone that’s twice as thick as it should be.
That was a joke
There are a couple. Namely the Zenfone 8.
Seems to be bigger and heavier: https://www.gsmarena.com/compare.php3?idPhone1=11104&idPhone2=10893
I find that to be a good option. Unfortunately, given my current needs, the Apple Watch is the best device to meet them, so I’m stuck with the iPhone. And yes, I’ve researched the Galaxy Watch, too, but app integration and health measurements are considered lackluster compared to the AW.
that’s always the problem with android based stuff. good software is the one thing they can’t do.
I am not sure what you mean by they can’t do good software.
The fuck are you talking about? Android shits all over iOS in every regard. BRB using a spotify track as my ringtone.
It’s not impossible, it’s just a chore level difficulty. Either buy it in Apple Music or just pop the audio file into garage band and export as ringtone. iOS is way better than Android in every aspect except sideloading and expensive development and restrictions on what apps can do, but it’s already enough for your needs.
sideloading
You have already shown you are brainwashed by apple. Have you ever even seen a modern android phone that costs more than $500?
Why quote sideloading?
Lol, there are a TON. The Fairphone, pretty much every Samsung phone, Google Pixel, OnePlus 11, Motorola Razr… I could go on and on
Because sideloading is a fake concept developed by apple because they want you to think that you can only install from the app store. It is called downloading and installing. On android, you have the benefit of multiple app stores to choose from, not just one. You can also download .apk directly and install that. With iOS you are SOL unless you have one of the few jailbreakable phones, which will fall behind on security updates and become inherently insecure.
Every one of those phones even in their standard configuration smack iOS flagships 6 ways to Sunday. I know this because I have used both, android since 2007 and iOS since 2012 to 2020.
Yes, it is harder to break an iOS system, but android offers infinitely more freedom, and the UI is not bad either. If you don’t like the UI, you can simply install another launcher.
Remind me how easy it is for you to download and email yourself a PDF and then turn around and send it to everyone you know?
Don’t bother defending your Fisher Price phone. I already know how restrictive it is. I like my phone to be a computer, not a toaster.
Wut?
You’ve been able to download files since like iOS 5. You’re just being obtuse at this point.
dude… it’s 2023. Why are you fighting for a mega corporation that cares nothing for you. Just let people use what they want to use. If they are happy with their color box, then leave them being happy with their color box.
It’s a tool, nothing more.
Why would I email it to myself if I have already downloaded it?
And what world do you live in where downloading a PDF and sending it via email is something the iPhone can’t do? Are you living in 2007?
Literally just had to do that the other day for a climbing guide to a secret crag. No one with an iOS toy could get in on it.
My lawyer sent me a pdf via Gmail on my iPad, I signed it with the pencil and sent it back in five seconds. What are you talking about?
in sheer things you can do, android is clearly superior. but there are some things that apple products will do best, like integrating everything so well.
android is clearly superior.
What integrations are you talking about that android can’t do or already does WAY better? Because in terms of what comes up when I hit the “Share” button I am pretty sure nothing iCrap does even comes CLOSE.
i didn’t refer to any specific feature, but stuff like airdrop, the airtag system, sharing files between apple devices.
never actually used any apple product besides the 2nd gen ipod touch, but i’ve been told they’re pretty rad.
also i’m never gonna buy any of that overpriced, planned obsolescence bullshit. not for 800+€
airdrop
sharing files between apple devices
Uh, what about syncthing? Syncthing is literally better than anything apple has ever pumped out in the name of file sharing, because it is multi-platform and does it in essentially real time (configurable).
Airdrop is borderline pointless too, it does pretty much the same thing as any messenger worth a damn when it comes to filesharing but has a much lower limit than most of them, both in filesize and filetype.
Android phones are the ones who marched up the screen sizes and created this quagmire.
It’s probably not gonna happen but maybe they’ll fill that gap with the next iPhone SE
Sadly I think the latest rumours were that they’d use the Xr/11 chassis for the new SE. hopefully not because if they use the 12/13 mini… oh boy it’d be great
That would be unfortunate, I always saw the SE as not only the cheapest but also the smallest model but I guess it’s really just a way for them to use up old parts?
Yeah that’s exactly what it is and why it’s cheap. They have a bunch of leftover or recycled chassis that they can shove new guts into and sell for cheaper.
I’m hoping against hope that Google copies Apple and turns the Pixel 5 into a mold for the Google version of Pixel SE. I know it’s not happening, but that phone is close to perfect for me, it’s still my daily driver. Just give me a P5 SE with updated guts every two or three years.
Thing is, very few people bought the small phone. The community that wants them is very vocal, but they don’t show up in big numbers at the cash register.
They didn’t keep i around long enough to really know how they would show up. I was planning to keep my iPhone XS for as long as it would last, because the only thing I care about is having a smaller phone, and if I couldn’t have that I didn’t see a point in spending any money. However, when the 12 mini dropped, I bought it right away. When the 13 mini came out I skipped it at the time, since I only get upgrades through work every 2 years. I would have bought an iPhone 14 if there was a mini version, there wasn’t. I would have bought a 15 if there was a mini version, but there wasn’t.
Right after I finished watching the iPhone 15 event I placed my order for an iPhone 13 mini and I plan to run that thing into the ground. I am a 1 feature buyer. If they released an iPhone 15 mini Pro fro $2,000… I’d buy it today.
As someone with tiny hands and tiny fingers, I’ve been thinking long and hard about this and in the future, when my 13 mini lets out its last breath, I’ll probably just go with a regular-sized iPhone and use Voice Control to swipe right and “go back” when I use it one-handed, since reachability doesn’t address how I struggle to reach the far end of the screen with one-hand (I even have to struggle a bit with the mini). Sucks that I’ll have to use voice control as a workaround, but I mostly bought an iPhone for the Apple Watch anyway.
The solution that I have been bouncing around is to get the watch for quick use, and then a larger phone to act more as a tablet. Of course this requires me to have multiple devices, which is annoying. But here we are.
In Settings -> Accessibility-> Touch -> Assistive Touch you can configure a small button the floats on the screen (you can move it around), providing access to all sort of gestures and functions one handed.
Tried that but none of the gestures include “go back” nor “swipe right” (the closest thing is “scroll right”). Even used a custom gesture as well and that didn’t work.
Run a Pop Socket on your phone and buy a couple of these:
PopSockets Flexible Phone Mount & Stand, Phone Tripod Mount, Universal Device Mount - Black https://a.co/d/0aYtsed
It makes an S22U so much more ergonomic for smaller hands. YMMV.
I considered getting a Mini a couple years ago. I tried one. It was not small enough for the reasons you describe. I have a regular sized iPhone for that reason.
I’ve long said the mini flopped not because people don’t want small phones, but rather because it wasn’t small enough to be worth the tradeoff of a smaller screen.
Have you tried just getting bigger hands
I was about to upgrade from my 6A to a 7 Pro for that sweet sweet camera but the 6A is the absolute limit of what I can put up with re-size. I need that phone to fit into all sorts of packs and pockets and any bigger just doesn’t work for me. If I have to, I’ll just start not using a phone as much anymore.
These tech companies are pushing me to use tech less, not spend more…
If you’re not married to iOS, the Asus Zen phone 10 is small and compact. I’ve honestly considered getting one myself because I hate large phones.
The hardware is good but Asus was never known for software.
I’m old enough to know that Asus doesn’t do hardware well either.
For the most part they use stock android on their Zenfones. Their camera software, I have no experience with, but the pixel phones are typically the best quality photos out there because of Google’s machine learning and tensor chips, so any competition is going to have a hard time catching up to the pixel in terms of photo quality.
The software is actually really good but it’ll probably only get 1-2 updates.
He’s talking about a Pixel, not an iPhone
I generally buy cameras with phones attached to them that run Android. I’d be hype about the Asus if it had a bonded-carrier radio and a decent camera but I think it lacks both.
I wish I could pay for a better phone with a shitty camera myself
Luckily for you the pixel 8 is rumored to be around the same size as the pixel 6a, smaller than the pixel 7.
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I’d been using an iPod Touch 4G thru 7G, for my everything pocket computer. Apple killed the iPod Touch, so I migrated to iPhone 13 mini just over a year ago. Sorry folx, they prolly killed the 13 mini cuz of me. Any other Apple products you’d like me to latch onto, so Apple will kill it? :-(
Lol I feel like this happens to me too. You like the fit of that T-shirt? Discontinued. You like the shape of those eyeglasses? Discontinued. You want a new car that starts up without 5,000 microchips? Haha too bad. You like buying phones that you can’t use without physically hurting your hands? Cool, enjoy the new 16 inch iPhone, it’s the smallest available. You’ll never leave it in your pocket or bag, because it doesn’t fit in either one. Oh and you need a speaker adapter to hear things without earbuds. That’ll be $2,500.
Sent from my dying iPhone SE 2020.
I’ll never part with mine!
not to worry, forced obsolescence will take care of that for you.
was just doing the math yesterday to see when I was going to have to get rid of mine. I get it, I just wish they would have kept it going
I feel lurched.
Android welcomes you brothers and sisters
Android also has no small phones anymore.
There’s Asus’s ZenFones.
None of these are small
Ok, then what about these https://joyofandroid.com/best-small-screen-android-phones/
Most of them are outdated
Some of those are small, but those are from lesser known brands. My experience with those is that their long term support is often lacking. It’s also going to be difficult to find replacement parts in case the display cracks or something.
lol. That’s article is full of ancient discontinued phones.
Check the screen size/ dimensions, none of them compare.
Which android phone is as small as iPhone 13 mini?
Asus Zenfone 9
Perfect
That’s just a few mm smaller than iPhone 15
The solution is obvious. Don’t buy another goddamn iPhone.
There aren’t that many Android phones that actually are smaller.
The Zenfone 9 is one that is often brought up, but it’s not as mini as the mini. The iPhone mini has a 5.4" screen. The Zenfone is 5.9", and the normal iPhone is 6.1". So it’s closer to the modern iPhone than the mini.
Checkout GSMARENA
I can see the appeal of these little phones, but I think the batteries weren’t as good as the other counterparts… so that aspect alone made me pass them.
The screen is often the biggest driver of battery life. So with the smaller screen it can get by with having a smaller battery. At least enough to get someone through the day. My 12 mini was starting to struggle after 3 years, but mostly due to too much time on Lemmy. I was about due for a new battery according to the batter health report. I just ordered a 13 mini while I still could. So I’ll get a new battery that way, and the 13 mini is supposed to have better battery performance than the 12.
They also couldn’t fit the pro cameras. If you wanted a small phone, you had to accept shit battery and base model cameras.
Why? Why do they make so few small phones? We have the tech, and people like me really prefer it over the behemoths of the modern day. WHYYYYYYY?
EDIT: That gif came out WAY bigger than I expected. Apologies to your eyes, my friends.
As I get older, the smaller screens are more difficult for me. As for others, I don’t know.
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Even Samsungs good update policy doesn’t beat Apple, where I can easily get 7 years worth of major versions (and still minor updates afterwards).
For my needs it works out much cheaper to buy a new android phone every few years, but it is such a waste.
Depending on manufacturer you get up to 5 years of security updates, but the phone usually costs up to 800 euros less so it simply doesn’t make sense to buy the iphone.
You end up throwing a perfectly good phone in a drawer, never to be used again.
In ye olden days, it didn’t really matter that the phone was less secure. But with banking apps, you have no real choice in the matter.
I’ve traded in the last 3 or 4 phones I’ve owned when I upgraded. Why are you keeping yours?
I buy them cash, no contract, prepay.
Trade in value is usually really low, something like 20 euros max. I keep the old phone as a back-up and there’s no need to wipe it.
Usually cheaper to buy the new phone on amazon or wherever. They don’t offer trade in, but it still works out cheaper. No contract, cheaper phones.
I do too but I still trade it in so that it can be refreshed and resold. You’re complaining about e-waste and saying “but recycling doesn’t pay enough so I just let it rot.”
They won’t refresh it or resell yours either, unless it’s an expensive model.
In Europe you have e-waste recycling. I hand my electronics in there when I have too much in my drawer or donate it if it still works.
My problem with cheap phones is, that they also degrade fairly quick. At the beginning they still feel fine but after just a few months of usage I already start to feel the micro stutters again. And I hate that. I blame Android in general for that and like that iOS’ ecosystem is typically a lot more efficient in that regard.
Never had that issue, tbh. For all their flaws and limitations, the affordable motorolas usually run a relatively stock android, so that might be it.
Maybe. All the Androids I had pissed me off after 2 years latest. Since there were no small Androids at the time, I took the dive and bought an iPhone 13 Mini. I’ll see if it also pisses me off after 2 years ^^ But at least what I saw from other people who have their iPhones for far longer, I am optimistic.
CarPlay works much more fluent than Android Auto. That alone already made the switch worthwhile. Oh and having a unified backup solution via iTunes is really nice. While many Androids cannot be backed up at all unless you root them (which I don’t want).
I’ve only ever used Androids, all my phones have been at least 4 or 5 years with me, I’ve also never bought a flagship model. Honestly, at first having a smart phone for so long aged pretty fast, for the speed of software and hardware upgrades was frantic. But nowadays, I’ve had my current phone for 5 years and just now I’m considering an upgrade, just because I’m bored with it and want a phone with more storage space and a nicer camera. But otherwise the phone is still solid and functional, just had a software update a few months ago. I honestly hate that most Apple fans like to compare Apple with Chinese shovelware. But there are pretty good solid Android phones if you shop around.
The only worthy ones I found were Samsung and Pixel. At least in regards to update duration. I don’t like Samsung’s customizations though. So I effectively end up with Pixel. Which would be fine… but that doesn’t solve my initial problem of wanting a “small” SmartPhone. At least not at the time I bought the iPhone Mini.
Since Apple buried the Mini series, this might very well mean this is not only my first, but also my last iPhone again. Time will tell.
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The A series from Samsung starts at €120 or so, which is pretty cheap. But also low-end specs.
iPhone 15 is not that much bigger compared to S10e, so if you want a small phone like iPhone 13 mini you’re out of luck.
Unfortunately it hasn’t received a security update since March and Samsung have put it as EOL. Still a great phone but it’s not a small phone, it’s about the same size as the S23, it was just small compared to the S10 and S20 which were stupidly big.
At this point, get an S23 or a normal iPhone if the S10e was a suitable size.
Sent from my Galaxy S10e.
I only want a phone that cannot double as a scutum is that too much to ask
A what?
I had to look it up. A scutum is a type of Roman shield.
Huh, I searched it up and got an insect.
scutum
skyoo͞′təm
noun-
A scute.
-
A shield-shaped dorsal sclerite or plate of certain insects and arachnids.
-
An oblong shield made of boards or wickerwork covered with leather, with sometimes an iron rim; carried chiefly by the heavy-armed infantry of the Roman army.
I’m assuming the third definition is the one we’re after. But it could be an alligator scute, ya never know. (https://animals.howstuffworks.com/reptiles/alligator.htm). And having looked at scutes, I think a phone shaped like that would be all kinds of amusing!
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This is the best summary I could come up with:
That marks the end of life for arguably the best premium small phone designed for one-handed use.
Market research has consistently shown that most users want bigger screens and batteries, which are incompatible with a smaller phone.
Supply chain analysts and journalists with inside knowledge have generally agreed that Apple could update the iPhone SE as soon as next year—but most rumors have suggested that it would go bigger, not smaller.
Many op-eds have been written at tech sites (including this one, by me) saying it’s important for Apple to offer a one-handed phone size, even if it’s less popular than the bigger models.
That said, supporting an additional size adds extra supply chain and production overhead—and it may not be the most financially prudent decision for Apple if it’s confident that it can covert mini owners to join the majority and opt for larger phones instead.
Chances are that axing the iPhone 13 mini won’t do much to hurt Apple’s earnings, but it leaves a minority of consumers without an important option, and I still think that’s bad news.
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