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What I dislike about phones these days is notches in the screen and my hands cramping up from the huge screen size combined with how slim the device is.
I just want to be able to hold my phone in one hand and control it that way like I could do with an iphone 4s, though would prefer an android phone.
Though I’ve become a fan of DivestOS recently because they enable you to run Google Services (well, MicroG) as a user app, so it doesn’t have system permissions. Makes a good stepping stone to help my friends and family move away from Google.
Check out www.gsmarena.com and www.phonearena.com to find phones that meet your requirements. Their search tools are impressive. You can filter by all sorts of attributes.
Just looked, their smallest phone (Zenphone 9,if my search is worth anything) is slightly larger than a Pixel 5, (to be fair it’s narrower and thinner, which can make a big difference, especially being narrower).
Granted the Pixel is 2 years older, but I’d bet that running Lineage very few people would know. I run a 2017 phone that with Lineage is faster than any phone in my circle. It’s rather shocking to see the difference a leaner OS combined with some optimization can make (some kernel tweaks make it responsive while improving battery life over stock settings).
The Pixel is just under half the price of the Z9.
I keep trying to find a better phone than the Pixel, (smaller, more battery, more ram, something), but it’s really hard to beat. Then again, my requirements aren’t everyone’s: camera just has to work, I prefer plastic over “nice” materials, don’t need SD card, etc.
If I could run Android on iPhone hardware, an iPhone 6 would be awesome.
Edit: wow the 13 mini is smaller than the six. Even better!
The problem with this is that everyone has different hands. Personally, large phones sit in my hand better. The phone I felt the most comfortable holding was a note 20 ultra. I have really long fingers though, so it isn’t for everyone, but I really don’t want to see all phones go back to being small. They do need some small varieties though.
The problem I have is not so much how well they sit in my hand, but if I can reach everything on screen with one hand without having to shift the phone around or resting it somewhere. I have huge, way above average pianist hands (they make Xbox controllers look small). I can’t do it higher than ~6.5 inches, and it’s way easier under 6.2.
I believe there is an app that helps with that. From what I remember you could do some gesture to get a cursor in the top part of the screen so you could press that.
Even then, the large phones are so flat thin, human fingers can’t bend at those angles easily. Thick cases generally help with that, but if the phone were a normal size, it would be easier to hold, could have a larger battery, and not need a case.
Also, since the manufacturers are all anti-bezel now, there’s no safe place to set one’s fingers without delicately holding the phone by both sides or side+back in some balancing act. Razr 5G 2020 was a neat combo, pretty thin borders, (but a notch), but the traditional old Razr bump at the bottom for nostalgia, which gave the phone a chin one could easily grab onto without fear of hitting touch buttons.
These companies quest for a thin sheet of touchscreen as the entire device and completely discard the fact that human hands have to interact with the device.
What I dislike is the constant stripping of features lately - between OEMs stripping stuff like SD card support, and box contents like ear buds and wallwarts; and Google stripping core features like the ability to cat system logs… It’s getting fucking dumb.
My earbuds were replaced before the end of my phone’s life. Also, my kids who just got phones for the first time now need to also shell out money for a wall wart and ear buds? Considering there seems to be $0.00 savings passed on to us from all the shit they’ve cut out, it’s a bit ridiculous.
What I dislike about phones these days is notches in the screen and my hands cramping up from the huge screen size combined with how slim the device is.
I just want to be able to hold my phone in one hand and control it that way like I could do with an iphone 4s, though would prefer an android phone.
You should check out the Sony lineup. They still do phones without notches and the size is pretty comfortable for one hand usage.
How’s the ROM support on them?
Pretty good actually, though about as much support for the smaller phones as they represent in market share.
https://wiki.lineageos.org/devices/#sony
Though I’ve become a fan of DivestOS recently because they enable you to run Google Services (well, MicroG) as a user app, so it doesn’t have system permissions. Makes a good stepping stone to help my friends and family move away from Google.
Check out www.gsmarena.com and www.phonearena.com to find phones that meet your requirements. Their search tools are impressive. You can filter by all sorts of attributes.
SD cards and wired headphones too if that’s your thing
Take a look at the Asus zenfone 10, I’ve got me eye on that when this 6t finally gives up the first
At the moment asus really is the last noteworthy manufacturer of phones that can be considered as small and even there were rumours they might stop…
Makes me glad I bought my iPhone 13 mini when I did. It’s the perfect size but sadly also the last of its kind.
Just looked, their smallest phone (Zenphone 9,if my search is worth anything) is slightly larger than a Pixel 5, (to be fair it’s narrower and thinner, which can make a big difference, especially being narrower).
Granted the Pixel is 2 years older, but I’d bet that running Lineage very few people would know. I run a 2017 phone that with Lineage is faster than any phone in my circle. It’s rather shocking to see the difference a leaner OS combined with some optimization can make (some kernel tweaks make it responsive while improving battery life over stock settings).
The Pixel is just under half the price of the Z9.
I keep trying to find a better phone than the Pixel, (smaller, more battery, more ram, something), but it’s really hard to beat. Then again, my requirements aren’t everyone’s: camera just has to work, I prefer plastic over “nice” materials, don’t need SD card, etc.
If I could run Android on iPhone hardware, an iPhone 6 would be awesome. Edit: wow the 13 mini is smaller than the six. Even better!
Yep. I’ve been on iPhone for years and the tininess of the mini just sealed the deal for the next 3-5 years (or however long it‘ll last)
The problem with this is that everyone has different hands. Personally, large phones sit in my hand better. The phone I felt the most comfortable holding was a note 20 ultra. I have really long fingers though, so it isn’t for everyone, but I really don’t want to see all phones go back to being small. They do need some small varieties though.
The problem I have is not so much how well they sit in my hand, but if I can reach everything on screen with one hand without having to shift the phone around or resting it somewhere. I have huge, way above average pianist hands (they make Xbox controllers look small). I can’t do it higher than ~6.5 inches, and it’s way easier under 6.2.
I believe there is an app that helps with that. From what I remember you could do some gesture to get a cursor in the top part of the screen so you could press that.
Even then, the large phones are so flat thin, human fingers can’t bend at those angles easily. Thick cases generally help with that, but if the phone were a normal size, it would be easier to hold, could have a larger battery, and not need a case.
Also, since the manufacturers are all anti-bezel now, there’s no safe place to set one’s fingers without delicately holding the phone by both sides or side+back in some balancing act. Razr 5G 2020 was a neat combo, pretty thin borders, (but a notch), but the traditional old Razr bump at the bottom for nostalgia, which gave the phone a chin one could easily grab onto without fear of hitting touch buttons.
These companies quest for a thin sheet of touchscreen as the entire device and completely discard the fact that human hands have to interact with the device.
You are right. How could I forget about that.
I do wish I could have a phone that is comfortable but not unusable like those really tiny ones.
What I dislike is the constant stripping of features lately - between OEMs stripping stuff like SD card support, and box contents like ear buds and wallwarts; and Google stripping core features like the ability to cat system logs… It’s getting fucking dumb.
It doesn’t make sense to me to include earbuds and chargers in every box. That’s wasteful, and everybody ends up of drawers full of unused shit.
My earbuds were replaced before the end of my phone’s life. Also, my kids who just got phones for the first time now need to also shell out money for a wall wart and ear buds? Considering there seems to be $0.00 savings passed on to us from all the shit they’ve cut out, it’s a bit ridiculous.
Maybe there should be a voucher for free earbuds and charger, but I think it’s a waste for most people.