I'm going to try out the new Digital Wellbeing stuff in Android Pie, which lets me set restrictions on app use. But it feels like a smaller phone is a much better solution, as it doesn't have any compromise in terms of portability - what's the point of having a big screen if I'm just going to disable the things that it's good at?
It would be nice if Apple or Google or anyone else could commit to serving the small phone market.
I kind of care about the design. It's elegant-- I like the flat camera, the chamfered edges and the brick-y form (which I appreciate they brought back with the new iPad Pro).
What I care most about though is the headphone jack. This is why I still keep mine around in spite of having another phone-- to listen to music.
EDIT: The fact that it's cheaper, so I could get more memory for the same price as a bigger model also contributes to it still sticking around primarily for music, but also with some games.
It's like when they started making laptop screen reflective. All my non-tech relatives were saying: "wow that screen is super nice" while I was thinking: "holy crap, the matte screen is disappearing, how I am going to work?"
they want the inexpensive option to not really fill a specific niche, they want it to be a little uncomfortable, that you're already making compromises so you'll pay a grand for the fancy one instead.
What i'm trying to say is, making a smaller option would be cheaper. That would cannibalize high end sales. From the seller's point of view, you want the best alternative to compromise all of your desires, so it's not that big of a deal to just upgrade. something inherently small violates that.
HNers can identify the tradeoffs. Apple probably understands the tradeoffs better though. Apple exploits them. (I say this as a loyal iphone owner.)
However, in a situation where you have ambient light from everywhere, like an open office with many windows, glossy screens are insanely distracting. I much prefer the matte screens for that. Yes things on the screen can be harder to read, but way better compared to the "looking into a mirror" effect of a glossy screen.
My luggable laptop for real work away from home or in equipment rooms has a 2010 4:3 matt screen
My portable laptop for quick emails while moving and occasional corporate stuff is a 13" gloss screen mac, but when it comes to productive work give me a good OS on a good laptop any day.
Recently got a 14” Zenbook for my daughter. Lovely machine honestly, but the screen ratio is annoying.
Having a large screen is also good for watching Netflix and YouTube. For many people, the phone has almost completely replaced the TV. I guess that explains why the screens keep getting bigger.
It is not "elegant" by any stretch of the imagination, but it is extremely small. Like you, I want something that is very small in my pocket and not distracting me from real life.
I also happen to think small screens feel more elegant. The promise of technology has always been to amplify humans without detracting from the important parts of life. Big screen phones feel ideologically wrong to me in that people use them as a replacement for life.