Ask HN: Why there are no Android mini phones?

Re:Ask HN: Why there are no Android mini phones? by TrianguloY on Saturday November 20, 2021 @09:38AM (#29288432)

As other users on the thread I also needed to change phone recently (the old one was already 5 years old and was begging for a replacement). I wanted an Android with a headphones Jack connector, and a "you can reach all the screen comfortably with you thumb while using one hand" size, nothing else (not even camera, I simply don't use it other than the occasional qr reading). All "good" results are from even more than 5 year old phones and obsolete versions, and no sign to change unfortunately.

In the end I simply searched for the narrowest possible, and ended with the Xperia 10 III. 68mm wide, Android 11 from 2021, and decently fast. It's looong however (21:9 screen) but very usable with one hand because you can grab it without issue.

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Re:Ask HN: Why there are no Android mini phones? by vanilla_nut on Saturday November 20, 2021 @10:25AM (#29288870)

I’ve looked at the Xperia 10 III (boy, that name) a bit. I just don’t understand the screen choice. What the hell is the point of a super long screen like that? If it was half the height I would be more than happy. Extra height just means it’ll stick out of the top of my pants pocket!

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Re:Ask HN: Why there are no Android mini phones? by TrianguloY on Saturday November 20, 2021 @11:07AM (#29289256)

Films. That's the main selling point of this device. You can watch films without any black bars, sad I'm not a movie person.

Oh, and better of all: it has absolutely no notch! All the screen for video!

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Re:Ask HN: Why there are no Android mini phones? by Mogzol on Saturday November 20, 2021 @11:49AM (#29289665)

I recently bought a ZenFone 8 specifically for its size, it's slightly shorter than the Xperia 10 III, and the same width. Very easy to use with one hand. I really like it, it has a headphone jack, decent enough cameras, a 120hz screen, and a snapdragon 888, so it's basically as powerful as any other current android flagship, just smaller.

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Re:Ask HN: Why there are no Android mini phones? by TrianguloY on Saturday November 20, 2021 @12:06PM (#29289820)

Twice the price too, but very good alternative indeed. It does have a camera hole (which I wanted to avoid) and less battery, but the smaller height may be worth it.

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Re:Ask HN: Why there are no Android mini phones? by hughmcc on Saturday November 20, 2021 @09:49AM (#29288538)

You touched on a possible answer to this question. Android phones tend to be taller and narrower than iPhones, so there’s less need for a special mini device. Also, as an iPhone user I find Android is better optimised for large screens (you can swipe in from either edge to return, buttons are lower on the screen etc.)

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Re:Ask HN: Why there are no Android mini phones? by TrianguloY on Saturday November 20, 2021 @11:12AM (#29289302)

I don't know, these long devices are less common, or so I think, although it's true that usually phones are slightly taller than 16:9. I still prefer a 16:9 phone though, but as I said those phones are basically tablets nowadays.

(And yes, I enabled the gestures to try and I must say that swiping from the right edge to go back and from the bottom to go home is comfortable and you get used to it pretty quickly)

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Re:Ask HN: Why there are no Android mini phones? by alserio on Saturday November 20, 2021 @11:50AM (#29289671)

I've similar requirements and I've seen the experia 10 III. Last time I've looked at it, it had uninstallable bloatware like facebook and the facebook services preloaded on it. I don't think it is acceptable. Has this changed? I'm still looking for a decent phone.

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Re:Ask HN: Why there are no Android mini phones? by TrianguloY on Saturday November 20, 2021 @12:15PM (#29289895)

Facebook is preinstalled, yes, although you can disable it (and from adb maybe even uninstall it completely). As for "Facebook services"...

I searched, and there are in fact 4 services! They are apparently disabled too, but I'm going to remove them from adb in any case, thanks!

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Re:Ask HN: Why there are no Android mini phones? by alserio on Saturday November 20, 2021 @04:35PM (#29292062)

I've heard that now you cannot really uninstall anything from adb (at least without root), only disable something for the current user

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