Apple said the mini iPhones underperformed, but they were not some sort of commercial failure. They sold millions of units. Numbers most Android OEMs could only dream of for a single flagship model. Current day Apple is all about optimizing and determined that still wasn't enough, and I imagine the manufacturing for small, specialized display panels certainly took a chunk out of those margins, so Apple decided to pull the plug.

Myself and the people who said we wanted a smaller phone may be a vocal minority but we did buy the small phone when we were offered it. After I used the 12 mini for 2 years, I bought a 14 Pro since no mini was offered in the 14 generation, but I returned it a week later cause it was too big/heavy and bought a 13 mini. These days I'm using a 16 Pro since no mini is offered and the titanium did help a lot with the weight issue, but if they brought back mini phones I'd happily sacrifice the camera for a reasonably sized screen.

> yet smaller phones have an extremely hard time actually selling enough units to justify making more of them

I don't buy this. The iPhone 13 Mini all by itself sold 6 million units in a year. That's about half the rate of Google's entire Pixel lineup. The market is small, yeah, but it definitely exists. I think a company could quietly make a high quality, straightforward, small Android device with maybe every-other-year hardware updates, and run away with a whole corner of the market all to itself.

The problem is for many years now the smallest phone available has been getting larger and larger. This has lead small phone enthusiasts to cling to their old phones as long as they can stand it until they are forced to step to a larger model.

Bigger phones encourage more user engagement and more screen space to show ads.

Smaller phones are used by people who use it less.

I have only anecdotal data, pretty sure google has the analytics to find that out.

I'm exactly that person. Always running an older device and lamenting the lack of small devices. Unfortunately, the mainstream wants big devices, so we all get big devices.

I recently had to replace my Pixel 7 Pro and went with the Galaxy S25. My hands are much larger than average and it is amazing how unweildy I find the Pixel 7 Pro is in comparison to the S25 even though the size difference doesn't seem that big when compared side to side. Makes me wonder how people with normal sized hands deal with the massive phones.

Who's actually making 5.5" phones to prove that though apart from the iphone 13 mini? These chinese phones often tend to be 4" instead of 5.5" and often come with with massive downsides like awful cameras or being very thick

Probably. I don't expect the market to cater to me when I don't cater to it. The only reason I ditched my iPhone 5 in 2019 was the carrier entirely stopped service for it. I don't like my new 12 mini as much.

Nobody is saying they aren't the least popular, but there are certainly many who would still buy them.

They probably figure if they stop making them then most people will reluctantly move to a bigger model.

I don't see what I feel is the obligatory "I want a small Android phone!" post here yet: https://smallandroidphone.com/

Ultra principled users rarely if ever buy new devices or have predictable purchasing patterns in almost any way. Trying to appease this market is mostly a fools game, as they have learned.

It’s a HN meme at this point. For as long as I can remember, almost every single phone announcement on this site inevitably gets a bunch of comments about how it’s too big and how a smaller version would sell like hotcakes. You would think that phone manufacturers would have figured this out by now, but what do they know.

I have this experience… until I turn it on and start to try and type stuff on the tiny keyboard or watch stuff on it again. Then I realise I’m glad I moved up a little

My 4a didn't have the battery issue due to GrapheneOS, however, it the screen died recently (twice), so I got a pixel 9 with GrapheneOS. But yeah, it is uncomfortable to use the phone with one hand - I miss the small sized 4a.

On the other hand, it would be fun to explore these on device SLMs on a more capable phone with extra ram/storage.

twins!

I miss it so much. I bought a replacement one after it got cracked, only to have the battery AND Sim get nerfed a month later. Putting a custom ROM seemed to work for a while, and then it just got too unstable with sim card turning off randomly and silently. So now it sits in a drawer and used as a kids camera and I am so jealous of them. My google pixel 8 is bigger, but somehow nowhere needs as performant for my needs (camera + voice calls is basically it).

I heard about this but for some reason my 4a was never affected. Still works great and I still use it daily.

Oh man, I'm still using my 4a and am quite afraid of what I'll do once it goes caput. There's essentially no real replacement. The S23/24 are kinda okay, but the custom ROM support is meh. Pixels are unbeatable in that regard... It's a shame

I just went from a Z Fold 5 to a Z Fold 7 and I hate it for this exact reason.

Z Fold 6 and earlier were slim, one handed use phones when folded, small tablet when opened.

Now it's just a regular phone, and a medium tablet when I open it.

First phone I've ever regretted upgrading to.

I'd hoped others would copy/iterate the Flip form factor. A friend has one and it does feel great. I just don't get along with the Samsung software suite.

Did you get a chance to try the original Pixel Fold? Definitely not small like an iPhone 13 mini, but smaller than contemporary devices by a good bit!

That phone had the worst camera I've ever used. I loved having it because it was XDA custom ROM-friendly, but good lord, that camera....

Best phone I've ever owned and it's not close. Every phone since then has been a compromise, to the point that (in a sunk cost fallacy kind of way) I've just quit caring about phones and just buy whatever the cheapest available unlocked device is. I run them into the ground (way past the end-of-service date) because I know the next one is going to be worse.

The Nexus 4 camera was rubbish and the GPS was rubbish. It could barely ever get a decent lock meaning navigating with it was a awful. I was so glad to replace that phone.

I loved my nexus 4! It's a pity that I at one point could not use it anymore because the updates made it unusable slow.

s25 is super manageable, it's the most comfy phone I've had since ever.

It's not really comparable because the Nexus 7 has a 16:10 screen. Looking just at the size in inches without the aspect ratio is really only part of the picture. The Nexus 7 is like twice the width of a phone.

Dont worry theyll all be pushing 8 now that the barrier has been broken.

Still using mine on the stock rom. Mine was luckily not effected by the battery problems. Such a good phone.

> a spare sitting on a shelf

Does that work for batteries? I feel like unused batteries tend to become unusable batteries.

Replying to my own comment as I can no longer edit. To clarify, I have a spare Pixel 5 sitting on the shelf. Was inexpensive to purchase a backup a few years ago off of a local classifieds site, still new in box.

Agreed on battery. I started with a 6a and only ever had the fingerprint in the front. I thought it's well designed and works well (as long as I stick to office job activities.. as soon as you start doing handy works it has its issues.. same for Px7).

You just blew my mind on the pixel 3 with the alternative way to open the pulldown menu.

I agree that I prefer the fingerprint sensor on the back. Very convenient and natural for the pocket grab and unlock maneuver.

i would still use my px5 if it were not for 2 stupid problem: The promixity sensor does not work, thus the phone still think it's in pocket and won't wake the screen. Another problem is my power button has been missing.

I love my 13 mini but its battery is just too anemic. Slapping a MagSafe battery on it defeats the purpose of having a small phone. My 16 Pro lasts me all day, but I absolutely hate using it, as I don't do very much with my phone in the first place. I feel stuck.

I dont really buy the issue with "there's no market" just look at the pc market: isnt there are market for convertibles, laptops, tablet+keyboard, different OS, all sorts of sizes... how different is the android phone ecosystem?

Still does everything that I want it to and the photos are still excellent. I don't think I'm missing much.

I just hope that all the newer body models I purchase have bigger hands.

"Just buy bigger pants" is the 2025 version of "you're holding it wrong"?

That doesn't solve the weight problem.