This. While I’m still using the mini form factor—incidentally, as are most of my friends—I long for a better camera.

They also made the displays have some weird scaling factor that caused an annoying bloom in dark mode. Took me a while to realize why it felt off, even though the form factor was right up my alley.

I think Apple discontinued the Mini line because it's a bit like new software features makes the code harder to maintain over time. Every time Apple introduces a new generation of iPhones, they'd have to figure out how to make the upgrades fit in a much smaller chassis.

Either all phone companies are stupid and leave money on the table, or nobody buys small phones.

a bit further down from the main stream, there are some fringe chinese manufacturers like unihertz doing small phones..

[dead]

> I wonder if there isn't a market for budget Androids in this range.

I think there is: https://smallandroidphone.com/ This was started up by the people behind Pebble (including its re-launch this year). I actually emailed them a while back asking for a status update. They told me there are literally no high quality screens of an appropriate size available to OEMs. They would have to design & spin up their own display hardware, which is where things change from "expensive" to "infeasible." If there was an existing, high quality 4.5~5" screen, I think it'd be an easy slam dunk. But there apparently is not...

Too bad. I just hold out hope Apple will try the Mini again before my 13 dies.

> This is something that really surprised me to realise a couple of years ago - that unless they work in tech, most households (I don't know if most isn't an exaggeration, but a large proportion) don't have a laptop or desktop between them now.

This is noticeable when you interact with consumer software where the mobile app is clearly the preferred or only way to perform some action.

> that unless they work in tech, most households (I don't know if most isn't an exaggeration, but a large proportion) don't have a laptop or desktop between them now.

They have been told since 10 years that phones are "computers" [1]. Some even believe this.

[1] from this point of view, a washing machine or a fridge are also "computers".

  This is something that really surprised me to realise a couple of years ago - that unless they work in tech, most households (I don't know if most isn't an exaggeration, but a large proportion) don't have a laptop or desktop between them now.

Also, I've been in poorer countries where the vast majority of the population rely on their phones to work. My real estate agent only used her phone for work including marketing herself, talking to clients on chat apps, and even doing the lease contract. Their phone is literally how they make a living.

As an oldtimer (Gen-X), I can't even with that mode of use. My thumb (is that what you use?) cramps up when trying to do that even a little.. I guess 30+ years of typing will do that.. The best I've done one-handed is type in my pin and launch an app and click an icon or two.

As it is, I hold my S21 with left hand, type with index finger of right - it's abysmal in terms of performance, but it's all I got.. landscape with both thumbs is usually worse because of such little lookahead / lookbehind - I can barely read the line I'm typing on - and fat thumbs. My kids do it all the time, but, well, their little girlish fingers (they are female) seem to manage it and they're quite quick at it.

My favorite phone (at least in terms of idea, execution wasn't perfect) was the Motorola Photon Q - full-size with slide-out keyboard. At least I could somewhat type quickly even if the keyboard wasn't great. Alas, 2012..

With a newish phone? I can probably type 10-20x as fast on my MS Natural keyboard (only one I can use for more than 30-40 minutes without RSI getting bad).. No wonder I don't "live on my phone" - I use it when necessary, and prefer my 40"+ 4K screen + real keyboard.

They want a bigger screen because they don't have a laptop.

> save the money they would have spent replacing it (plus the money they would have paid extra because larger is more expensive) to buy a cheap laptop or something

The kind of people who want an iPhone are not going to settle for a Cheap Laptop. A MacBook Air can only really be had new for around $800 nowadays and those big iPhones are only like $599 right now (if iPhone 16e).

I buy larger phones, and I don't drop them...so no money saved/lost there.

I have big hands, and can use my 16 Pro Max one handed no problem with minimal shifting of the device in my hands. I've never dropped it during one handed use on the go either.

Smaller devices are almost impossible for me to type on/be precise with touches because of this.

The majority of people buying an iPhone SE is because it is relatively cheap not because it is small.

Foldables are weird at the moment, they are bulky and the aspect ratio (because it's a square) means that the viewable screen is often comparable to the S24 for example.

As a member of the female class, I wish my clothes had pockets!