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Comment by tannhaeuser | Hacker News Reader

I considered buying a Fairphone last year or the year before, but man was it a brick, it calls into question the whole concept of a mobile device! Why is it that only Apple can produce a reasonably-sized phone, with all Android phones (last I checked) being phablet-sized and not fitting comfortably into a back pocket? Is it in memory of SJ's iconic gesture of letting it slide into the pocket, or because Android phones are basically ad consumption devices needing as much screen real estate to even see any content at all between the ads?

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> all Android phones (last I checked) being phablet-sized

Major manufacturers, Apple included, keep making phones bigger; it's frustrating. However, I think it's a bit unfair to say that, for instance, the Pixel A-series (which I've used for years) is "phablet sized".

The current flagship iPhones are 6.7" (iPhone 15 Pro Max, $1199) and 6.1" (iPhone 15 Pro, $999). The current flagship Pixel phones are 6.3" (Pixel 7, $599) and 6.1" (Pixel 7a, $499).

> Android phones are basically ad consumption devices

It's possible that this is a fair criticism of some Android devices, but with YouTube Vanced/ReVanced and Firefox with AdBlock Plus, I haven't seen an obtrusive ad on my phone in years.

There are many things iPhones do better than Android devices, but these two criticisms are basically nonsense.

Edit: Apple also has a very small phone in the iPhone SE, but they're not continuing to produce those (per latest reports, anyway) so it doesn't strike me as a fair comparison. If we include older generations of products, there are tons of small Android phones.

I don't think diagonal screensize is the most fair metric here... bezels have gotten much, much, much smaller.

Compared to an iPhone 4, which I think is a lot of people's idea of a "normal" sized phone, a Pixel 6A 32% longer, and 22% wider. It's also 30% heavier.

Oh, absolutely. I'm all for building smaller phones. If I could get a Pixel 3a new today, I absolutely would be using that.

I'm just saying that GP is being a bit disingenuous in setting this trend at the feet of Google or manufacturers of Android phones when Apple, too, has been increasing the size of their phones and cutting smaller products.

The issue is the duopoly itself.

1st-gen SE was the perfect phone imho

the size was just right, althou bezel could be smaller

headphone jack !!1

astonishingly robust; had mine for 5y, dropped it at least once a week, children ... never broke anything

I have no idea, but this is the only group I hear talking about the issue with serious intentions to address it:

https://smallandroidphone.com/

In case you don't read to the end of that page...

Extrapolating from past models, the Pixel 10 will be roughly the size of California

In the spirit of sporting rivalry, I imagine I see far fewer ads on my Android than an iPhone user - GrapheneOS+Firefox+UBlock Origin means no ads in OS, no ads on the web. I don't remember the last time I saw an ad on my phone...

Not even Apple sells reasonably-sized phones anymore, I'm hoping my Mini 13 will last until they start making them again but there's no guarantee they ever will.

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