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Comment by rvshchwl | Hacker News Reader

These phones are getting larger each release, and it's the opposite of the trend I prefer now. I really am starting to miss the SE phone sizes and not feeling like I'm carrying a literal brick in my pocket wherever I go now. I don't think Apple is cutting back on the phone size either when their Fold comes out, and we're slowly just moving towards the point where a phone is just a mini tablet.

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Are they? The Pixel 11 Pro and regular screens are only a tenth of an inch larger than the 3 year old Pixel 8s. The screen sizes have largely stabilized IMO with people who want any larger screens being pushed into the folding phone category. I get it's larger than the mid 2010s normal but they're not really getting much larger in the last couple years.

The Pixel 9-11 Pros are all smaller than the Pixel 6-8 Pros. "Pro" initially meant "larger and better" but more recently just "better" and if you want a huge phone you buy the Pro XL.

I was caught by surprise on this. I have P8Pro and while its fine, I was just kind of curious about how much of an upgrade it would be to the 11Pro, especially since I haven't really given the last two years releases any attention.

But the P11 Pro is now 6.3" and the P8 Pro was 6.7" meaning you have to go up to the P11 Pro XL (for another $200) for the same size. Well technically its 6.8" vs 6.7 but I feel this is just a form of shrinkflation and enshittification. Literally no other improvements on the XL as far as I can tell from the specs, not even a larger battery.

While I certainly don't need a bigger phone, I would be pissed if I just hit the buy button and what came out of the box was half an inch smaller.

On the flip side, losing the half inch was the only reason I updated from the P8P to the P10P. Everything else about the P8P was adequate.

Portability is a feature. 6.7" have are so big and heavy they are annoying to carry on many pants or while doing many physical activities.

I find my 6.1" Pixel 6a way too big already. I really loved the size of the Samsung Galaxy S6 that preceded it, I think it was the sweet spot at 5.1", large enough to read text, navigate on a map or watch a video while still being pocketable and light.

We don't even need to reverse the trend! Android is flexible, so it wouldn't be a big ask for one of the many models to be smaller! Each pixel is larger than the last. I was a Pixel 4 holdout until a few months ago when they stopped supporting tap-to-pay. The 10 is a monster, and the trend is as you say.

There are small Android phones, they just aren’t very premium: https://www.techeblog.com/bluefox-nx1-mini-iphone-hands-on-r...

Also weight. While the 11 Pro Fold apparently is a bit lighter than it’s predecessor, it’s still 239 grams. I miss the days of the 113g SE.

I was legitimately excited to get an iPhone Mini. Every new phone feels like a downgrade. I don't care if the phone is faster if it's an annoyance to carry, or hold in one hand.

iPhone 13 mini -- the last mini is still supported, will be supported by iOS27, and, given continuation of trends, will be supported by iOS28. That gives you a three year runway. They are plentiful on eBay and FB marketplace, and for $79 apple will replace the battery for you with a new one.

To be clear, this is slightly smaller than the pixel 10 by ~1mm in each direction, but they are still too big.

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