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Whether you want everything but the kitchen sink or top-tier performance for a midtier price, you’ve got options.
What if I want a phone that fits in my front pocket while riding a bike? What are my options then?
Big pockets.
I always keep my phone in my front pocket and have never had a problem biking. Are you actively buying pants with tiny pockets? I only buy second hand clothes and have a few “female pants” with pockets that don’t fully fit huge phones and even with them it’s not a problem.
Could be a woman. I just assume their sports gear suffers the same problem as most of their normal clothes: small, fake, or non-existant pockets.
Get a flip phone.
The galaxy Z flip, fold, pixel fold, razr plus, find flip, or magic v?
I was considering it, but a flip phone can’t run Signal and Threema, which have replaced SMS and calling in my friend group.
So currently I use a Unihertz Atom, which is actually perfect for me. When it kicks the bucket, I’ll replace it with a Jelly Star.
Zenfone is pretty small and had tons of features
Zenfone is pretty small
Why do people keep saying that? The Zenfone 10 is less than 3mm different from the Samsung Galaxy S23 and the iphone 15 in length and width.
Because it’s true…
It’s a touch smaller than the Galaxy S5, and significantly narrower, which is more important for typing one handed.
Being smaller than a typical 10 year old smartphone is pretty damn compact for a modern smartphone.
If you’re expecting to go back to the days of the iPhone 3GS or something, then you’re in a minority of a minority
People keep saying those phones aren’t small without saying what size or current phone is small enough. The fact the base galaxy phone has shrunk from 6.2-6.3 inches is impressive enough IMO.
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There are more small phones than big phones. I want an iPad mini-sized phone and there’s virtually 0 options.
There are more small phones than big phones.
Name three phones with Android 12+ and <130mm length, then.
(Please?)
Name one modern phone >= the size of the legendary Sony Z Ultra.
I love how this articles doesn’t even discuss phone size and headphone jacks, which are my 2 prerequisites before I even consider a phone.
I’m convinced that tech reviewers live on a different planet than us. They’re always fretting over trivial things that would be nice to have but far from dealbreakers for the average person and then ignore or barely mention the stuff a regular user would need
People talking about phones on Lemmy don’t represent the average user though. Most people just don’t care about headphone jacks, SD cards, etc. These complaints are made nearly exclusively by enthusiasts who don’t make up enough of the potential sales to be pandered to.
I’m not saying it’s wrong to complain btw.
It absolutely discusses phone size - in some detail both in the intro and as part of the reviews.
Yeah. Unfortunately there’s not much to chose from. They’re all huge glass slabs without ports nowadays.
I’ve got a Pixel 6 Pro and if Google keeps providing current updates for it, I can see myself using it for three more years. It’s just a solid piece of tech.
And you can always go Lineage/DivestOS/Graphene after that and it’ll run faster than new.
If you enable developer options and then disable animations, your phone will feel 1000% faster on any OS.
I have a 6a and can’t wait to get rid of it. The cellular connections drops often and doesn’t reconnect without rebooting the phone, the GPS takes forerto figure out where I am making it very frustrating to use for navigation, and the fingerprint sensor doesn’t work great in the dark. Might give the s23 a shot next.
The “a” models are a different animal. We tested it when my wife wanted a “small” phone and she hated it. She has the S23 and loves it. Even then, my Pixel 6 Pro feels snappier, more feature rich, and takes significantly better pictures than her S23.
PS: We’re both on Google Fi and neither of us have connectivity issues. I’m fact, I often have better coverage on the 6 Pro than she does on her S23. That might have to do with the phone size though. (Bigger phone means larger antenna)
Thanks for this additional info. The “smallness” was something I was after with this phone, as well, but it definitely doesn’t feel as good in my hand as the s23. The pixel pro versions have some intriguing features, but they’re just too big for my liking.
I think you’ll like the S23. I haven’t heard a single complaint from my wife about hers.
Pixel 7 pro here and it’s a total piece of shit. Garbage cell connection on tmo and spectrum. Random Bluetooth issues. Battery that can’t last even close to a full day and incredibly slow charging speed. Only decent feature is the camera/photo software.
Unfortunately not many options left. Oneplus is dead to me after they removed wireless charging. Asus is just dead. Samsung ruined otherwise great hardware with worst software of any other Android phone. I never considered other phones seriously, but I’m open to suggestions.
I just need a reliable phone with wireless charging and decent camera.
I’ve never had any connection issues with the 6 Pro, but it could be because I’m on Google Fi. Also, the battery on my phone lasts the entire day. I use a high watt charger so I don’t know how the charge speed would compare if I used a 2a charger.
It’s a shame that the 7 Pro isn’t up to par.
My experience with the 7P is the opposite.
Also on Fi, but that is just T-Mobile. My connection has been great. Battery life is good. I don’t mind the slow charging and intentionally plug into an even lower power charger to hopefully extend the longevity of the battery.
My wife’s experience is closer to OP’s though. She’s had problems like that on most phones when I don’t even though we often have the same model. I think it is something to do with the games she installs.
Before the Android 14 update, we had 5G turned off. It seems the update to the radio firmware has fixed the battery drain problems.
The cellular connections drops often and doesn’t reconnect without rebooting the phone
Have you tried just turning the airplane mode on until The operator name disappears from the status bar? Works for me when i’m having issues with 5g on my Pixel 7
I have tried that, and it does work sometimes. But sometimes it doesn’t and I still need to reboot.
I have a tip for you: Put GrapheneOS on it
My wants:
- ROM-friendly w/ active development
- flagship specs
- No hole-punch
Seems I can get two of three, but not all three with the latest phones.
EDIT: I currently rock a Oneplus 7 Pro running crDroid 9 (Android 13).
Remember the days when we had the notification led? :(
I cheaped out and got the smaller version of my phone with no led.
Regretted it ever since. Been 5 years and vowed to never do that again. :(
I really want a notification led
You still have ways to emulate it with software… Especially apps or Android 14 that make your flashlight act as one.
I loved the notification LED on my Xperia XZ1, Nexus 5X, and basically all older Android phones.
Ideally I’d like to see an LED along a corner so that regardless of placing the phone face up or down, you can still see the LED.
Sony is very ROM-friendly. Main issue is price, which affects active development. My wishlist is similar to yours, I ended always going with Xiaomi. While their 7 days wait to unlock bootloader is annoying, the ROM scene is very active, with great GCam ports.
I love Sony phones but I don’t see active ROMs for the Xperia 1 or 5 series.
I’m not familiar with Xiaomi. They have a flagship without a hole punch?
I wouldn’t call it a flagship, but Xiaomi 9T Pro is the closest you can get without a punchhole. Plenty of ROMs, and great gcam support.
I’ve had the Oneplus 7 Pro since it came out, which is a rebranded Xiaomi 9T Pro.
Google, maybe Motorola and Nothing. Those seem to be the only choices remaining in the US
https://en-us.support.motorola.com/euf/assets/docs/Bootloader-Legal_Agreement_and_Warning.pdf
Caution : Warranty is voided after bootloader unlock, and Motorola may deny any waraanty repairs.
Ah, that too
Google and Nothing phones have punch holes.
I’m not familiar with Motorola’s lineup. What phone do they have without a punch hole?
I don’t think there’s many mobiles without punch-holes. Not in their lineup if I remember correctly
What a goofy list.
Choices?
- Pixel 8
- Galaxy S23
- Galaxy S23 Ultra
- Galaxy Z Fold 5
- Nothing Phone 2
[Consumers in the US] don’t get nearly as many of the options as you’ll find in Asia and Europe — brands like Huawei, Xiaomi, Honor, and Oppo just aren’t available here.
Is this true? I thought only Huawei was banned / not doing business in the US.
I’ve limited this guide to the devices I’ve personally tested in depth …
So the ‘guide’ doesn’t cover phones by four of the big six manufacturers. That’s like making a guide of the tallest mountains in the world, but excluding the Himalayas and the Andes.
In the states the only way to get an Honor, Oppo or Xiaomi phone is to import.
On the other side of the foldable spectrum, the OnePlus Open is a welcome addition to the mix with the best screen format on a book-style folding phone. It’s thin and light, and the software includes some thoughtful approaches to multi-tasking — a crucial part of the folding phone experience. At $1,700, it’s just $100 shy of the Pixel Fold and Galaxy Z Fold 5 and misses a couple of key features that both of those other options include: wireless charging and an IPX8 rating.
Does anyone really care about these though? Wireless charging is really niche and worse than wired in every way, and water resistance is one of those things phones love advertising but nobody ever notices.
[…] water resistance is one of those things phones love advertising but nobody ever notices.
Water resistance is something I do not want to notice because if I notice it, it means it has failed. Do I trust it completely? Hell no. Do I prefer to have it? Hell yea!
For the price manufacturers are asking it better have everything.
Both have been must-haves for me over the past number of years. It’s nice being able to drop the phone onto a charging stand at the desk or in the car. Also nice being able to rinse the phone off or use in a bath/shower without worry.
I used to think the same way until my wife’s phone stopped charging via cable because the USB port failed. The fact that it can charge wirelessly has kept the device usable.
Same here. Wireless charging kept my Galaxy Note 8 going long past its USB port failing, along with my mom’s LG G7.
I have a phone like this. Wireless charging is so slow the phone isn’t really usable any more.
I’ve only had 1 phone in the last 10 years that didnt wirelessly charge, and there’s zero chance I’d buy a phone without it again. And I’m really hoping qi2 starts appearing in phones next year.
I don’t understand the need for super fast charging, like it’s handy if you’re on the run and forgot about it, but I need more charging than my phone does, so it’s no issue to just plonk it on a stand when I’m resting…
Wireless charging is really niche and worse than wired in every way
Huh? Name one. Oneplus is dead to me after they removed the most useful feature that almost everyone uses and expects in even the most basic phone, let alone a $1k+ phone.
The way I would use wireless charging would be having my phone on my desk charging while I work on my pc. The problem with that is that If i have to use my phone, I would have to take it from The wireless charger which stops the charging. Charging the phone multiple times a day is so bad for the battery so I would prefer to just charge when its low and take it off when its full or almost full, and with a wired charger I can do just that and still use the phone while its charging
Modern batteries really don’t care much about how or how often you charge them. You’ll ruin the port with frequent plug/unplug cycle way before you notice any effect on the battery.
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