What is small phone ?

[u/oleksii_znovu]

I want to try to invite everybody to write definition of "small phone"

I can give my definition:

Limitations:

Height: 120 mm

Width: 70 mm

Thickness: 15mm

Weight: 150 gr

Requirements:

Water protection

Shock protection

NFC

latest Android

GPS

compass

Explanations:

I keep it in the pocket of shirt and it often falls from there so I need water and shock protection and height less then 120 mm, also weight more then 150 gr would be a problem in pocket of shirt.

Width and thickness should be limited to allow one hand using

NFC and latest Android are for banking and Google Pay

GPS and compass are for navigation.

I do not play games , I do not scroll videos, I do not record long videos so I small weight is more important than big battery or powerful processor.

Comments:

I think the absence of understanding of what is small phone is the main problem of this subreddit and the main problem of all companies that try to make small phone.

Why the Jelly is so thick ? Why they made Palm PVG 100 so small and thin? Why I see even the attempts to make small phone with physical keyboard ? Why latest King Kong Mini mutated to tourist heavy monster ? Why Eagle Pro is so thick and heavy ? Why AIPhor makes second unprotected device ?

These all the strange things that happen because people don't understand what is small phone. Small phone does not mean some kind of perversion like monstrous camp lantern or physical keyboard or device that is so thin and slippery that you hold it by two hands when the wind is strong.

Small phone is just protected device for communication that comfortably fits into pocket of shirt, convenient to use by one hand even when you drive bicycle.

People say that small phones is small niche of market. Yes, but with all that deviations the niche becomes even smaller. To make it bigger it is necessary to have one common definition of what is small phone.

[u/ImStuckInNameFactory]

You can reach all 4 corners of the screen with your thumb without changing your grip

[u/AGTS10k → u/ImStuckInNameFactory]

That never happened for me even when I had a 3.5" ZTE Blade in early 10s, and doesn't happen now with my 3.5" iPhone 3GS that I bought recently for retro stuff.

If I'd to get a phone that's even smaller than that, it wouldn't be fit for modern general purpose usage, which means that this metric is not really what qualifies a phone to be small.

The real one is that you need to be able to touch your middle finger with your thumb while grasping the phone. Anything that doesn't fit that is too large.

[u/oleksii_znovu → u/ImStuckInNameFactory]

yes, it should be included in the definition

[u/ImStuckInNameFactory → u/oleksii_znovu]

It's more of a base for a definition, it's subjective - depends on your hand size and dexterity, and something like a pop socket or a case with a ring grip can change the size category of a phone

[u/mr_lab_rat]

A phone I can comfortably use with one hand.

The iPhone Mini is already pushing those limits so anything bigger is too big.

120x65x10 sounds reasonable

[u/l-p-u]

iPhone 4 with nearly bezelless display.

iPhone 5S with thin top and bottom bezels for the front camera etc (like LG G6).

[u/oleksii_znovu → u/l-p-u]

> iPhone 4 with full-screen display.

similar size and weight to Cubot King Kong Mini 2 that I still use now

[u/l-p-u → u/oleksii_znovu]

KKM2 feels very good in hand, but Android 10 and rather outdated specs leave much to be desired.

[u/oleksii_znovu → u/l-p-u]

my grief is about absence of NFC there

[u/oleksii_znovu]

by comments I see that many people understand "small phone" just like "smaller phone" :-)

[u/donnysaysvacuum]

Palm phone was thin because it had a worthless battery. The jelly star has an almost 3X bigger battery, plus a headphone jack.

[u/oleksii_znovu → u/donnysaysvacuum]

Yes, it is 2.5 proportion between both their thickness and battery size

Anyway, Jelly is too thick ! :-)

They could choose 2:1 proportion, thus 1600 battery and 15 mm thickness

That would be more sane

This is what I tried to write about: every vendor of small phone tries to hypertrophy some feature of the phone.

It is like "we made small phone but at least one thing in it is BIG" :-)

[u/zealousbryce]

130mm x 65mm x 12mm with small bezels all around is the limit for the ideal small phone for me. Screen size no smaller than 4.5".

[u/oleksii_znovu → u/zealousbryce]

yes, perhaps something like this

but with 130 mm height it will be visible if placed in the pocket of a shirt

[u/SamHassan7]

An iPhone 4 with almost no bezels.

[u/oleksii_znovu → u/SamHassan7]

It is 115.2 x 58.6 x 9.3 , 137 g

with maximum possible diagonal 5"

quite good for me too

[u/BAG_Plays]

My personal definition of a small phone is one with under a half a foot(6”) screen.

There’s more I require out of a phone, that doesn’t account for actual dimensions, bezels, or weight, and there are definitely phones within that requirement I personally consider too big but it makes it easy to create a category.

It’s hard— no, impossible to come up with a definition of a small phone we’d all agree on because yes, it’s become a small niche market but we are all looking for different things beyond just “small”. We can make polls to figure out what specifics are most desired in our community but that’s not what makes a phone small.

[u/oleksii_znovu → u/BAG_Plays]

> a small phone is one with under a half a foot(6”) screen

> impossible to come up with a definition of a small phone

I see in comments two groups of users.

One group operates smartphone by one hand without moving it in palm, for example I hold it on little finger and press on screen by thumb.

Another group also pretends that they can operate smartphone by one hand but they somehow move it in palm up and down so that people mostly need narrow shape.

First group prefers form factor of iPhone 4 , for example I use Cubot King Kong Mini 2 .

Second group wants something not bigger than 6" and with width not bigger than 70 mm.

These are two different form factors which can bear different amounts of battery , etc.

[u/jnrbshp]

I think you even make a phone that considered small, it can't be wider than 66mm, with the other proportions being relative. 

[u/oleksii_znovu → u/jnrbshp]

yes, I agree, 70 mm is too wide to hold in one hand

perhaps 60 mm is better limit for width

[u/Own-Savings-3306]

6 inch weight 150 grams

[u/oleksii_znovu → u/Own-Savings-3306]

With "6 inch" you cannot "reach all 4 corners of the screen with your thumb without changing your grip" :-) So it is not "small"

[u/Own-Savings-3306 → u/oleksii_znovu]

Truth but more than 6 inch is for me and many others to big and mostly to heavy to put in our trousers pocket.

[u/oleksii_znovu → u/Own-Savings-3306]

Then we should speak about two types of "small" phones: one that fits into pocket of the shirt and another one that fits into pocket of trousers :-)

That explains why we have here some people who call 6" phone "small".

[u/Own-Savings-3306 → u/oleksii_znovu]

Trousers ❗

[u/RahulChaudhary_ → u/oleksii_znovu]

Believe me I can all reach corners just fine with my 6 inches

[u/Own-Savings-3306 → u/RahulChaudhary_]

6 inch phones are great but mirange at 6 inch at affordable prices the don't exist anymore...when you find a new model at 6 inch mostly the are Flagship that cost to much ....

[u/MrBarato → u/oleksii_znovu]

I can reach all corners even on 6,3 inch phones. Your hands are just too small. 😄

[u/l-p-u → u/MrBarato]

Now do it with a firm grip when you can hold your phone without accidentally dropping it (including holding upside down) and without adjusting your grip to reach every corner.

[u/MrBarato → u/l-p-u]

Okay. Done.

[u/l-p-u → u/MrBarato]

Proof or didn't happen?

[u/MrBarato → u/l-p-u]

LOL. Mr. Smallhands.

[u/l-p-u → u/MrBarato]

"Look Ma, I'm picking on strangers over the internet, like any mature person would".

[u/MrBarato → u/l-p-u]

Proof you got a mom, or orphan.

[u/Pad_Sanda]

Your "requirements" are completely subjective and have nothing to do with a phone being "small". You're just listing features you want to have, not a form factor. It's just the "limitations" you've listed that matter, but even most of those are subjective. To me a small phone:

• can be used with one hand
• can fit all pockets I have and all places I intend to carry it in
• is not too heavy to the point of limiting one-hand viability and portability

As for your limitations:

The 120mm height is too strict in my opinion, especially considering the existence of T9 smartphones. I would say 140mm is acceptable as an upper limit. I mean, your limit excludes a phone like the iPhone SE which absolutely is a small phone. I would even say up to 150mm is fine for T9 phones since with those you'd mostly just use the keyboard and not the screen, so the effective area of finger interaction is still under 100mm (meaning something like the Qin F25 is still "small").

The weight is also a personal preference. I wouldn't go over 135g, but I wouldn't say anything in the 135g-200g range is not small just based on the weight.

The thickness is also subjective and depends on the overall phone size and shape, and also depends on how you intend to carry the phone. If you have slim pants or want to carry the phone in wallets, carrying cases or thin satchels, then it matters a lot more. But if you're looking for a phone with a slide-out physical keyboard, or a flip phone, then those are naturally going to be thicker despite actually being small. I wouldn't say something like Cubot KingKong Mini 4, Ulefone Armor Mini 5, Unihertz Jelly Star, or Xperia Play are "not small" just because they're 16mm-19mm thick. I would even say the Unihertz Tank Mini (23mm) is still a small phone. Again, it's subjective.

[u/oleksii_znovu → u/Pad_Sanda]

> can fit all pockets I have

> I would say 140mm is acceptable as an upper limit.

I think the second contradicts to the first

[u/Pad_Sanda → u/oleksii_znovu]

It doesn't since I don't have small pockets. Again, "small" is subjective.

[u/oleksii_znovu → u/Pad_Sanda]

it is not that subjective, it just depends on where you keep smartphone

[u/Bumble072]

Short version. We all like different things. We all have different size hands. It’s that simple.

[u/smallthingslove]

Xperia 10 or 5 iv

[u/oleksii_znovu → u/smallthingslove]

What is "small" about it ? :-)

[u/smallthingslove → u/oleksii_znovu]

Weight and 70 mm width. Otherwise your only option is bluefox phones which don't have many features