The options on Android aren’t much better, unless you go for some obscure manufacturer who won’t support the phone with updates 1 year after its life cycle.
Apple was for a while the only remaining flagship manufacturer who actually provided mini models. Ironic, because Android is supposed to be the alternative providing more options.
Depends on their needs. If they purely want a phone that fits nice in a pocket, a Z Flip will do. But if they really want the small screen, there are niche brands like Unihertz, which recently released the Jelly Star, a 3" phone with pretty decent specs.
I find that to be a good option. Unfortunately, given my current needs, the Apple Watch is the best device to meet them, so I'm stuck with the iPhone. And yes, I've researched the Galaxy Watch, too, but app integration and health measurements are considered lackluster compared to the AW.
Sadly I think the latest rumours were that they’d use the Xr/11 chassis for the new SE. hopefully not because if they use the 12/13 mini… oh boy it’d be great
That would be unfortunate, I always saw the SE as not only the cheapest but also the smallest model but I guess it's really just a way for them to use up old parts?
I'm hoping against hope that Google copies Apple and turns the Pixel 5 into a mold for the Google version of Pixel SE. I know it's not happening, but that phone is close to perfect for me, it's still my daily driver. Just give me a P5 SE with updated guts every two or three years.
Thing is, very few people bought the small phone. The community that wants them is very vocal, but they don’t show up in big numbers at the cash register.
As someone with tiny hands and tiny fingers, I've been thinking long and hard about this and in the future, when my 13 mini lets out its last breath, I'll probably just go with a regular-sized iPhone and use Voice Control to swipe right and "go back" when I use it one-handed, since reachability doesn't address how I struggle to reach the far end of the screen with one-hand (I even have to struggle a bit with the mini). Sucks that I'll have to use voice control as a workaround, but I mostly bought an iPhone for the Apple Watch anyway.
The solution that I have been bouncing around is to get the watch for quick use, and then a larger phone to act more as a tablet. Of course this requires me to have multiple devices, which is annoying. But here we are.
I considered getting a Mini a couple years ago. I tried one. It was not small enough for the reasons you describe. I have a regular sized iPhone for that reason.
I’ve long said the mini flopped not because people don’t want small phones, but rather because it wasn’t small enough to be worth the tradeoff of a smaller screen.
In Settings -> Accessibility-> Touch -> Assistive Touch you can configure a small button the floats on the screen (you can move it around), providing access to all sort of gestures and functions one handed.
Tried that but none of the gestures include "go back" nor "swipe right" (the closest thing is "scroll right"). Even used a custom gesture as well and that didn't work.
I'd been using an iPod Touch 4G thru 7G, for my everything pocket computer. Apple killed the iPod Touch, so I migrated to iPhone 13 mini just over a year ago. Sorry folx, they prolly killed the 13 mini cuz of me. Any other Apple products you'd like me to latch onto, so Apple will kill it? :-(
Lol I feel like this happens to me too. You like the fit of that T-shirt? Discontinued. You like the shape of those eyeglasses? Discontinued. You want a new car that starts up without 5,000 microchips? Haha too bad. You like buying phones that you can’t use without physically hurting your hands? Cool, enjoy the new 16 inch iPhone, it’s the smallest available. You’ll never leave it in your pocket or bag, because it doesn’t fit in either one. Oh and you need a speaker adapter to hear things without earbuds. That’ll be $2,500.
I can see the appeal of these little phones, but I think the batteries weren't as good as the other counterparts... so that aspect alone made me pass them.
That marks the end of life for arguably the best premium small phone designed for one-handed use.
Market research has consistently shown that most users want bigger screens and batteries, which are incompatible with a smaller phone.
Supply chain analysts and journalists with inside knowledge have generally agreed that Apple could update the iPhone SE as soon as next year—but most rumors have suggested that it would go bigger, not smaller.
Many op-eds have been written at tech sites (including this one, by me) saying it's important for Apple to offer a one-handed phone size, even if it's less popular than the bigger models.
That said, supporting an additional size adds extra supply chain and production overhead—and it may not be the most financially prudent decision for Apple if it's confident that it can covert mini owners to join the majority and opt for larger phones instead.
Chances are that axing the iPhone 13 mini won't do much to hurt Apple's earnings, but it leaves a minority of consumers without an important option, and I still think that's bad news.
The original article contains 382 words, the summary contains 180 words. Saved 53%. I'm a bot and I'm open source!
A shield-shaped dorsal sclerite or plate of certain insects and arachnids.
An oblong shield made of boards or wickerwork covered with leather, with sometimes an iron rim; carried chiefly by the heavy-armed infantry of the Roman army.
I'm assuming the third definition is the one we're after. But it could be an alligator scute, ya never know. (https://animals.howstuffworks.com/reptiles/alligator.htm). And having looked at scutes, I think a phone shaped like that would be all kinds of amusing!