The only benefit I’ve ever found of a small phone is that it fits better in a pocket. The things I do one-handed on a phone are already well provided for; mostly just scrolling and swiping. For most activities I’m two-handing my phone anyway, and a larger phone makes that easier and faster.
When using the phone as, well, a phone, I find smaller phones annoying. I’m never quite sure if the mic can pick up my voice if the earpiece is near my ear. I’m also much more likely to drop the smaller phone.
I’ve been this way for a long time. An early phone of mine was the LG Env which opened up and had a large-for-the-time QWERTY keyboard. It required two hands even way back in 200x.
I doubt that I’m representative of the average person in this regard. But I doubt you are either. I suspect for most people one-handedness is a desirable trait in a phone, but not as strongly desirable in the average person as it appears to be for you, so it just gets eaten by trade offs.
But fitting in a pocket is a pretty huge feature. If it doesn't fit in my pocket, I cann't carry it around, and if I can't carry it around, I won't buy it.
An iPhone 7 is already tall enough to stick out of some rear pockets. And the width is pretty close to the max that will fit. I'm a 5'7" male, 30" waist, wearing average cut/fit pants (not skinny jeans).
> I find smaller phones annoying. I’m never quite sure if the mic can pick up my voice if the earpiece is near my ear. I’m also much more likely to drop the smaller phone.
This is funny because I feel like mic quality has only gotten worse since the days of the Nokia candy bar phone where the mic fell about mid cheek.
Maybe it has something to do with the way you had to hold those phones and your hand naturally cupped from the mic around to your mouth.
Or the miniature mics in modern phones and thier reliance on noise cancelling with multiple mic arrays.
A smaller phone is less expensive to buy. A smaller phone gets mishandled and dropped less often. Moreover, a smaller phone is less expensive to repair when that happens.
I interact with my phone regularly throughout the day. It’s usually the last item I interact with at night (aside from bed, blankets, etc.) and it’s the first item I interact with in the morning. It’s the one item that consistently travels with me wherever I go, whether that means room to room in my own house or state to state on an airplane. So it’s an item I don’t mind spending a little extra on. The cost difference with smaller phones just really doesn’t matter to me; never mind the fact that the larger phones often have better specs in other areas as well.
As for dropping, I disagree. I’m way more likely to drop a smaller phone.
When using the phone as, well, a phone, I find smaller phones annoying. I’m never quite sure if the mic can pick up my voice if the earpiece is near my ear. I’m also much more likely to drop the smaller phone.
I’ve been this way for a long time. An early phone of mine was the LG Env which opened up and had a large-for-the-time QWERTY keyboard. It required two hands even way back in 200x.
I doubt that I’m representative of the average person in this regard. But I doubt you are either. I suspect for most people one-handedness is a desirable trait in a phone, but not as strongly desirable in the average person as it appears to be for you, so it just gets eaten by trade offs.