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0 pointsmettamage6y ago0 comments

No it's not. The HN crowd has a vocal group of people who advocate for phones like the iPhone SE. The main complaint of this group is that other phones are too big. So a new release of the SE brings a lot of hope for extending that experience.

The fact that this phone is bigger doesn't sit well with this vocal minority, because they want a small smartphone and now see that medium is the only available in stock.

Expectation, expectation, expectation. It's being shattered, that leads to emotions and that leads to comments.

I'm also not too happy about the new SE, if you search my comment history I don't think you see me talking about it, but I'm in the same camp. I think other phones are preposterously big, and the SE is the only normal one.

Alas, the new SE is not normal for me. Going back to a dumber phone is now something I have to consider more seriously. I don't want my pockets to bulge out and I want to handle my phone with one hand without straining it. The old iPhone SE was perfect for that. I have pretty tall hands but with the iPhone 8, it didn't strain but felt clumsy (and I use the device quite often in order to help my grandparents with their iPhone 8).

I hope I gave you some insight into the marketing persona of people who want the old iPhone SE to come back and how that persona is well represented on HN.

0 comments

roenxi6y ago

A solid summary, and here is one other point that helps explain the passion:

2006: Smartphones were boring.

2007-2010: Smartphones become magical. The pinnacle, or close to, of the 3.5 inch phone is developed in the iPhone 4.

2010+: Phones smaller than 4.5 inches disappear; by the same magic that they used to appear.

For the people who want a 3.5 to 4 inch phone, such as myself, paradise was basically snatched away. I know they can make them, I know they run every app I care about, and they are no longer available for purchase. I want an iPhone 4. I'd settle for an iPhone 5 or similar form factor. Instead they've disappeared and best-case is maybe there is some Android phone that has the right dimensions and is probably poorly fabricated because it is targeting people on a budget.

The issue isn't even entitlement, it that the form factor situation is backsliding from where it was when I was happiest. It is infuriating.

dirktheman6y ago

Yes! To me, the iPhone 4 was the pinnacle of phone design and useability. I'd love to have a modern phone with a decent camera in this form factor. AR, NFC, wireless charging are cool, but I don't really NEED them. A decent camera, a small form factor so it fits in my front pocket and battery life are much more important to me.

I own a iPhone 8 plus now, thinking I could get used to the size. I can't, even after almost 2 years it's still annoying. I love the screen, I love the screen size for viewing videos and playing games, but I loathe the size of the thing itself. I wouldn't mind giving up screen real estate for a smaller form factor phone.

rekoil6y ago

100% agree. I had hopes for the 5.4" iPhone 12 changing this trend by being a high end device with a close to OG iPhone SE size. But it now looks like it will not be given the "Pro" title after all, and will instead be the budget option. I hate that "small" has become synonymous with "budget" in the eyes of the manufacturers.

mikestew6y ago

Ah, for a return to the (early?) 90s when the smallest phones were the "pro" models, and priced accordingly. And people would be amazed: "it's so tiny! Don't want to ask what it must have cost, though."

zmix6y ago

This is why I still use my Sony Experia Z3 Compact. It has a 4.7" screen, which is the maximum I am willing to take. I feel like you.

Daneel_6y ago

This comment is really the perfect summation of the issue.

For what it's worth, I'm also a firm believer of "it should be useable with one hand without akwardness". 4.5" would be my perfect size; just slightly smaller than the current small offerings on the market. I currently have an iphone X and really dislike the form factor - it's just too large, and the rounded corners lend themselves to slipping out of the hand. The square edge design really was the easiest the grip - I hope it makes a return on the next iphone pro. The ipad pro has gone back to the square edge design already, so there's some small hope in this regard.

dangus6y ago

Get a popsocket, give it a chance for a week.

All this time you’ve been spending with phones slipping out of hands has been wasted.

Daneel_6y ago

Not even remotely viable - this prevents slipping it into a pocket easily, or sitting flat on a desk. Plus it's dead ugly.

1 more reply

saagarjha6y ago

I think they’re an ugly hack :(

1 more reply

sverhagen6y ago

OnePlus 7 Pro here. Just too big for one thumb to get to all the corners it needs to go to. Not a deal breaker for me, but slightly smaller would be great. Not sure how the pop socket would fix that.

1 more reply

paul79866y ago

Talked about how much I hated my iPhone XS since sept 2018. I hated it so much I returned it the next day ..too big and no Touch ID.

My comments were downvoted a lot then... yet glad to see there's demand for iPhone 8 size(my current device since 2017) iPhones. It Looks like potentially many others weren't upgrading either.

satyenr6y ago

You might want to look at Palm Phone — https://palm.com/?gclid=CjwKCAjwhOD0BRAQEiwAK7JHmGrU18EVG1ha...

hultner6y ago

Wow didn’t know palm still made smartphones, I just think about early 00s PDA. But that phone looks amazing, I hope they bring it to the EU market as well. I’d prefer an iPhone but I’d consider to switch for that formfactor. Honestly though, I’m fine with 4” but the iPhone XS I have today is so clumsy, very hard to use with one hand.

Spooky236y ago

Phones like the SE are mostly about corporate customers and people who don't want to pay a premium. Nobody gives a hoot about the small phone crowd, as shrink introduces other design issues.

The SE is a replacement for the iPhone 7/8, which is a huge seller as it's near zero cost for big corporate accounts. It's also cheap enough to undermine the resale market for many customers. Apple will setup a production line somewhere and churn these things out for years at low cost -- I wouldn't be surprised if this is also tied to a factory-in-a-can model where production can be ramped up in places like India.

mettamageOP6y ago

Sorry, I meant to link this thread: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=20880686

(I can't edit the post anymore)

j / k navigate · click thread line to collapse

0 comments

roenxi6y ago

A solid summary, and here is one other point that helps explain the passion:

2006: Smartphones were boring.

2007-2010: Smartphones become magical. The pinnacle, or close to, of the 3.5 inch phone is developed in the iPhone 4.

2010+: Phones smaller than 4.5 inches disappear; by the same magic that they used to appear.

The issue isn't even entitlement, it that the form factor situation is backsliding from where it was when I was happiest. It is infuriating.

dirktheman6y ago

rekoil6y ago

mikestew6y ago

zmix6y ago

This is why I still use my Sony Experia Z3 Compact. It has a 4.7" screen, which is the maximum I am willing to take. I feel like you.

Daneel_6y ago

This comment is really the perfect summation of the issue.

dangus6y ago

Get a popsocket, give it a chance for a week.

All this time you’ve been spending with phones slipping out of hands has been wasted.

Daneel_6y ago

Not even remotely viable - this prevents slipping it into a pocket easily, or sitting flat on a desk. Plus it's dead ugly.

1 more reply

saagarjha6y ago

I think they’re an ugly hack :(

1 more reply

sverhagen6y ago

OnePlus 7 Pro here. Just too big for one thumb to get to all the corners it needs to go to. Not a deal breaker for me, but slightly smaller would be great. Not sure how the pop socket would fix that.

1 more reply

paul79866y ago

Talked about how much I hated my iPhone XS since sept 2018. I hated it so much I returned it the next day ..too big and no Touch ID.

My comments were downvoted a lot then... yet glad to see there's demand for iPhone 8 size(my current device since 2017) iPhones. It Looks like potentially many others weren't upgrading either.

satyenr6y ago

You might want to look at Palm Phone — https://palm.com/?gclid=CjwKCAjwhOD0BRAQEiwAK7JHmGrU18EVG1ha...

hultner6y ago

Spooky236y ago

Phones like the SE are mostly about corporate customers and people who don't want to pay a premium. Nobody gives a hoot about the small phone crowd, as shrink introduces other design issues.

mettamageOP6y ago

Sorry, I meant to link this thread: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=20880686

(I can't edit the post anymore)

j / k navigate · click thread line to collapse