The laptop class (myself included) just don't understand. A huge portion of the world only has 1 computer and it's their phone. They rely on it for work, entertainment, and connectivity. They don't have a laptop where they can do all these things on whenever they want. Their phone is it. They want a big screen phone. It's no surprise that every time Apple made the screen bigger, it sold better.
I loved my 13 Mini but I understand why Apple has given up on it. It was a very good effort. They tried. Didn't sell. Maybe a foldable can solve this problem for both sides.
If those people wish to use phones for something they're not suited for, that's their business. But companies can, and should, have more than one product for different use cases. Nobody says "well only 5% of the market wears this size clothes so you better get used to going naked", instead manufacturers make all different sizes so as to capture more profits. I don't even particularly care if the smaller phone costs more because it's not as much in demand (so, less economy of scale). The problem is that nobody makes one at all, so I can't get what I want at any price whatsoever.
> A huge portion of the world only has 1 computer and it's their phone.
This is something that really surprised me to realise a couple of years ago - that unless they work in tech, most households (I don't know if most isn't an exaggeration, but a large proportion) don't have a laptop or desktop between them now.
I think there is: https://smallandroidphone.com/ This was started up by the people behind Pebble (including its re-launch this year). I actually emailed them a while back asking for a status update. They told me there are literally no high quality screens of an appropriate size available to OEMs. They would have to design & spin up their own display hardware, which is where things change from "expensive" to "infeasible." If there was an existing, high quality 4.5~5" screen, I think it'd be an easy slam dunk. But there apparently is not...
Too bad. I just hold out hope Apple will try the Mini again before my 13 dies.
This is noticeable when you interact with consumer software where the mobile app is clearly the preferred or only way to perform some action.
This is something that really surprised me to realise a couple of years ago - that unless they work in tech, most households (I don't know if most isn't an exaggeration, but a large proportion) don't have a laptop or desktop between them now.
Also, I've been in poorer countries where the vast majority of the population rely on their phones to work. My real estate agent only used her phone for work including marketing herself, talking to clients on chat apps, and even doing the lease contract. Their phone is literally how they make a living.
They have been told since 10 years that phones are "computers" [1]. Some even believe this.
[1] from this point of view, a washing machine or a fridge are also "computers".
So I really don't understand people who would choose a larger phone, over a smaller one and then save the money they would have spent replacing it (plus the money they would have paid extra because larger is more expensive) to buy a cheap laptop or something
As it is, I hold my S21 with left hand, type with index finger of right - it's abysmal in terms of performance, but it's all I got.. landscape with both thumbs is usually worse because of such little lookahead / lookbehind - I can barely read the line I'm typing on - and fat thumbs. My kids do it all the time, but, well, their little girlish fingers (they are female) seem to manage it and they're quite quick at it.
My favorite phone (at least in terms of idea, execution wasn't perfect) was the Motorola Photon Q - full-size with slide-out keyboard. At least I could somewhat type quickly even if the keyboard wasn't great. Alas, 2012..
With a newish phone? I can probably type 10-20x as fast on my MS Natural keyboard (only one I can use for more than 30-40 minutes without RSI getting bad).. No wonder I don't "live on my phone" - I use it when necessary, and prefer my 40"+ 4K screen + real keyboard.
> save the money they would have spent replacing it (plus the money they would have paid extra because larger is more expensive) to buy a cheap laptop or something
The kind of people who want an iPhone are not going to settle for a Cheap Laptop. A MacBook Air can only really be had new for around $800 nowadays and those big iPhones are only like $599 right now (if iPhone 16e).
I have big hands, and can use my 16 Pro Max one handed no problem with minimal shifting of the device in my hands. I've never dropped it during one handed use on the go either.
Smaller devices are almost impossible for me to type on/be precise with touches because of this.
iPhone SEs sold like hotcakes and they were smaller than the minis.
So, for phones, people say they want a small one to fit in your pocket. With, fair. But that generally means a smaller screen when you are using it. Which people don't really want.
Foldables help a ton with this. And I think that will ultimately pan out. People are understandably worried about being early on that train, though.
IMHO most people in the real world increasingly use their smartphone as their primary computer and want a big screen.
so that I may relive my Palm Treo glory days.
This is the first iPhone is 5+ years that is will be hard to ignore for the massive base of users who'd given up on yearly upgrades.
I came here expecting to see that reflected (and see how others feel about the camera trade-off) but it's mostly repetitive comments asking who wants a thinner phone (ignoring it's almost 40% lighter than the most of the Pro Max devices out there)
Air: 6.5in, 165gm Pro 17: 6.9in, 233gm My current Pro Max 15: 6.7in, 221gm
Coming from the PM15, I give up 0.2in, but it weighs 56gm less. I do 95%+ of my reading on my phone - articles, books, everything. But I find the PM15 screen juuuuust slightly too large to be comfortable in the hand, and the normal Pro screen much too small for lots of reading. And I’ve been noticing early signs of RSI.
These dimensions are the goldilocks combination I’ve been waiting for.
The 40% lighter is nice though.
If "all the people" wanted these phones, they would still exist.
Seriously, Apple has not attempted a narrow high-end phone since the iPhone 5. The 12 and 13 minis were not positioned as premium phones and they did not have great cameras or battery life. If Apple had tried for a 13 Pro Mini and it didn’t sell, then maybe I’d believe that their market statistics were worth something.