Sunday Debate: Do we still need compact flagships? Comments
- Yu Ry
- 8tI
Whoever says that 5.0" is a COMPACT size should be burnt with a flamethrower.
If you like using your shovel-phones - it's your right, but get your hands off out of compact small phones, ffs!
- Anonymous
- mrx
So people who don't want a phablet only need mid-range specs because you can't get anything done? Chip, if you are going to make arguments like that, back them up. That's just an assertion about what you find (probably with big hands and fat fingers). Can't appreciate a photo on a regular screen (so presumably are OK with a poor camera)? Get your eyes tested.
As for the video "argument" (in quotes because I know people who prefer smaller phones and watch videos on them), video doesn't require any significant specs, so why not argue that a large midranger is fine for people who want a phone to watch videos? That's as least as valid an argument as anything Chip wrote.
- AnonD-687126
- P%P
I loved my little Moto X. It is the nicest phone I have ever held in my hand.
Now and again, when one of my family's main phones dies, it comes out and setup again.
It's lovely.
But it's too small. I couldn't live with it now.
I recently played with a 5" Pixel 2. Again, a lovely phone. And again, it's comfy in my hand, but still to small. I can't be reading websites on it.
I would have to go back to the old world of also owning a Tablet, which really is too much hassle. Bigger isn't more beautiful. It makes for sore hands. But it's what I need.
- Anonymous
- mrx
"Yet, once you've moved up in size and realize the possibilities that brought you, you never want to go back."
You say this, but I know many people who have done exactly that. And I would certainly prefer something smaller than my current phone (Pixel 2, not XL).
So what you are really saying here is that /you/ prefer a larger phone now. That's absolutely not a reason why flagships should only be plus size, and people who want something smaller should suffer gimped specs. In fact it's not really an argument at all, just a generalisation of your personal preference.
- Whyki
- ps9
This is nice Idea that you don't need flagship/high-end device if you want small connected device.
Now the problem is with security and software updates, if I should put mobile banking, transport card, use instead of credit card etc, I really want the operating system to be maintained and updated. Producers offer it only for flagship! Google even produces only flagship!
- Anonymous
- MPd
If you like to carry a backpack it is ok for us but we want to put the phone in our pockets without any hassle..
- Gia
- JhT
We need bezel-less compact, medium, large flagships. Aspect ratio 16:9 is better as we need a wider keyboard, infinity display is the best. We can fit all hardware, but compact phones will be slightly thicker, medium phones thinner, large phones the thinnest. Screen pixels 300 ppi density for all phones, battery capacity the same, for compact just thick battery, for medium thinner and bigger battery, for large the thinnest and biggest battery. All the Best In Class.
- AnonD-468012
- 61X
I think we need it. But I do not need it, 5.5 inch 16:9 (70%+StB) still great size for me.
- Anonymous
- JhT
They should come all bezel-less, compact, medium, large. Aspect ratio 16:9, because the width of a keyboard is important.
- PeterThePanda
- t7x
We need compact flagships, that's kind of obvious.
Unfortunately, not all markets make compact flagships available. Here in the Philippines for example, Sony did not make the new Compact series (X Compact, XZ1 Compact and almost certainly the XZ2 Compact) phones officially available. The only way you can buy these phones here is in the grey market (online sellers) where there's no official warranty (so you're screwed if the phone has a defect or issue that manifests after the store's return warranty expires).
Here, your choice for "compact" flagships is pretty much limited to the non-plus iPhones and the "pseudo-compact" Android phones like the Huawei P series (non-plus versions) and the non-plus Galaxy S series.
- Anonymous
- tPG
A 6" 16:9 screen with a 5000mAH battery is just nice, guess which phone?;-)
- Quantom
- P%2
Simply bringing larger and newer phones to the market with latest chipsets and technology, but without a leash on physical footprint? That sounds too easy for phone manufacturers. In this age of oversized phones and phablets, compacting the latest tech *while retaining* features ought to be a good test of engineering creativity.
- Willy
- 0v9
I think Gsmarena are just playing devils advocate here to get a bit of debate going (fairly sure that no one in their office really believes there shouldn't be compact flagships).
I have 'normal' sized hands but I'm perfectly happy with a 5 inch screen. I've just changed my daily driver from an s7 to an s8 and both of them are premium phones which do just about everything I need them to without having to be used with two hands (and although the s8 has more screen, in daily use it doesn't make much difference to what I could use the s7 for).
Screen resolution and smaller bessels help in these cases.
I also use a Nokia 5 for my work SIM which is 5.2 inch but has bigger bessels and that for me is about the limit for one handed use.
I like to be able to pull my phone quickly out of my pocket and use it one handed... And I like to have top specs... So a 'compact' (5 inch) flagship for me. I don't think anyone really calls the iPhone 6/7/8 'compact' and they are below the 5 inch threshold.
I remember when I bought my s2 and everyone thought it was huge (4.3 inch screen) .... That was only 7 years ago.
I think the market should offer a bit of everything. Not everyone wants a two handed phone, but a lot of people want a fast and powerful phone. So I say manufacturers should cater to those tastes too! :-)
- zodiacfml
- xCD
It is not clear cut. Indoor situations, there is no issue with larger phones e.g. my S8+. We can take as much screen size as we want.
Outdoors especially while walking, it is unwieldy. It is too tall and a bit heavy compared to my Nexus 5. Bringing it out of a pocket is noticeably more difficult and it is not good in the jeans pocket while seated.
The issue is with the present situation with tall, bezel-phones. They're not truly valuable as they are just taller phones with longer displays vs. 16:9 phones. I want a 16:9 bezel less phone from now on. This really speaks of how ahead of its time the Xiaomi Mi Mix is. I was itching to buy it back then but the lack of storage expansion.
- hrishievo
- t}B
For me, I don't mind screen sizes till 5.2 inch, but the weight should be not more than 155gm.
- ThisIsYordan
- 3FJ
Anonymous, 25 Mar 2018" users want big, tall and notched screens with weird ratios like 18:9, 18.5:9, 19:9, 19.5:9 e... moreHello,
As I stated in a previous Sunday Debate, manufacturers seem to be a step ahead of the users for the past 10 years or so, following the Steve Jobs logic "If Henry Ford asked what people want, they would've said a faster horse".
Just look at the record-breaking sales of the Galaxy S8 duo, followed by the Note8; the improving financial results of LG's mobile division; the response towards the iPhone X; Xiaomi flash sales ending in a second... If people did not want tall screens, then why do they buy them so much?
But as I state my opinion on this piece: Numbers and sales do not mean a thing when user's comfort is at stake.
- Marty
- 0BF
I've got a nexus 5 and currently looking for a phone to replace it. But now it's so hard to pick a new device when all of them are so huge and none of them would fit in my pocket. And it's not true that you can't type on a 5 inch phone, it's only a matter of preference.
- Anonymous
- T6s
You're bringing the oponion of nobodies. Could have just been the vote since anyone in the comments has an equal power of oponion if not more than this chip guy
- Armand
- 3L@
I used various phone sizes ...from 4.7 inches to 6.4 inches..
Compact phones are more practical and easy to handle with one hand especially on the run and outside....very hard to damage or break when they fall too...
Large phones are good only for playing games or watching videos...
Everything else is a nightmare on a large phone... typing is slower as you must use both hands...and requires double the effort... I happen to have very long fingers yet I struggle trying to reach the keys on the keyboard or app icons on the far side of the screen... probably large phones should have borderless screens...
Large phones are a total waste of money if they don't have high processing power and memory with very large battery...mine might Max has a 4800mha battery yet it doesn't last for a day...
And the phone can fall easily and hard to hold or put in a pocket...large phones are a usage nightmare...
I dream of an extensible phone ...where you can extend the screen if you want to play games or watch streaming...and shrink the size if you're on the move...that would be an ideal phone... resizable...to fit all your needs...and modes or usage...
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