Why can't we go back to small phones?
Why can't we go back to small phones?
The iPhone SE is dead, and with it, the compact smartphone as a mainstream product. What happened?
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Here's what I want, roughly in order of priority:
- long term OS support
- repairable
- privacy friendly
- small
I currently have a Pixel 8:
- 7 years software support, maybe more
- 6/10 on ifixit score; not great, but better than many
- supports GrapheneOS
- on the smaller end of "normal" today
A community-supported Linux phone would be awesome, since I'd get 1 and 3 by default and 2 by convention, but they don't meet my minimum needs from a phone: reliable basic feature support. Hopefully we get there by the time my Pixel dies.
You might be interested in the fairphone
My main complaint is that they don't directly support the US. There's a reseller here, but I think there are issues with some bands.
Maybe it'll be better the next time I need a phone.
Plus they don't support GrapheneOS. (or rather, GrapheneOS doesn't support them due to it being too expensive to support more than one model while also not having the same hardware integrity measures that Pixels have) It's the only thing stopping me from getting them for my next phone, because while I don't necessarily need the fastest processor, highest resolution screen, etc, I do need a phone that won't break over time until it becomes useless in a few years.
I'd be fine with /e/OS I think, GrapheneOS is nice, but not a hard requirement for me.
The Fairphone is interesting, but it is also enormous unfortunately
And notably the pixel 8 is significantly smaller than the 7
I'm using a Pixel 5. Replaced the screen and battery recently because there's no modern option for me. My thumb will be able to reach all corners of the screen in one hand operation or I'm just not buying it. I'd probably be better off without a phone anyway.