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The iPhone 13 mini is dead, leaving small phone lovers in a lurch
(arstechnica.com)
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this post was submitted on 13 Sep 2023
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Perhaps the perfect opportunity to stop buying Apple products?
The options on Android aren’t much better, unless you go for some obscure manufacturer who won’t support the phone with updates 1 year after its life cycle.
Apple was for a while the only remaining flagship manufacturer who actually provided mini models. Ironic, because Android is supposed to be the alternative providing more options.
Moto is still kicking, Samsung has small models too, Asus is going alright, Sony at least the are skinny.
I haven’t seen any phone offered by these manufacturers that is as small as iPhone 13 mini. At best they’re just marginally smaller than iPhone 15.
There is no good alternative anymore if you’re looking for a truly small phone.
Literally every one of them is better, because none of them are running iOS. That's my subjective opinion.
Samsung and Google both support devices for 5 years now. Doesn't matter how long Apple "supports" the software because they don't support the hardware.
I’m talking about small phones. iPhone 13 mini was the last decent option when it came to small phones. Neither Google or Samsung make phones that small. The smallest phones they make are same size as a regular iPhone 13.
Now there’s only a few “obscure” manufacturers left who make small phones. “Obscure” manufacturers usually lack long term support on both the software and the hardware side to be a decent option.
As if there are equivalent and small phones with Android.
i wish fairphone filled that market gap, and throw in a headphone jack as well.
Fairphone is barely profitable with the current ones. Forget they can Risk making a niche-Product
My pixel 5 was awesome but then they started making their phones big again
Pixel 5 was the sweet spot. Then Google decided to only cater for people with enormous hands..
Depends on their needs. If they purely want a phone that fits nice in a pocket, a Z Flip will do. But if they really want the small screen, there are niche brands like Unihertz, which recently released the Jelly Star, a 3" phone with pretty decent specs.
Isn’t the Z flip the one with the screen that has the consistency and hardness of jelly beans?
Yes if you open it. You could also only use the outside screen which would give you a phone with a small screen.
That’s a bit of a painful workaround considering paying for and not using the main selling point and then having to use a phone that’s twice as thick as it should be.
That was a joke
There are a couple. Namely the Zenfone 8.
Seems to be bigger and heavier: https://www.gsmarena.com/compare.php3?idPhone1=11104&idPhone2=10893
I find that to be a good option. Unfortunately, given my current needs, the Apple Watch is the best device to meet them, so I'm stuck with the iPhone. And yes, I've researched the Galaxy Watch, too, but app integration and health measurements are considered lackluster compared to the AW.
that's always the problem with android based stuff. good software is the one thing they can't do.
I am not sure what you mean by they can't do good software.
It’s not impossible, it’s just a chore level difficulty. Either buy it in Apple Music or just pop the audio file into garage band and export as ringtone. iOS is way better than Android in every aspect except sideloading and expensive development and restrictions on what apps can do, but it’s already enough for your needs.
You have already shown you are brainwashed by apple. Have you ever even seen a modern android phone that costs more than $500?
Lol, there are a TON. The Fairphone, pretty much every Samsung phone, Google Pixel, OnePlus 11, Motorola Razr… I could go on and on
Because sideloading is a fake concept developed by apple because they want you to think that you can only install from the app store. It is called downloading and installing. On android, you have the benefit of multiple app stores to choose from, not just one. You can also download .apk directly and install that. With iOS you are SOL unless you have one of the few jailbreakable phones, which will fall behind on security updates and become inherently insecure.
Every one of those phones even in their standard configuration smack iOS flagships 6 ways to Sunday. I know this because I have used both, android since 2007 and iOS since 2012 to 2020.
Yes, it is harder to break an iOS system, but android offers infinitely more freedom, and the UI is not bad either. If you don't like the UI, you can simply install another launcher.
I hate word choice arguments. It’s literally just a different word/phrase. It doesn’t matter as long as it’s unbiased and people know what you mean. It’s also generally better to categorize things and make a distinction and not start your argument by a personal attack.
There’s AltStore. Granted, it’s slightly inconvenient, but as long as you have contact with your server you’ll be fine.
While it’s not something I care about, iPhones are widely known to be significantly ahead on performance on running things. One thing I do care about is how it runs smoothly. I use some Chinese apps for reasons and all their different services clog up the background and make things laggy. This isn’t really Android’s fault, but in practice it makes Apple a better choice for my needs. It also has a great UI design across apps. Yes you can change your launcher but you can’t change the appearances of apps to be better and I haven’t found good-looking apps on par with Apple’s on Android yet. I also just like Apple Emojis, fonts and bells and whistles more. I’m curious on what advantages you’re referring to.
Android offers more freedom, but Apple’s lack has not hindered me in doing my stuff, which is all I care about for a touch device.
I am sorry, but altstore is trash. iOS needs more options.
There is nothing wrong with liking what you like, it is just not fair to try and tout something as superior when they are not really comparable. Android and iOS are phones and that is where the similarities end. Using an android phone is more akin to using a portable computer (especially if you are a power user) while iOS is a simpler experience for those who don't need all of the features you would get on android. They both do what they do really well, some of the things they do are better than the other, but neither is TRULY better than the other.
For instance, three of the biggest things for me when it comes to android is:
Alternative ROMs
Filesharing
Modularity
On android, I use GrapheneOS (custom ROM) which has a level of security I absolutely need in my day to day life if I am going to be carrying around a networked computer on my person at all times. I sync certain files and folders in realtime with my Linux machines using syncthing, and I install most of my apps from fdroid, one for privacy and security reasons, but also because I love free and open source software.
iOS can achieve things similarly, but what I don't like is that they want you to use it within their ecosystem. For instance, file sharing on iOS to your computer is easy on MacOS, a PITA on windows, and damn near impossible on Linux unless you either use a VM or you are just accessing your pictures.
I guess that's the biggest thing about iOS to me is that apple wants you to be in their walled garden and ONLY in their walled garden. MacOS is not a great choice for the work that I do and as such, I stay away from having iOS as a daily driver.
That being said, I have a friend who is an apple freak to say the least. He has a workflow that integrates perfectly with his apple devices. His m1 macbook air, his m1 Mac mini, his iPhone, his apple watch, his homepod, etc etc. He doesn't have a technical workflow and doesn't do anything seriously complicated or application specific, and he loves it. One joke he commonly makes is that "nothing integrates as well as apple" when it just isn't the case.
I can't comment much off personal experience when it comes to the airtag system equivalent on android, but believe it or not it is actually a thing and it isn't bad. It actually works similarly to the apple system but the only thing is, there are less android users in the US. I personally stray away from that because I do not like location services at all and go out of my way to NOT use them.
I agree. I'm more responding to the ridiculousness of Captain's purported shortcomings of iOS. I daily drive an Arch laptop and a WIndows PC(I also have a 2014 secondhand 128g macbook air which I never use now for obvious reasons), so I have a very odd combination that can run anything. I just like Apple's approach better.
It does have more options like SideStore and Sideloady, though these can't install really large apps (which I use) for some reason
Don't get me wrong, iOS DOES have its shortcomings, but literally everything does, nothing is perfect and if there was a perfect system, everyone would use it (although I think we can both agree that Linux is about as perfect as an operating system can get so long as you are capable of properly tuning your system).
Wut?
You’ve been able to download files since like iOS 5. You’re just being obtuse at this point.
dude... it's 2023. Why are you fighting for a mega corporation that cares nothing for you. Just let people use what they want to use. If they are happy with their color box, then leave them being happy with their color box.
It's a tool, nothing more.
Why would I email it to myself if I have already downloaded it?
And what world do you live in where downloading a PDF and sending it via email is something the iPhone can’t do? Are you living in 2007?
Just long/3D touch the link and click save link as or if you can’t just take a screenshot and click full page; it’ll save as PDF. Better yet just press share on the page and either share it wherever you share or save to files if it’s like a PDF. If you wanna transfer local-only files then just host an Apache server on your computer or send it over your favorite instant messaging service.
My lawyer sent me a pdf via Gmail on my iPad, I signed it with the pencil and sent it back in five seconds. What are you talking about?
in sheer things you can do, android is clearly superior. but there are some things that apple products will do best, like integrating everything so well.
i didn't refer to any specific feature, but stuff like airdrop, the airtag system, sharing files between apple devices.
never actually used any apple product besides the 2nd gen ipod touch, but i've been told they're pretty rad.
also i'm never gonna buy any of that overpriced, planned obsolescence bullshit. not for 800+€
Uh, what about syncthing? Syncthing is literally better than anything apple has ever pumped out in the name of file sharing, because it is multi-platform and does it in essentially real time (configurable).
Airdrop is borderline pointless too, it does pretty much the same thing as any messenger worth a damn when it comes to filesharing but has a much lower limit than most of them, both in filesize and filetype.