I remain an irreductible fan of the one-hand theory, and therefore stick with an iPhone 13 mini. I might be late at the folding-phone revolution.
Alas it seems we won't see any such phone that fits in a pant's pocket and that can be operated single-handedly. I am afraid that the 13 mini is the last of its kind.
Yet many reports of people dropping their gigantic phones. Maybe that's a business model after all.
The Z Flip is even smaller folded and has been around for years. The cover screen used to be very limited, but the made it larger and added more functionality over time. I think some people use the cover screen for daily messaging, etc.
Yup, the new phone size is in between the Flip and the previous Fold (now Fold Pro).
I would not take the release of this device as evidence that people wanted a smaller phone, no more than the release of the original iPhone Mini and Galaxy S10e, and to some extent the iPhone Air and the Galaxy Edge. Manufacturers are experimenting to see what form factors people will buy and it is entirely possible that this size will be phased out by both Samsung and Apple in a generation.
Samsung has a major advantage over Apple in that they have multiple generations of folding phones so modifying both their manufacturing and software is less of an issue.
I don't even think this counts because then you'd be paying for the brittle and useless big folding display as well, when all you want is the smaller outer one. Plus the worse repairability.
I just held it in my hands today, its reduced height makes it fit much easier in the pocket. Overall a better form in my opinion, the price tag still too high for me.
I’m hoping that with a supply of the passport-sized front screens it might become a new form factor for non-folding phones. Though again, ideally I’d like something Mini-sized or smaller.
There is a wave of 'blackberry-like' android phones coming soon (4:3 screen + qwerty keyboard) - Unihertz Titan 2, Clicks Communicator, Minimal Phone 2 to name a few.
Not sure if all, but some (Clicks i am sure) will offer touch-sensitive keyboards where you can swipe over keyboard to apply gestures as if was the screen itself, so its not such a dead space if you are not typing.
You can still navigate by interacting with the lower half.
It's funny that at some point we'll have completely different tech and all those screens would look like old tech :)
Anyway,
I have fiddled with it few times in stores.
* It feels nice form factor for holding. but the folded 'passport' screen still feels it's not yet caught by websites or apps.
* The claims are Apple is suspected of doing this form-factor (and as a display manufacturer I guess Samsung could sniff it...), meaning Samsung tried to be first. like the Galaxy Edge.
I guess the discussion over the form factor would be more valuable in a year or so after Apple drops their product. If enough actors has similar form factor, I'd expect designers to caught up with it.
I have one and love it. In the early foldable days (7 or so years ago), manufacturers tried that form factor and eventually abandoned it because of other compromises.
Even MS tried with the surface duo but the device sucked in other ways. Now is a good time to revisit with advances in battery, thinness and heat management. I'd bet that's why Apple is finally doing it too to remain relevant in the massive Asian markets. Nailing the software makes it a fantastic device
Isn't the passport-sized Samsung Z Fold simply a rerun of the original Pixel Fold format?
And, as I understand it, it tends to give more usable screen space for viewing videos but is actually more difficult to use one-handed than the newer tall/narrow candybar format.
The normal Android one hand mode doesn't really help at all on the squatter passport format as it works by moving the content down, not across.
Samsung's 1 hand mode doesn't just shift the UI down, it downscales it to the left or right (swappable with a tap) so, for example, on my S24Ulta my one thumb can reach the entire screen height and width.
The goal is that your phone will be your wallet. In EU we will have soon the EUDI Wallet, so why don't just replace your own classic wallet with phone totally?
I broke my 12 Mini, replaced it with a 17, then went so far as to return the 17 and buy a used 13 Mini.
It was totally annoying to me to not be able to operate the phone with one hand without feeling like I was about to drop it. I kept the 17 for most of the return window thinking I’d get used to it, but I just kept finding more situations where it bothered me. Battery life on the mini is not amazing, but a slim magsafe powerbank makes it largely a non-issue.
How long did you use the new phone for? I was a mini advocate for a very long time, then changed to a 17 pro for work, it took me around solid 2 months to get used to it. Now the mini feels comically small. iOS26 did a lot to eliminate the need to reach for the top in most places, but there’s still a lot to improve.
Edit: as others have pointed out it’s extremely hard to go back to the lightning connector too.
I had the 12 mini (before it I had an iPhone SE, then iPhone X, then the 12 mini), which unfortunately did not work for me because the battery drained too fast.
Really hope you're wrong and we do eventually get some more one-handed phones in the future, especially once battery tech evolves.
I think this problem was unique to the 12 mini. I remember hearing a lot of people complain about it at the time, and I haven't experienced anything like it with my 13 mini (which I upgraded to from a six-year-old 1st-gen SE, so clearly my usage is not typical; YMMV).
Been using it for half a year and so far it's doing well. I never remove it from its case so there's not much wear happening on the connector. At least it protects the original port as well.
The creator is really nice and basically handles everything himself. I had n issue in the upper separate piece and I learned just the top part can be ordered and replaced for cheap.
> I am afraid that the 13 mini is the last of its kind.
Yeah, I thought mine was great but just wasn't up to the job of running the latest & greatest. Ive switch to an iPhone Air. It was a reluctant switch and I would go back in a heartbeat if Apple released a smaller form factor with the latest internals.
Also fan of the smaller phones. I dug up my Samsung Galaxy Ace from many years ago, and was so surprised at how tiny it was, with a replaceable battery as well!
My hope is that Unihertz ends up making a phone that I like enough, they seem to be pretty much the only ones making smaller phones. Their current offering doesn't really speak to me yet, but they're making quick progress.
> Alas it seems we won't see any such phone that fits in a pant's pocket and that can be operated single-handedly
Check out the Motorola Razr! I switched from an iPhone 13 Mini to the Razr last year and I'm a big fan. The outer display is 4"! It runs all applications and it's extremely usable one-handed. Some apps and websites are clearly not designed for a screen that small, but the vast majority work just fine. And it unfolds into a phablet for when you want/need an enormous screen. And it's Android so you can use Firefox. I'm much happier with it than I was with the iPhone.
I'm with you brother/sister. It is a tragedy that even with the diaspora of Android makers and models, we can't get anything like it. I hung onto my Pixel 4 for years; bought a new Pixel 4 after too many screen cracks and battery deterioration; used that until it stopped working for mobile payments (security reasons or something), then finally caved and bought a 10.
I don't need a Pixel. An iPhone would be fine. Or arbitrary Android phone. Just make it not huge. I have human hands and pants.
The pixel 5 ticks a lot of the same boxes as the pixel 4 btw. Similar form factor, but bigger battery and wireless charging. Plus if you install florisboard from f-droid you can customize a one-handed mode for the keyboard, which works quite well.
Also this: https://lineage.microg.org/ so you can run a less-google-ish phone, but also run maps if need be.
The Pixel 5 was an absolutely brilliant phone; everything about it was right: the texture, the size, and the battery was great too. It was the best phone I've ever had. It's a blueprint for creating a great phone, IMO.
I've since moved onto a Pixel 9a and it just isn't as good, IMO. The screen seems so much... weaker? I used to drop the 5 quite a bit onto hard concrete floors, and it never sustained the damage that this one has (without as much abuse): the screen is cracked along the side. I'm still not sure how it came about.
If it wasn't for GrapheneOS and the desire for a private and secure OS, I don't think I would stick with the Pixel line-up any longer.
The Pixel 4 is basically the same size as a standard iPhone (Pixel 4: 147.1 x 68.8 x 8.2 mm, iPhone 17: 149.6 x 71.5 x 7.95 mm, iPhone 17e: 146.7 x 71.5 x 7.8 mm).
I don't think most people realize that. The iPhone mini was essentially a category on it's own (iPhone mini 13: 131.5 x 64.2 x 7.65 mm)
I really want something 13 mini sized but the battery life is no good for me. They could fix that with less fat and bloated software but like hell that's going to happen.
The last phone I really liked was my iPhone 6s. Right size, shape and feel. That was incidentally the last phone that had a camera that didn't oversharpen everything too.
I think of the mini is like firefly, cancelled prematurely.
Apple cancelled it because sales weren't that strong, but I wonder if they can now collect enough data to see they are kept in use longer? (Or are all iphones passed down, forever)
Maybe they're running out of ideas. I'm also a fan of one hand theory, and this seems cyclic. Back in the day phone manufacturers also tried to expand this concept, so maybe it won't be long before they try to make the back of the phone be a screen again too, then realize people were fine with that. Not knocking a foldable if you like it just one hand preferred club representing here ;)
I used to think I preferred a smaller phone until I upgrade from an SE3 to an iPhone 17.
It’s not even that much bigger, less than the screen size suggests because of the end-to-end screen and taller aspect ratio. And that extra screen area is extremely useful.
Would be nice if it was smaller in my pocket, but it’s already not an issue to carry
I also refuse to use two-handed phone, which is why right now (after finally accepting there will never be a new version of the Palm Phone) I use the Motorola Razr flip phone and just keep it flipped close 99% of the time. Pretty much all Android apps work on it, sub-4" screen.
I also had this worry when moving from an iPhone 8 (or something) to a 14.
But you can use a swipe down gesture on the white bar at the bottom of the screen which pulls the whole thing down, bringing the top part of the screen easily in reach of your thumb.
Alas it seems we won't see any such phone that fits in a pant's pocket and that can be operated single-handedly. I am afraid that the 13 mini is the last of its kind.
Yet many reports of people dropping their gigantic phones. Maybe that's a business model after all.