We asked, you told us: Most want small phones, but there are few good options

Over the past few years, people seem to have been voting with their wallets — big phones are here to stay. Unfortunately, companies are now spending fewer resources on making decent small phones. There just aren’t that many of them out there.

I’ve been thinking a lot about this recently, mainly because Google’s upcoming Pixel 4a looks like the right size for me and I’ve been so far unimpressed with the Pixel 4 XL. I asked you last week which you prefer — big phones or small phones — and out of over 9,200 total votes on the website and Twitter, we have a pretty good idea as to what our audience thinks.

Are you still interested in compact phones?

Results

Over 38% of Android Authority readers want to be all-in on small phones, but there are few good options available right now. In the US, we have the iPhone SE, Pixel 3a, and the Moto G Power, but options are limited beyond that. Companies like HUAWEI and LG have told us in the past that big phones work for their audience, so they don’t spend as much time on building smaller handsets. It’s a bummer.

In a close second place, 34% of voters said they only use big phones. They’re probably loving the Android landscape right now. Just over 12% said they only use small phones, while 15% voted “I don’t care about the size of my phone.”

Here’s what you had to say

Here are some of the best comments from last week’s poll explaining why they voted the way that they did:

• DBS: I’m not still interested in small phones.
  I’m only interested in small phones.
  Which is why I’m pretty much ignoring every single Android phone being released in 2020 so far.
• deboo: Hell yeah! But tbh, the iPhone 11 Pro is the only decent small phone with a good battery life.The recently released #SamsungM01 is also a step in the right direction with a 5.7″ screen and a 4000mAh battery.
• AnySmarterIdRunLinux: Small phone, big battery, current SoC.OEMs keep making small phones with mid-tier specs and think it is the size that keeps people away.Make a S8 with a FLAT screen and current (or 2019) specs, 5aH battery, no kitchen sink and i am in. Must have a sdCard..And since you are still reading:
  1080p
  3.5mm jack
  waterproof
• Dusht: Okay i want sony style compact phone, just cut the display and battery and not other things, small phone but powerful too.
• Batou2034: Y’all need to ask Sony to to do more Compacts.
• Abhishek Tirkey: compact phones are way better than large phones i think 5 to 5.8 max 6 inch are more than enough. more than 6 inches i would consider as tv
• professorpasta: Yeeeeeesssss I need small phones. The Pixel 3 and S10e are the largest I’d use on purpose. I had an OP6T, but it literally hurt my thumb from using it all day.
• The One: I see too many comments asking for small phones with 5,000 mAh batteries. At some point, we have to recognize the physical space limitations which prevent that from being feasible. The battery size is less important than the proper usage of the battery. For example, the Sony Xperia Z3 Compact had a 2700 mAh battery that actually lasted longer than the 3100 mAh of the larger Z3 because it used a lower power consuming display. If we can get OEMs to build a 5″ phone with a 3,000 mAh battery, appropriately spec’d display, and a power sipping processor, then you’d have a winner. Instead, they want to give you high resolution display using a processor clocked high enough to fry an egg and are surprised when the battery doesn’t last long enough for a work day (looking at you Pixel 4).
• MDRuckus: There’s no way I could use a phone with a screen smaller than 6″ now.
• TheObserver: Most certainly. Only compact for me. That’s why I bought an iPhone 8 recently. Still holding on to Pixel 2 also.

That’s it for this week. As always, thanks for voting, thanks for the comments, and don’t forget to let us know what you thought of the results below.