Why are 99% of phones so comically large?

It's the only way to go if you want to do more than text people and make calls/

One of my favourite big phone memories has been around about 20 years

I'm having the opposite problem right now. I have **** eyesight so I use a Samsung S6 tablet as a phone. Has a 10.4" screen so I can read texts and use Whatsapp and the like. I have to change device to use a blood glucose sensor and it flat out prohibits any device not on the manufacturer's compatibility list from running the app. I'm going to find screen sizes around "6.5 or less hard to work with.

The sensor is just a probe that sticks into your skin with a little sealed transmitter. The advantage is it continuously reads your blood glucose and warns you before things go south and you go low or have a seizure. But you need something to read the sensor and display the data. It lets you have much tighter control than a separate meter that you have to use blood test strips with.

I'll find a suitable device, but I wish larger phones/phablets were more mainstream. The likes of the Fold Z 3 would be ideal as it has the larger screen size covered, but it's not priced as a mainstream phone and the folding screen is still a bit rough. Give it a few years and I'm sure I'll have something like that.

I think a folding device would solve the problem the OP is having while also allowing plenty of screen space for people need to be able to get the most out of the device.

I do, but there's a limit to what they can do for me.

Is that you Zoolander?

This is pure consumerism.

You buy a 50 inch tv, now you need a massive house to put it in. Where does it go after it’s lifespan with you? Landfill in Southeast Asia?

With every purchase you make of a “thing”, that thing has a lifecycle. Created, stored, maintained, through to its destruction. waste management, environmental impact all through its life. The bigger it is, the larger the impact.

To answer your question op, screen size is dependant on what people want to use it for.

To give an example, in the early to mid 2000s small phones were all the rage. The smaller the better it seemed at one point. But most people didn't use their phone for Internet (wap sucked) and there was no watching movies or YouTube on it.

Now it's all about YouTube, movies (Netflix etc) apps etc. People want and need a bigger screen.

I think it's odd there's so few decent options with Android under 6 inches while the fairly small iPhone lineup has the mini and the SE. My mother was looking for a new phone and I found it very hard to recommend anything to her as all the good options are 6.5"+. She's always used Android and has no interest in switching, otherwise I'd be recommending an iPhone to her.

My wife uses an iPhone SE and has always found my phones comically large, if she ever wants to get something better she always has the option of getting the 13 or 12 mini. She's only ever used iPhone and I've half heartedly suggested switching to Android to her in the past as there are far more options in the budget/mid level range, but the physical size of everything on Android would definitely put her off.

I'm another one who hates big phones, but I am stubborn and a Philistine I suppose. Have an IPhone 8 64GB. It is perfect for me. I know it is not the latest la di da millions of data and whatnot, but I like it, and hope that by the time I need to replace it something of similar size or an affordable flip type will be available.

I use it for Netflix, YouTube, Audible, and the usual apps like Whatsapp etc. Never had an issue touch feckin wood. But I am boring so it suits my needs to a T.

I wish they would incorporate a fold out stand for phones though. That would be ace.

The Pixel 4a is what I recommended initially, she ended up keeping her phone for the time being though. Google were charging full price for it after a full year on the market too and didn't discount it at all for Black Friday. Not exactly great value either.

6.2/6.5... no difference. It's not a small phone either way.

I had to get a new phone in Oct and had the same issue.I said it to the girl in Vodafone and she sighed but politely explained to me then every second customer asks her the same thing.

Still not used to this massive phone and would consider buying a 2017 Samsung or something similar (which is what I replaced)

The Internet 3g is easier to use on a large phone people take selfies, phones are cheap, you always have your phone with u, before phones people would read a book or a newspaper while on a bus. I think apple should make a 5 inch phone some people would buy it, some people want a phone they can put in a Jeans pocket large phones are popular whether u like them or not, like reality TV or soap operas

There's loads of phones that are 6.2 inch on sale, if people did not buy a large phone company's would go back to 4 or 5 inch phones, when phones were 4 inch they only thing you could do with them was txt,talk, or play games like snake, if you want to worry about the environment worry about bitcoin, and nfts that use up megawatts of power for no good purpose. The power system in Texas is not ready for cold or extreme weather, people are moving there just to mine bitcoin because of low taxs lack of regulation. Even if you live in a flat a 50 inch TV does not take up much space if its mounted on the wall

Making your own brand of tiny phone could be the next step in further building your business empire.

A significant proportion of bitcoin mining is done using renewables. Over 90% of all bitcoins have already been mined, using far less energy than for current ones. The Chinese wanted to ban bitcoin so they claimed it took too much energy and was bad for the environment, when some of the big mining operations were sited at the foot of that edifice of environmental destruction, the Yangtze Three Gorges dam, because the electricity from that renewable source was almost free. Others were sited near vast solar farms that are described as stranded power, because they are in such remote locations relative to the areas of consumption and the infrastructure between is insufficient to convey all their output. Again, because the electricity was nearly free and in this case was going to waste

You mentioned Texas -lol!

"Texas company uses Bitcoin mines powered by renewables to stabilize the grid" https://www.renewableenergyworld.com/news/texas-company-uses-bitcoin-mines-powered-by-renewables-to-stabilize-the-grid/

The global power consumption of bitcoin mining is less than the potential power of all the waste gas blown off by the oil and gas industry, which in 2019 was 900 Twh of gas flared. Bitcoin mining consumes something like 129 Twh, 39% of which is from renewables and increasing all the time due to the bad press.

" Gas Flaring Powers Bitcoin Mining For Wesco

16 March 2021, 17:31 GMT+0000

The EZ Smartgrid Flaring Mitigation System has reduced Wesco Inc.’s gas flaring to 0 mcf a day.

The system converts otherwise wasted natural gas into electricity to power BTC mining.

Despite its large carbon footprint, some crypto firms are working towards greater sustainability."

Then there's nuclear:

"In July, micro-nuclear reactor company Oklo and bitcoin mining company Compass Mining announced a 20-year commercial partnership in which Oklo will eventually power a portion of Compass’ mining activities with carbon-free nuclear energy.

Earlier in July, Akron, Ohio-based energy company Energy Harbor Corp. announced it will provide nuclear power to Standard Power’s new Bitcoin blockchain mining center in Coshocton, Ohio beginning in December 2021.