
A $10 Accessory Proves Smartphones Are Too Big - forgingahead
https://www.wsj.com/articles/a-10-accessory-proves-smartphones-are-too-big-11550412000
======
frob
Alternative headline that could have been written for years: "A $10 Accessory
Proves Smartphones Are Too Fragile"

We've been happily buying and adding accessories to our phones for years now,
be it cases or external battery packs or lanyards or wallets. It especially
makes sense in parts that are damageable, external facing, easily replaceable,
and can be manufactured by anyone with some basic geometry specifications.

I would also argue that a $10 accessory is just that: a $10 accessory. It
solves multiple real problems, the biggest of which I would argue is that
holding a phone stable for a selfie is naturally unconducive due to its
geometry. If people want the added use of this device, be it for holding,
propping, or hooking into their car, great, go ahead and spend those ten
dollars. I would prefer my phone to be thinner and not catch on things in my
pocket.

For lack of a better term, this is basic modularity for your phone: if you
want a feature, go ahead and add it. If you don't, no problem! Everyone
doesn't need to get the same thing. We've been ogling modular phones for a
while now here on HN; it just turns out it may be starting with selfie-
accessories and not swappable camera units.

My mother absolutely loves hers. My students last semester all had them. About
a third of my friend have them. Some of them just see them as another
accessory to put on their phone. I don't care for one since my phone fits in
my hand just fine and I never take selfies. Point being, if you want one for
whatever reason, great! If you don't, great! That's the point of accessories.

~~~
unrealse7en
I came here to say this. It does not make sense to add bloated features that
are not essential to everyone's use case.

------
gnicholas
I stretch a rubber band around two corners of my iPhone 7 Plus to make it
easier to grip. It provides friction on these two corners, and across the
entire back, which makes holding and propping easy.

Each band lasts a couple months, and they come free with celery, broccoli, and
asparagus!

[https://imgur.com/qrS5ftB](https://imgur.com/qrS5ftB)

edit: clarified visual description

~~~
sixothree
I use this stuff
[https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00MYI9674/](https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00MYI9674/)

~~~
gnicholas
Pretty cool. Looks like it would work great with flat-edged phones (like the
iPhone 4-SE), and could work on the back of curved phones. How do you use it?

~~~
sixothree
Sorry for the slow reply. I put two vertical stips on the back of my devices
where my fingers rest. Or like on my surface pro horizontally but closer to
the edge just to catch my fingers if it starts slipping out my hand.

I think the most curved device I have it on is my kindle. These are pliable
enough that they should fit some pretty serious curves.

------
fitzroy
Or... lack of $10 accessory on the vast majority of smartphones disproves
theory that smartphones are too big.

Seriously, I would like a _larger_ phone — about the size of a Kindle or an
iPad mini (without the bezels / home button). Right now I have an iPhone and a
9.7" iPad that I'm regretting purchasing. They both do almost exactly the same
thing. The iPad is a second-class citizen, both for apps (no Health app,
weather app etc) and for the physical camera which is always a few generations
/ features behind. It has a larger screen and a longer battery, and is better
for reading letter-size PDFs. That's about it. It will not replace my laptop
in any reasonable way. So, now I have 3 things to carry, charge and keep in
sync.

The great one-handed experience of the iPhone 4 through 5s/SE isn't lost on
me, but I don't spend the majority of my life hanging on to a subway pole
(though it seems like it sometimes). I just want a bigger phone. I promise to
only use bluetooth for calls and not to hold it up to my face like a modern-
day Gordon Gekko.

~~~
strictnein
iPhone XS Max? 6.5" screen vs the 7.9" of the iPad Mini

~~~
akamel
You are comparing screen sizes; you should instead compare physical device
sizes.

iphone xs max: 6.20 x 3.05 x 0.30 in and 208g

ipad mini: 8.0 x 5.3 x 0.24 in and 298g

~~~
maksimum

      iphone/ipad
     
      area: 44%
    
      volume: 55%

------
captainbland
I must admit I'm slightly bewildered because it seems like there are a number
of smaller smartphones out there on the market. If people generally thought
their phones were too big, why wouldn't they just go and buy the smaller ones?
I don't think manufacturers have been pulling these sizes out of their
backsides, isn't it all based off of sales data and market research by this
point?

There certainly are still cheap feature phones knocking about for more basic
use cases as well. I just can't quite work out what the author is asking for.
I mean okay, the author makes quite a good case for popsockets but that
doesn't seem to translate into his other, less salespitchy, more "profound"
sounding point about smartphones being "too big".

~~~
cmroanirgo
> why wouldn't they just go and buy the smaller ones?

Because the smaller form factors generally have a lot of features pulled:
whether it be screen pixel density, compass, camera, or battery/phone time,
etc.

More and more I love the old style phones: smaller screen and heaps of battery
by having a thicker body... but it seems that no-one else agrees with me on
this point, so it's always thinner, thinner, thinner and bigger screens.

I'd love to buy an 'iPhone FatBoy 6' or 'Google Pixel Brick'. In a form factor
that is thicker, we have more room for better camera optics, bigger batteries,
other goodies, and not to mention - easier to hold!

~~~
hliyan
I'm with you on this. In fact, I predict that in another 2-3 years, the
dominant form factor will start to move away from what looks good on
advertisements and in the showroom, to what is usable.

My personal belief is that the future form factor will be a smaller, somewhat
egg shaped device that you can comfortably nestle in your palm. It will be
thicker, but about the same weight as current phones, so less denser and more
shock resistant. You will be able to operate it with just one hand, perhaps
with physical controls on the periphery or the back surface of the device.
Perhaps it will support a "squeeze" gesture.

~~~
thirdsun
I wish you were right, but I doubt it. For an increasing number of people the
smartphone is their main or only computing device, which is why they prefer a
bigger screen. In contrast to most people around here actual practical, mobile
use isn't their primary concern since they don't have a second, much bigger
screen for more complex tasks. I don't see this trend slowing down.

------
autumnaterr
[https://outline.com/wwu82d](https://outline.com/wwu82d)

~~~
bubblethink
OT: The outline page claims, "We remove the clutter", and yet it has a giant
footer ad that clutters the page. Why can't we have nice things ?

~~~
giancarlostoro
I've turned off my adblocker and I don't see what you're referring to.

~~~
bubblethink
It's the medium style bar at the bottom that follows you around. If you are on
chrome/chromium, it says "get outline for google chrome"

------
appleiigs
Or the phone designers can put bezels back in, so I have somewhere to grip the
phone without it thinking I'm pinch zooming. Even just top and bottom bezels -
then you can even get rid of the notch. Odd that the author is implying such
advanced tech like foldable screens is the solution to holding your phone.

------
tyingq
If you're having a hard time visualizing what this thing is, and why it's
helpful for a big phone:
[https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0727/0205/products/Custom_...](https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0727/0205/products/Custom_Pop_Socket_Phone_Grip_Stand_grip.jpg)

It's confusing at first searching, because they also made a popular thing to
mount your phone on a dashboard. The picture above is specifically their
"grip" product.

~~~
seltzered_
Also, popsockets were kickstarted back in 2012
([https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1250439912/popsockets-i...](https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1250439912/popsockets-
iphone-case-it-pops-props-kicks-and-cli) ), back when iPhones were small
(though there were some large android/windows phones being sold)

------
spenrose
[https://twitter.com/sampenrose/status/944986515930624002](https://twitter.com/sampenrose/status/944986515930624002)

"Resolved: Apple should make iPhone for the human hands that hold it, not just
the eyes and fingertips that invoke its software. ... Now we can update Jobs'
"[design is] not just what it looks like ... [but] how it works" for iPhone.
What is design for Apple in 2017? ... Design is how it gleams, how it works,
and how it shatters."

~~~
_red
The obsession with "thin" has produced devices which are totally unnatural to
type on.

My old BB Classic was one of the best pure communication devices I've ever
owned. I could write long multi-paragraph emails on that thing hardly ever
needing correction.

Many of my clients are lawyers, and I noticed that the legal community was one
of the last holdouts on BB platform. Namely, because anyone whose job requires
lengthy written communication, it provided the best balance of form and
function. Even being careful, it seems impossible to type more than 2 or 3
words in succession without needing to correct something on Apple phones.

Apple has been hiding their bad (near abysmal) ergonomics behind the success
of their app store. I wonder how long it will last? Sadly, I think the whole
management team now has too much hubris to ever change course and will
continue to double-down on ever thinner devices with 1/2 day battery life.

~~~
robocat
Your could try installing Google gboard and have an Android user show you how
to swipe to write.

Almost anyone who uses a keyboard at work will become fast on gboard within a
few minutes.

You certainly don't need to correct one in three words.

~~~
telchar
Gboard is terrible. I have to correct one in two words. It's ok for long words
but I mostly use short words, and it usually gets those wrong.

~~~
bschwindHN
I kinda have to agree. I'm constantly trying to teach Gboard new words because
I'm in Japan and it doesn't know things like "takadanobaba". It eventually
learns it, remembers it for a little bit, and then...forgets it? I don't know
if it has an LRU cache and I don't use it often enough that it gets evicted,
but it's frustrating. That and the fact that a comma button doesn't exist and
isn't configurable, but we'll make extra sure you have an emoji button!

------
BucketSort
I have big hands and can hold any any phone, but prefer to use a Pop Socket
because it is simply easier to hold the phone with it. I also like having a
big screen. This guy is just trying to be a provocateur.

~~~
kevin_thibedeau
Welcome to native advertising.

------
betaby
IPhone 5s was borderline usable. Everything larger else is unsubtle with one
hand. On a positive side, now I much rarely look onto my phone.

~~~
delgaudm
I find that a very interesting perspective. I've only used Huge phones --
Galaxy Nexus, LGv10, Note9, and find single handed usage effortless. I have
typical hands for a 5'9" man. My 5'2" daughter also uses a big phone and has
never complained.

On the other hand as a person who needs reading glasses, the bigger screens
have been an absolute godsend, and when I try and use my older Ipod touch
everything is miniscule -- especially the keyboard.

I guess it all comes down to preference. I've never thought of a typical US
checkbook as being too big for anything, and these "huge" phones are about
that size.

~~~
FullyFunctional
I'm in the same category; my EYES just aren't good enough for small phones and
I have jumped on every larger iPhone even though I can't completely use
everything one handed. I'd even take an even larger phone (~ "small iPad") if
I can find a way to hold it. It's a trade-off and we do not all have the same
constraints and preferences.

~~~
danlugo92
You might be interested in a Xiaomi Mi Max 3 or a Huawei Honor Note 10

------
sigi45
Yes.

And we are also not even able to make apps usable on them.

I have a Samsung S9 now (business phone) and i had a xperia compact before.
Why the fuck are so many apps main navigation controles atop and not at the
bottom right corner?

I do have big hands and can hold that phone quite okayisch but...

------
Simulacra
Nonsense! I love my large smartphone. What I hate is the lack of a 3.5mm
headphone jack.

------
khc
Normally never click on that but since this is a wsj article...

The web link now links to duckduckgo instead of Google, the actually article
is not in the first page of result. Where as in Google, it's the first result.
I understand the desire to help the little player but seems like this is more
discouraging than encouraging people to switch.

------
peterwwillis
There's a bunch of modern feature phones running KaiOS[1] like the CAT B35[2].
Comes with 4G, Wifi, Bluetooth, and you can run web apps on it. And there's
some that even run Android [3] [4]

[1] [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/KaiOS](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/KaiOS)
[2]
[https://www.techradar.com/reviews/cat-b35](https://www.techradar.com/reviews/cat-b35)
[3]
[https://www.gsmarena.com/energizer_hardcase_h240s-8981.php](https://www.gsmarena.com/energizer_hardcase_h240s-8981.php)
[4]
[https://www.gsmarena.com/results.php3?nYearMin=2015&sFormFac...](https://www.gsmarena.com/results.php3?nYearMin=2015&sFormFactors=2,3&sOSes=2,9)

------
tracker1
I remember after the Google Nexus 7 thinking, I wish I could just make calls
on the thing. I rarely use my phone next to my face, preferring speaker or
Bluetooth integration. The size was about perfect for casual use. My Pixel 2XL
is pretty close, but not quite as nice imho.

I also tend to set the max font size etc, and don't care as much as most about
pixel density. That's just me though.

All of that said, if someone wants a better case or a holder, let them buy
it... what's $10 as an after-market item would add $40 to the phone for the
people that don't want it.

------
scotty79
Are there any phones/tablets with built in grip? Or is that too much of a
transgression aginst holy rounded rectangle?

The only thing I can think of is yoga tablet.

------
cml7uu
I finally decided to get rid of my pop socket and pre-ordered this:
[https://finchandmole.com](https://finchandmole.com) \- hard to know if it
will work, but it looks promising (and a lot better than a piece of plastic).

------
lsc
hm. Yeah, there is an argument for working around the shortcomings
(longcomings? largecomings?) of modern cellphones with accessories.

As a younger person, I used belt holsters for my cellphones. Around the time
of the iphone 5, (incidentally, when I jumped on the apple phone bandwagon) i
switched to wearing pants with a special cellphone pocket, which isn't big
enough for the big cellphones, but velcros closed (which I think is essential,
for phones are slippery and are far more likely to slip out when sitting in
chairs designed for short people than a wallet or keys are) - also, the
special pocket means no fishing around in your pocket for the phone.

Now that I carry a separate phone for work, man, I've had a hard time of it.
but... why don't I just order a belt clip for the work phone? Done. $15, and
it will be on my desk, most likely, when I get in to work on Tuesday.

------
thevagrant
I use two phones, iPhone 7 and Note 9. I actually prefer the Note 9 because it
is easier on my eyes. The iPhone is handy for tight jean pockets but it gets
used far less.

My Note, I can do all sorts of work in a hurry and it feels fine. The iPhone I
can do all the same but the size of screen means I prefer not to use it
excessively unless needed.

------
netsec_burn
Smartphones have, in general, plateaued. The next big jump in tech will make
phone screen sizes and a lot of other useless measurements obsolete.
[https://www.vuzix.com/products/blade-smart-
glasses](https://www.vuzix.com/products/blade-smart-glasses)

------
Tsubasachan
For me a smartphone is a mini laptop. Its needs a big screen more than it
needs to make selfies.

------
chiph
My Nokia Lumia was too slick, so I put clear skateboard tape on the back.

------
exabrial
As I age into my mid thirties, I'm ok with large screens and fonts.

------
baybal2
7 inch phones are a new hit in China... will we soon see 8 inchers?

------
rconti
I'm guessing the accessory is the pop socket, but it's too far down the
article and hence hidden by the paywall. The little glue-on rings people used
on their phones are another contender, but those seem to be on the outs.

I admit, I've always these devices to be so perplexing. Why would I want to
make my phone awkwardly thick in just one spot?

I had an iPhone 7+. Hated it. Easily the worst iPhone I ever owned; replacing
it with an X, which actually fits in my hand, has been the best phone decision
ever, particularly because it's also my favorite iPhone ever.

But mostly-- buy a phone that fits in your hand and pocket.

~~~
egypturnash
> Why would I want to make my phone awkwardly thick in just one spot?

So you have something that snaps out that you can use to hold it in a one-
handed grip somewhere nearer the middle of the phone.

Also it give you something to use as a tiny stand if you wanna prop the phone
up to watch video/read/otherwise use it hands-off.

------
bradknowles
TLDR: Pop socket makes it easier to hold onto your phone

~~~
headsoup
And at the same time highlights a ludicrous failure of product design.

------
_asummers
Are articles behind pay walls supposed to be posted to HN? That seems like
something that would be discouraged here.

~~~
grzm
From the FAQ
([https://news.ycombinator.com/newsfaq.html](https://news.ycombinator.com/newsfaq.html)):

> _" Are paywalls ok?"_

> _" It's ok to post stories from sites with paywalls that have workarounds."_

> _" In comments, it's ok to ask how to read an article and to help other
> users do so. But please don't post complaints about paywalls. Those are off
> topic."_

~~~
elwesties
How do you read the article?

~~~
smacktoward
Or you could always, you know, subscribe to the WSJ.

The way HN reacts to paywalls is beyond ridiculous. It's like if every comment
thread on a story about a Netflix original series was nothing but questions
and answers about where to go to torrent it.

~~~
autumnaterr
I agree with paying for journalism BUT think about just how important is this
particular piece is.

Edit: the last 'is' added.

~~~
grzm
Another perspective is if it isn't that important, there's little need to read
it, much less going out of one's way to bypass a paywall.

~~~
Dylan16807
This is a fine thought by itself. As long as you don't imply that anyone doing
an unimportant action is behaving incorrectly.

In other words, someone that says "I don't care much but I looked anyway" is
not a hypocrite.

~~~
rising-sky
"I have no interest _but_ I showed interest" Strikes me odd, and should likely
be confusing to an observer. It seems an oxymoron which is somewhat analogous
to hypocrisy

~~~
Dylan16807
Only if they say they have absolutely _no_ interest. If they just say it's
unimportant, or not worth paying for, there shouldn't be any confusion.

Relatedly, I think it's worth 0 cents to go flip my phone over on the table.
But I'm going to do it anyway.

------
1ste
Behind a paywall

