Small phones are back under a flippin disguise
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Those longing for the days of the best compact phones are in for a treat unseen since Apple killed the mini form factor. In almost every year since the original iPhone's inception, phone screens grew bigger and bigger, and 2024 will be no exception, it seems.
The iPhone 16 Pro and 16 Pro Max, which are expected to sell in the many millions, will come with larger display diagonals. That's not even counting Androids, which are now just shy of the 7-inch mark that nobody but foldable phones dare to cross still.
The ever-expanding phone display trend had its origins in emerging markets, where the phone is often the primary window to the digital world, then took off thanks to faster networks and media consumption. People who prefer smaller, more manageable in the hand and pocket handsets were left hanging for choices, but there is now flipping' hope on the horizon.
Flip phones ARE small phones
Have no fear, compact phones are still here!
When Samsung released the clamshell Galaxy Z Flip line, the market immediately noticed that it is selling better than the book-style Z Fold series. This trend has only continued since then, and not only because the book-style foldables are more expensive than the flip phones with bendy displays.
A lot of celebrities who aren't concerned about a phone's pricing were grabbing the clamshell designs first and foremost, showcasing them in music videos, Instagram stories, and in public as a status symbol of sorts.
Asked why do they prefer the Flips before the Folds, women added that it is not only the novelty and the cool vibe of the Razr years, but the sheer practicality of the form factor. Their jeans usually came with very shallow pockets, they explained, where only a flip phone folded in half could fit.
That is exactly what the industry delivered, culminating now with Xiaomi's first clamshell foldable, the Mix Flip and its record external display size.
Xiaomi HyperOS LockScreen - Xiaomi MIX Flip pic.twitter.com/HtKUNmuokE
— TechDroider (@techdroider) July 17, 2024
Clamshells become compact phone replacements
The 2024 Razr+ has a big 4-inch cover screen | Image credit – PhoneArena
First, it was the Motorola Razr series. The thin clamshell design closed with a satisfying sound, marking the end of a phone call, and it was so elegant to hold and look at. Moto then resurrected the line for the foldable OLED display era with the new Razr, but also did one better.
In order to have a chance against the foldable phone pioneer Samsung on its own turf, it enlarged the cover screen of its Razr phones, making them more functional than simply showing the time and date like on the Z Flip. That culminated in the giant 4-inch cover screen on the Razr+ 2024, but with horizontally aligned cameras which take more of the top or bottom portion of the display than the sides, and still limited app functionality.
Then came Oppo with the groundbreaking Find N2 Flip that had a 3.26-inch display you could use tools like CoverScreen OS to run apps and type on, and a serious dual camera system. Samsung was forced to reply by enlarging its own external display to the 3.4-inches on the Z Flip 6.
The N2 Flip cover screen could run keyboards before it was cool | Image credit – Jagan2/XDA
While cover screens on flip phones have come a long way, they are still somewhat limited in functionality and not entirely a replacement for the main display like on the Fold type of bendy handsets. The Galaxy Z Flip 6, for instance, only allows widgets and some default apps to draw on the external screen, which doesn't really ring in the full phone experience.
Unlike Z Flip 6, the Mix Flip cover screen is like a mini phone | Image credit – Xiaomi
Enter the world's third-largest phone maker, which is now bringing its first clamshell Mix Flip to market. Xiaomi's CEO is nothing but ambitious, and the Mix Flip one-ups everyone with a true edge-to-edge cover screen at a record for the category, 4.01-inch diagonal last seen on the iPhone 5.
The external keyboard on the Mix Flip | Image credit – Xiaomi
So far so good, a bit larger display, what's the big deal? The Mix Flip, however, will be launched globally, and allows regular apps to draw over the cover screen, including a full-size 26-key default keyboard!
That could exponentially increase the practicality of the cover screen, to the point where the clamshell foldable becomes a true compact phone replacement not only in design but also in functionality.
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