What is your experience on downsizing your phone?

[HippY]

I have an S21 ultra for 2.5 years, and in general I do not have any complaints with it. I like the 120hz display, I use 2 cameras only (0.6 and 3x lense) and that is it really.

The display just got cracked, and it would cost me £350 to repair both the front and the back, and it made me look around for option. 

I had large phone for the past 10 years, HTC M8, iPhone 6S plus, note 8 and now the S21 ultra, and I realised that I want a physically smaller phone. My s21 ultra barely fits into my pocket, and it can be difficult to handle, and honestly I just don't need a large display, all I do is instagram scrolling and reading work emails sometimes.

 

What are peoples experience by downsizing, are there any features that you started missing, or was the smaller device worth it?

I am looking at 3 phones now, S24, Pixel 8, 15 Pro (in this order), but I would be happy with repairing the screen as well.

[da na]

I use very little on my phone. Couple years ago I upgraded from an iPhone 4S and within 2 weeks I was back to the 4S. It makes calls, it texts, that's all I need.

[voyager_]

I would go into the store and spend some time with your options. I really prefer the larger screen for reading text and watching media. I have gone from an s5 to s8+ to note 9 then a s20 ultra and now the s24ultra. I have a hard time holding most the smaller phones and I really like the screen size. 

 

Sorry not much help with the smaller phones...

[Agall]

52 minutes ago, HippY said:

I have an S21 ultra for 2.5 years, and in general I do not have any complaints with it. I like the 120hz display, I use 2 cameras only (0.6 and 3x lense) and that is it really.

The display just got cracked, and it would cost me £350 to repair both the front and the back, and it made me look around for option. 

I had large phone for the past 10 years, HTC M8, iPhone 6S plus, note 8 and now the S21 ultra, and I realised that I want a physically smaller phone. My s21 ultra barely fits into my pocket, and it can be difficult to handle, and honestly I just don't need a large display, all I do is instagram scrolling and reading work emails sometimes.

 

What are peoples experience by downsizing, are there any features that you started missing, or was the smaller device worth it?

I am looking at 3 phones now, S24, Pixel 8, 15 Pro (in this order), but I would be happy with repairing the screen as well.

iPhones are better in general, as someone who's used both for years. Its a 'less is more' approach and the customization gap has closed in the last couple of years. I'd go with the regular 15 unless you need the better camera, then the 15 Pro. The pseudo titanium chassis being the cringiest part which is just as bad as stainless steel when it comes to thermodynamics (as someone who owns thousands worth of custom machined titanium stuff because I love the material, its dumb for smartphones). 

 

49 minutes ago, da na said:

I use very little on my phone. Couple years ago I upgraded from an iPhone 4S and within 2 weeks I was back to the 4S. It makes calls, it texts, that's all I need.

Same, I fought with downsizing for a while in finding a mainstream solution. The Unihertz Atom I used for over 6 months had it battery wear out within that time, but otherwise, has been my favorite option so far. Currently on the Z Flip train the last 2.5 years, going from a 3 to a 5 shortly after release.

[igormp]

I actually hate large phones, I have a S24 (recently upgraded from an S22) and find it a bit uncomfortable, the ideal phone size for me would be the same as my older S10e.

 

So can't really comment much on "downsizing" since for me it was more of an enlargement for me  

[HippY]

37 minutes ago, voyager_ said:

I would go into the store and spend some time with your options. I really prefer the larger screen for reading text and watching media. I have gone from an s5 to s8+ to note 9 then a s20 ultra and now the s24ultra. I have a hard time holding most the smaller phones and I really like the screen size. 

 

Sorry not much help with the smaller phones...

Fair point that, I went to one store, but all the phones were caged, which meant I could not grab them. I would not buy an S24 Ultra though, I do not see the reason to upgrade from mine for that much money.

 

14 minutes ago, Agall said:

iPhones are better in general, as someone who's used both for years. Its a 'less is more' approach and the customization gap has closed in the last couple of years. I'd go with the regular 15 unless you need the better camera, then the 15 Pro. The pseudo titanium chassis being the cringiest part which is just as bad as stainless steel when it comes to thermodynamics (as someone who owns thousands worth of custom machined titanium stuff because I love the material, its dumb for smartphones). 

 

Same, I fought with downsizing for a while in finding a mainstream solution. The Unihertz Atom I used for over 6 months had it battery wear out within that time, but otherwise, has been my favorite option so far. Currently on the Z Flip train the last 2.5 years, going from a 3 to a 5 shortly after release.

I want the 120Hz display, as I feel the 15 would feel sluggish after 2.5 years of high refresh screen, plus I like a smaller telephoto lens.

When I had the 6S it was great, and in peoples hands the iPhone looks like a nicer feeling phone, but S24 has that look as well. It might be the whole "grass is greener" thing, but it is a bit of a toss up.

Of course keeping my S21 Ultra is an option as well, if downsizing in not that big of a change

[Agall]

Just now, HippY said:

Fair point that, I went to one store, but all the phones were caged, which meant I could not grab them. I would not buy an S24 Ultra though, I do not see the reason to upgrade from mine for that much money.

 

I want the 120Hz display, as I feel the 15 would feel sluggish after 2.5 years of high refresh screen, plus I like a smaller telephoto lens.

When I had the 6S it was great, and in peoples hands the iPhone looks like a nicer feeling phone, but S24 has that look as well. It might be the whole "grass is greener" thing, but it is a bit of a toss up.

Of course keeping my S21 Ultra is an option as well, if downsizing in not that big of a change

I've been a refresh rate snob since 2014 when I got my first 144Hz and did Nvidia's DIY G-Sync mod to it, currently using a 4K 240Hz HDR2000 monitor. I've kept my Z Flip in ECO mode basically the whole time, since I value battery life and compactness over everything on a smart phone. I've never felt that its sluggish enough to justify the loss in  battery life that a high refresh rate entails.

 

I think OLEDs are a different story in general, the response time is so low that 60Hz or even 90Hz is very responsive, something that surprised me with the Steam Deck OLED's 90Hz display.

 

In my opinion, if doom scrolling social media feels sluggish at 60Hz, its probably a good thing, since you probably won't do it as much  .