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5 inch phones, the next big thing

CES brought with it a few good contenders in the 5-inch phone battle. Only a month ago, the Butterfly/Droid DNA from HTC was the only game in town. In the next couple months, the Sony Xperia Z, Oppo Find 5, ZTE Grand S, and Huawei Ascend D2 will be popping their heads up for your consideration. MWC might even bring more 5 inch goodness, but any phones announced then will still be a ways off. The rumored 5 inch Galaxy S4 is still a good half a year away also.
The 5 inch size seems to fit the bill very well between a manageable and pocketable phone and one that is too big to use and impairs walking. It fits my requirements perfectly. I've owned a Galaxy Note that's 5.3" before and the 80+mm width and 140+mm height was cumbersome and bulky for me. However, the Galaxy S III at 4.8" was almost imperceptible in my pocket and very easy to hold. Most of the 5 inch phones currently releasing are about the same size, especially those with onscreen buttons. Some like the Xperia ZL are even smaller.
Here's a rundown on my thoughts of the current crop:
Xperia Z: The sides and power button are stylish. It's thin at under 8mm. The back is too plain and that plainless allows fingerprints to shine very easily and nastily. Front is pretty generic. The screen seems to be a bigger version of the Xperia S/T screen. That is, the viewing angles and color aren't the greatest. The 13MP camera seems to take great low light shots with very little noise, and the HDR video is also stellar. Sound capture could use some tweaking. IT's also water/dust resistant, but that doesn't factor much into my decision.
Xperia ZL: The internals and screen are identical to the Z, however Sony tried to squeeze the dimensions a bit and the height and width is actually smaller than a Galaxy S III. The thickness, however, is less impressive. There is a godawful butt flap on the back, especially noticeable on the white one. The textured black one is too Samsung-ish and cheap looking to me. The lower right front facing camera, similar to the one on the Nokia N9, also drives me nuts because I always notice it. Not on my shortlist.
Oppo Find 5: This is the one I'm enamored with. I've always liked the way the Xperia Arc looked, minus the cheap looking plastics. This one is matte and soft touch instead. It is sleeker and more streamlined than the curvaceous and fluffier, less hardy looking One X and Droid DNA polycarbonate shells. The screen is supposedly the same one as the Droid DNA, which is the best 5" 1080p on the market. The camera is also 13MP and possibly has HDR video and a 120fps mode. This phone already has a release date of 1/29 in China, with many more countries following after. Most important of all, it's been stated that they will sell it unlocked in the US for $500 online. Hassle-free. Close to release and fully unlocked are big pros in my book. The name Oppo is also very endearing.
Huawei Ascend D2: Probably the ugliest and most generic of the lot. The front seems identical to the Galaxy S II from 2011, and the back is just cheap shiny plastic with generic budget phone design. There's also an iffy homemade SoC inside. The screen might be the same as the Droid DNA/Find 5 however. There is also a sizeable 3000mah battery.
ZTE Grand S: The design looks a lot like the HTC One series. At 6.9mm, it is also the thinnest. The screen seems to have varying opinions. Some say it is good. Others say it is washed out with poor colors. The only thing I can gather from the videos is that the default brightness isn't very high and it always looks rather dim. The large raised dais that the camera sits within doesn't look very elegant. It is a fingerprint magnet and contrast sharply with the matte of the rest of the phone.
Droid DNA: This one is actually out and available. I don't know about the Butterfly or international variants, but it is on Verizon in the US and can be easily unlocked for GSM networks. It has the best 5" 1080p screen in the market, and the colors are not overly warm like the One X. It also has the same fluffy pillow look of the One X, but with some fun red stripes on the sides. It is quite light for its size, but on the thicker side for modern smartphones. There is a woefully small battery. The camera is a transplant from the older One X, and is only 8MP compared to the other 13MP shooters. The quality is decent, but it tends to be overly dark and oversharpened. The video capture is also not very good.

at some point phones can get too big. I have fairly big hands, but still I do not want to be stretching out my thumbs every time I need to click the back button.

well........
in my opinion, 5" is the ideal size, any bigger than that, the phone would be hard to handle as a phone atleast for people like me.
i have my fingers crossed for my next BIG phone , already expecting a Nexus-4 soon, and hopefully get a HTC Butterfyl or Xperia-Z soon.
:fingers-crossed:

Next "BIG" thing ... hehehe
the irony!
But serious I'm also an owner of rather big hands and I think I could handle a 5" phone, especially if it had a 1080p display.

it is good if phone has 5 inch screen display but phone should be comfortable in hands, now a days most of the mobile companies trying to launch big screen phone because big screen phone are very famous in youngsters.

I would choose the Sony ZL from that list for these reasons:
-Smallest surface for a 5 inch phone (for now)
-On screen buttons, very modable like Nexus devices once rooted
-Sony UI are lighter and more tolerable to me than sense and even touchwiz
-The camera, sound quality and durability should be good to excellent which is a trend with Sony devices from what I see, quite important factors
-It has removable storage which the DNA does not, this is a big deal for a 1080p device. They go hand in hand.
-It have bigger battery capacity than the Z and DNA.
-Base on so spec charts, it is 3G pentaband, a huge plus, you can bring it to any GSM carrier in the world. With LTE too.
If you read the spec charts, the DNA and ZL thickness is .1mm apart, if that is enough of a concern than you deserve the 11gb storage space and overpriced CDMA contract. Though the Z is 2mm thinner, it is 8.4mm longer with big empty space below the screen.
But probably I won't buy it due to the price and my preference of Nexus devices.

Still depends on the size of your palm.

bigger screen is better to use, but the issue is the pocketable size, I m a guy and i dont carry a purse with me.... if u put a 5" in ur front pocket, its hard to bend or kneel down, and u risk sitting on the phone if u put it on ur rear pocket, especially for those who wear tight jeans
i guess its fine if u use a purse or a belt hanger or clothing with big pockets

5.0 Screens
I was concerned my 4.3 inch screen would be too large, not so. Now with the bevels disappearing a 5.0 inch screen is workable for an average sized hand. The long term issue for all this larger screens with all the added functionality is going to be battery life. Sony's White Magic integrated white pixels into the screen to help reduce battery consumption, not sure if it did. They are also introducing a new deep sleep mode that is suppose to reduce battery drain, further. I think the Sony Z and ZL are extremely nice. I have an Xperia Arc S, but we will have to see what Google's X phone is...
It could be a leap in development and one would assume it is a 5.0 screen.

As you see everyone have own opinion. I think 4.5-4.7" is max size. So it's good when we have many option to choose.

I like 4inch phones :/
Sent from my SCH-I500 using Tapatalk 2

Phew! I have a phone so small that the resolution is cut off sometimes when I play a game. 5 inches would be massive thing to handle casually, and I like to be able to handle my phone from hand to hand easily. Not giving it a death grip afraid it'll be too big for my hands!

Nice.........I don't think 5 inches will be that bad.........looking at the note 2 and then going back to my phone is night and day lol
Sent from my SPH-L710 using xda app-developers app

I will bei getting a Xperia Z or Ascend D2 depending on availability in Germany/Switzerland....5 inch is perfect for my long fingers and Huawei impresses me already with my second phone (G615).

Mmx canvas 2 superphone A110
----------------Read If You Have Time----------------
Send From My Samsung Galaxy Note 2 N7100,
HIT thanks if I did Helped you.
LIFE! It's what you make out of it!

Many people also forget 1 very important thing.
For some people 5" might be/seem to big, why is it too big? Most people use both hands when they operate their phones anyways.
And the important thing I was talking about is:
The eyes!
The bigger the screen, the less eye problems you'll have once you become older.
So think about it, don't just think in the now, but also try to think about your own future.:good:

Dsteppa said:
Many people also forget 1 very important thing.
For some people 5" might be/seem to big, why is it too big? Most people use both hands when they operate their phones anyways.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Most? Perhaps. Certainly not everyone. I use my phone with one hand most of the time.
I really only use it with both hands when playing games or writing a really long SMS. And that's not even certain.
Playing Puzzle or rotation games(Like Mega Jump) is easier with just one hand.
I could not for the life of me want to drop your bag or tossing your smoke just cause you have to answer a call. 2 Hand phones really should be a hassle.
I will wait abit till theres a durable, fast speed 4.5" (maximum) phone.
For years everything has gotten smaller I think making them bigger is really a step backwards.
Dsteppa said:
And the important thing I was talking about is:
The eyes!
The bigger the screen, the less eye problems you'll have once you become older.
So think about it, don't just think in the now, but also try to think about your own future.:good:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well I'm only 19. When I'm 80 with eye problems (which probably by then has a magic cure), Phones probably wont even have screens or some crazy stuff.

I like the 5-inch phones, but I am just worried where I am supposed to keep them since they will barely fit in my pocket. I currently own a Galaxy S3 and I have trouble keeping that in my pocket. I'll have to purchase custom pants if I want to get a 5-inch phone

I think 5" is really the acceptable limit. Anything over that would be too uncomfortable to use as a phone.
It'd make more sense to get a tablet if you need anything bigger.

After using the Note 2 for a while, the biggest thing I don't like is the fact that I don't want a smaller screen for my next phone. I have average sized hands and don't find it cumbersome hardly at all. 5 inches would be the smallest id consider. The DNA is certainly a lot easier to manage though. 5 inches would be the minimum for me and 5.5 the max. I will say that I've lost count of how many times I've dropped the Note 2 on my face when laying down
Sent from my SCH-I605 using xda app-developers app

On a fence: pixel vs XL

Choosing between two. Since they are mostly the same, I'd rather prefer pixel based on size, 5.5 is too much. Battery and pixel density is nicer on XL, but overall is about the same.
The only concern is Google daydream, is it going to suck on smaller screen with less pixels? How bad would be the difference? VR is going to be out month from now, I don't want to wait that long till somebody test it. So any forecasts?

worry said:
Choosing between two. Since they are mostly the same, I'd rather prefer pixel based on size, 5.5 is too much. Battery and pixel density is nicer on XL, but overall is about the same.
The only concern is Google daydream, is it going to suck on smaller screen with less pixels? How bad would be the difference? VR is going to be out month from now, I don't want to wait that long till somebody test it. So any forecasts?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I guess VR would be better on the XL on account of its 2K display. The reviews on the XL are great as well along with awesome battery life. I ordered the smaller one as I prefer the small size but the battery life as per reviews is not as good as the XL

Ordered the small myself, I feel like my Droid Turbo is too big.
But man, oh man, am I going to miss that battery life

this won't be a problem for you. i also chose the regular, not the XL. my eyes aren't great and i work from my phone, so i was looking at the XL as the only option. then my LG G3 (5.5") broke and i had to go back to my Galaxy S3 (4.7") while waiting for the new phone. and i couldn't believe how happy i've been back on the smaller S3! no pixelation problems, or small panel issues, or working from my phone, or any issues at all. so much more compact and easy to handle than the G3! and the Pixel is bigger anyway, so i'm 100% sure i made the right decision by skipping the phablets this time.

I've gone from the Note 7 down to the iPhone 7 while I wait for the REGULAR Pixel to come in this week.

I too struggled with this decision and ultimately have both sizes preordered. I briefly owned iPhone 6 Plus and hated the large size. The xl is just a wee bit smaller, but I fear may still be too big.

testinguser said:
I too struggled with this decision and ultimately have both sizes preordered. I briefly owned iPhone 6 Plus and hated the large size. The xl is just a wee bit smaller, but I fear may still be too big.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I also preordered both sizes .. I have to see them in my eyes to make decisions

I ended up ordering the normal Pixel. I'm not so worried about the size as much as I am about the battery life. I found the 5X to be the perfect size for me, but the battery life on the 6P was so much better I ended up using that as my main phone.
Hoping things are a bit better this time around with the smaller phone and that all the optimisations are enough to get a full days battery life out of the regular sized phone.

Guys, thank you for sharing your thoughts, but what about DayDream VR for XL vs nonXL?

worry said:
Guys, thank you for sharing your thoughts, but what about DayDream VR for XL vs nonXL?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I can't comment on DayDream VR specifically but I have used my Nexus 6P with a google cardboard viewer a bit. It wasn't a great experience even with the 6P's resolution so I reckon it is going to be not great on the Pixel XL, and slightly worse on the normal Pixel due to the XL having a bit higher PPI. Either way it isn't going to be fantastic resolution wise.

Actually, lets move to this thread, I'll post there.
"Likely VR performance"
http://forum.xda-developers.com/pixel/help/likely-vr-performance-t3475900

Buyers thougts

Im currently on iPhone 8 Plus (yeah, i know. Big mistake). And before that OnePlus 5. I preeordered a Pixel 2 XL but getting cold feet with the long waiting time and all the reports about all the screen issues. Then i came to think of Pixel 2. But i don't really know about the size of the phone. Is there anybody here coming from a bigger screen size to a Pixel 2? The bezels i can live with (about the same size as the iPhone).
..Or should i wait in line for the XL despite for the screen "issues"?
I don't have access to the phone myself so i can't really check for my self.
Regards

I don't have my pixel 2 yet (later this week), but I went through a similar decision process. I'm coming from shamu with a 5.96" screen at 2560×x 1440.
Compared to the pixel 2 screen of 5" at 1080 x 1920.
I struggled with what device I would move to now that my trusty whale is no longer getting security updates. I was concerned that the pixel 2 was just not going to satisfy, but unhappy with the build of the xl. I really have a preference for AMOLED.
Then I bought an iPhone 8 (4.7-inch at 1334 x 750) for my daughter. After playing with that a bit, I decided the pixel 2 wouldn't be as big a disappointment as I thought. Particularly when you consider the iPhone pixel density is 326 ppi, substantially lower than the pixel 2 (though both are lower than the N6).
"Good judgment comes from experience, and a lot of that comes from bad judgment." - Will Rogers

I've always had Phablet sized phones. Nexus 6, Nexus 6P, OnePlus 5. I get phones very very cheap through my work, so I went with the Pixel 2 because it was $200 out the door, the XL was $350. I wasn't sure about the size, but I really wanted the front-facing speakers and the XL seems to have a few issues, so I gave the Pixel 2 a shot.
I have never been happier. This is the first phone in years that I haven't rooted, and as of right now, I do not miss it, but I digress. The size for me is much better. I thought I would, but I do not miss the larger phones. It fits in my shirt and pants pockets so much better.

Coming from a note 4 as my daily driver. The screen to bezel ratio makes the phone look really odd to me. I like knowing the dual speakers are there so it makes up for it. I put a somewhat bigger case on it, the spigen tough armor, just to add a little weight and width. The screen is decent for what it is, I don't consume much media on it which is why I was okay with the lower resolution. I will always wish the screen was a little taller and took some space away from the bezels but the phone size itself is perfect. I wanted a smaller more discrete device so the pixel 2 was (almost) perfect. I will absolutely miss my stylus and all the features that come with it. Being able to mark up anything on the screen and send it immediately was great for work.

I came from 6p and galaxy s8+, and have no problem with the Pixel 2. It actually fits my hand better. Again, I don't use my phone much for video watching.

I have had many phablets including Nexus 6 (which I still use as a media device,) I initially got the pixel 2 because with having a new born I actually wanted something something smaller. Plus I am kinda HTC fan. My experience with LG has been mediocre with the G6 leaving me disappointed.
I feel Pixel 2 is a great device and for me it was easy to adapt to a 5 inch device. only real flaw is the bezels are way bigger than they should be in 2017.

Moto X Pure VS Pixel 2 XL

So I finally switched, after more than 2 years with the Moto X Pure. I had the Pixel 2 XL for about a week, here is my comparison.
Speed: No doubt the Pixel is far quicker, snappier, but anyone would have expected that.
Screen: I prefer the display of the Moto. Now you would think the size difference 6 vs 5.7 is huge, but when you play videos it seems like the width of the Moto gives you a bit more of the viewing experience. Theres is not a lot of difference with the quality of the display, the Pixel seemed to have a bit deeper blacks.
Camera: Pixels camera is just great, it almost consistently takes great pix. Love the night shots and the portrait mode. No comparison...
Speakers: I expected the Pixel speakers to be better, but after putting them side by side I found out that the Moto X Pure has speakers that are just a bit louder, just a tiny bit. Theres no audio quality difference
Build: Both phones are built well. Both feel heavy. The Moto X is thicker and the Pixel is lenghtier.
Forgot to mention the battery. The Pixel battery is amazing. I never had a phone last this long.
I think its a perfect upgrade.
Few things that would make the Pixel even better:
1. Additional wide angle lens like on the V30.
2. Minimize the height a bit
3. IP68
4. Chop chop for light

Don't forget about us here in the forums!
As long as you're happy with it, that's what matters. Personally, going from a reasonably attractive phone (like the Pure Edition) to a comparatively ugly phone with an Oled display (like the Pixel 2 XL) would be a bit of a letdown for me. However, if the advancements made in terms of camera and hardware performance are worth it to you, don't let that stand in the way of personal progress.

Since you mentioned the speakers. They were actually a big surprise for me, when I got the X-Style.. The main reason I bought the X-style, was that it was oddly cheap here, when considering some very decent stats.. The fact that it had stereo speakers was just a bonus.. But they are really good.
I was basically shocked the first time I put on the teaser trailer for Agony, and got a good blast of, surprisingly non-tinny, music in my face =)
Overall, with the P2-XL being about 4 times the price of the X-style, I would expect the P2-XL to be better.. But so far I have been very happy with my X-style.. The only thing I can think of, that would improve the X-style, would be an Amoled display.. Like the X-Force has.. But the X-force is an ugly block, with no developer community, So here I am on the X-style board

LCD makes the phone
timmtn said:
The only thing I can think of, that would improve the X-style, would be an Amoled display..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Be careful what you wish for. The Moto X Pure Edition has one of the best displays in the business. A dingy old oled panel would've been a dealbreaker for me. If you want a Pure Edition-like phone with Oled, the Droid Turbo (or possibly the Nexus 6) is it. All of this phone's successors (the Moto Z series) have Oled panels, as do most of its predecessors.

Not a Pixel XL 2 only XL
AmelFl said:
So I finally switched, after more than 2 years with the Moto X Pure. I had the Pixel 2 XL for about a week, here is my comparison.
Speed: No doubt the Pixel is far quicker, snappier, but anyone would have expected that.
Screen: I prefer the display of the Moto. Now you would think the size difference 6 vs 5.7 is huge, but when you play videos it seems like the width of the Moto gives you a bit more of the viewing experience. Theres is not a lot of difference with the quality of the display, the Pixel seemed to have a bit deeper blacks.
Camera: Pixels camera is just great, it almost consistently takes great pix. Love the night shots and the portrait mode. No comparison...
Speakers: I expected the Pixel speakers to be better, but after putting them side by side I found out that the Moto X Pure has speakers that are just a bit louder, just a tiny bit. Theres no audio quality difference
Build: Both phones are built well. Both feel heavy. The Moto X is thicker and the Pixel is lenghtier.
Forgot to mention the battery. The Pixel battery is amazing. I never had a phone last this long.
I think its a perfect upgrade.
Few things that would make the Pixel even better:
1. Additional wide angle lens like on the V30.
2. Minimize the height a bit
3. IP68
4. Chop chop for light
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I found that like you that the sound wasnt as good but what i really noticed was the call and cell quality and strength were subpar to the MXPE. My XL is on its way back to google. I just couldnt justify the cost. Meanwhile my MXPE is still fine..

I just got my Pixel 2 XL a few days ago and I'm absolutely loving the Pixel. My Moto X Pure will still likely go down as my favorite device of all time due to it's specs, price, and performance. When it comes to the Pixel 2 XL, don't believe the hype on the screen issues. The screen is fantastic on the XL, the blue shift that people are complaining about is there, but it's waay over exaggerated. All oled screens have some sort of color shift. My buddy has the Samsung S8+ which is supposed to be one of the top rated screens on any phone and it has worse blue shift than the Pixel 2 XL along with an overall red tone to the screen. The curved glass is sooo cool and really makes using the phone a pleasure. I didn't realize how much I would enjoy the curved glass until owning the device. The big thing I was concerned about with going with the Pixel was the lack of an external SD slot, but I'm not really all that concerned about it now. I bought a really nice usb C adapter that holds a micro sd card in it and also has a usb A connection to hook up to a PC. When I do my Titanium/TWRP backups, I just click that in and do my backups. Nice and easy. The speakers on the XL sound pretty good, I notice little to no difference. They are phone speakers after all, but they are stereo, front firing and do their job. The signal strength on the Pixel is unmatched. I'm amazed at how strong the wifi and cell signals are compared to my MXP. The build of the phone is great, and feels like the dollar amount invested. The immediate updates are one of the biggest things I like along with firmware being posted almost immediately from Google. No more hunting down/capturing OTA's or full firmware zips. As much as I enjoyed Moto Display, the Pixels ambient display on 8.1 is top notch, has double tap to wake, and we get a notification light back (which I really missed while using the MXP).
Overall, I'm very happy with the Pixel 2 XL. Lenavo really ruined the MXP and it's unlikely I'll ever go back to them unless they go back to the way Motorola originally set up their phone's update schedules. Right now as I type this I'm wiping my MXP and setting it up as a dedicated music media player for my car to replace my current old LG-G3. My battery is still strong on the MXP and I expect to get several more years of service out of it.

4a screen size

I have a OP-5t and ordered the 4a a couple weeks ago. I was worried the screen might be a lot smaller, but I ordered a screen protector and took a couple photos on top of my 5t. The blue frame is an alignment tool with inside opening the 4a screen size. I was surprised the 4a actually has more screen in the height, and really not much less in the width. The overall size of the 4a it's a lot smaller, and lighter. I don't have it yet, but I think I made a good choice!

I am coming from a OnePlus 3T and even though the 3T is bigger, it's noticeably smaller in screen size due to the bezels. I love the 4a's screen and color tones so much more and couldn't be happier for such a great phone for the price.

I just got my pixel 4a today and was also coming from a op5t.
The frame of the 4a is larger than the screen (vertically), but the actual screen of the 4a is not larger than the screen of the 5t in either direction. It's pretty close vertically but definitely smaller horizontally. The 4a is noticeably smaller, but it's also easier to hold and manage, and it's significantly lighter than the 5t too.
Hope the battery life is as good as the early reviews have been saying.

Yeah when I unboxed the phone, I was immediately stuck by how tall it is. I was expecting a 2:1 aspect ratio, but its actually a bit taller than that even. Makes me miss the days of truly compact options.

I'm coming from an OG Pixel XL. Does anyone have a side by side comparison? The Pixel XL is 5.5“ but has a wider aspect ratio. Whereas the 4 is 5.8" (taller but narrower). I don't have it yet but I wonder how noticeable the difference will be.

jserio said:
I'm coming from an OG Pixel XL. Does anyone have a side by side comparison? The Pixel XL is 5.5“ but has a wider aspect ratio. Whereas the 4 is 5.8" (taller but narrower). I don't have it yet but I wonder how noticeable the difference will be.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Screen on 4a should be 2.43" x 5.28"
Sent from my OnePlus 5T using XDA Labs

Coming from a Pixel XL, the 4a is a good deal smaller. The reduced bezels mean that the 4a screen overall is actually taller, which is nice because I turn on the virtual navigation buttons. The width makes it much easier to hold in your hand, but it will take some getting used to because the aspect ratio change means that many images are noticeably smaller.

lothos said:
Coming from a Pixel XL, the 4a is a good deal smaller. The reduced bezels mean that the 4a screen overall is actually taller, which is nice because I turn on the virtual navigation buttons. The width makes it much easier to hold in your hand, but it will take some getting used to because the aspect ratio change means that many images are noticeably smaller.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Good to know... I, too am switching from a Pixel XL and, even looking at phone & screen dimensions online, it's hard to tell what that means in reality....

This is my OnePlus 5t (6" screen) with image the same size as 4a screen. Height is very close to same, width is about .10" less on sides.
Sent from my OnePlus 5T using XDA Labs

Most recently I had a 3a XL. Before that an S20+ and an S20 Ultra until I returned it (too big/heavy). My first thought about the 4a was "wow, that's a little fella". I like the size of the phone and the screen. A big screen is nice to look at but carrying the 4a around and using it is much more pleasant than the big phones. that S20 Ultra was a monster to carry around. If I had a pair of loose fitting shorts on I couldn't put it in my pocket - it would pull my pants down! And then you were worrying about losing or dropping the $1400 phone. This 4a is the ticket for me.

jserio said:
I'm coming from an OG Pixel XL. Does anyone have a side by side comparison? The Pixel XL is 5.5“ but has a wider aspect ratio. Whereas the 4 is 5.8" (taller but narrower). I don't have it yet but I wonder how noticeable the difference will be.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't have my Pixel 4a yet; but the screen protectors arrived yesterday; so I put one on top of my Pixel XL for comparison. Roughly, it looked like the screen area was almost 1/4" narrower; but also almost 3/4" taller.

jserio said:
I'm coming from an OG Pixel XL. Does anyone have a side by side comparison? The Pixel XL is 5.5“ but has a wider aspect ratio. Whereas the 4 is 5.8" (taller but narrower). I don't have it yet but I wonder how noticeable the difference will be.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Here are 2 pics comparing the OG XL, 2XL and 4a. I was using a pixel 2 to take the photo.
The 4a is the size of the pixel 2 with the screen of the 2xl (same size, not same quality )
The pics align the bottom of the phones as well as the bottom of the screens.
Don't be concerned with brightness. They were all set differently.
Hope this helps. I had to remove an OtterBox for the pic .
Disclaimer. The 4a is the absolute perfect size for me. I can use it one hand and don't feel like the keyboard takes over the screen.

How is the feel? Does it need a case, or will it slip from your hand?
Sent from my OnePlus 5T using XDA Labs

tcat007 said:
How is the feel? Does it need a case, or will it slip from your hand?
Sent from my OnePlus 5T using XDA Labs
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
it needs, plastic behind would easily get scratched.

tcat007 said:
How is the feel? Does it need a case, or will it slip from your hand?
Sent from my OnePlus 5T using XDA Labs
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Running mine naked with a tempered glass protector. I like the in hand feel. Has some grip to it.
Sent from my Pixel 4a using Tapatalk

Uh60m Pilot said:
Here are 2 pics comparing the OG XL, 2XL and 4a. I was using a pixel 2 to take the photo.
The 4a is the size of the pixel 2 with the screen of the 2xl (same size, not same quality )
The pics align the bottom of the phones as well as the bottom of the screens.
Don't be concerned with brightness. They were all set differently.
Hope this helps. I had to remove an OtterBox for the pic .
Disclaimer. The 4a is the absolute perfect size for me. I can use it one hand and don't feel like the keyboard takes over the screen.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Was thinking about this today.... I remember first getting my Nexus 6P and thinking what a large phone it was; definitely a bit unwieldy trying to use with one hand in many situations, and I've got large hands. Though the Pixel XL was a tad smaller & lighter, it essentially felt the same. Hoping the Pixel 4a is more in line with the "perfect size"....

coming from a galaxy note 5, the 4a screen is a bit taller but a lot less wider. It actually makes a LOT of visual difference, where everything looks much smaller and narrower on the 4a, almost as if I increased the resolution. There are options to increase fonts and zoom, but then the spacing between icons is greatly reduced and it doesn't look pleasing to the eyes. I think anyone coming from a wider screen, will not feel comfortable (I have big fat fingers) but anyone coming from narrower or similar width screen, will likely not notice it.