Small phone lovers... our era is not over. Yesterday I discovered the Unihertz Jelly Star. I fell in love. I will be reporting back. ( www.unihertz.com )

Go and check the link, but essentially:

  • small
  • 2023 release (Android 13)
  • HEADPHONE JACK (I was almost sold here)
  • NFC
  • 8GB RAM (that is powerful)
  • 256 GB internal storage
  • Dual SIM or SIM+MicroSD
  • IR BLASTER (whatttttttt)
  • LED indicators (front AND BACK)
  • fingerprint scanner
  • face ID
  • FM Radio
  • PROGRAMMABLE BUTTON (ok I'm in love already STOPPP)

I mean... this list is mindblowing. So...

What's the downside?

Honestly, you can go and check all reviews... but this phone is virtually perfect for the size, the only issue I have is that the screen is a bit too tiny, 3 inches, and 480p, and I think this will make many people run away.

It should make me look elsewhere also... but where? Any other small phone with a bigger screen is pretty bad, old, etc... and I really needed a new phone, so I realised this was an opportunity to commit to the cause, and buy and hopefully push this form factor from Unihertz to mainstream brands.

Hopefully one day we can get one with a slightly bigger screen, I believe 4 inches and 1080p would be brutal. But for now... I think I've found my new phone. In fact, I bought it 3 hours after knowing its existance.

If you are not sold yet...

Go check reviews on YouTube (example). Honestly, you'll see every reviewer falls in love with the device, even non-small phone lovers. It looks like it performs pretty well, it's decently fast, battery is solid, screen is bright and colorful, the LEDs are really useful, even Face ID (which I'll probably disable) is quick, it does not heat up at all, and even photos are pretty decent...

And it's something like 200 $. Come on. What a deal.

Will report back.

So, what do you think?

pcr3 ,
@pcr3@lemmy.world avatar

What's the camera like? I take a ton of photos and really need good quality.

unknowing8343 OP ,

I can't give personal opinions yet, but reviews seem to say that it's "fine", which for a phone of this size, I think that's a success. Although "fine" might not be the "good" that you are looking for.

It's 48 MP, which is great for zooming but I don't think it has any other perk. Low light pics seem to be pretty meh. It's also just one camera. Absolutely fine for me, I know that. But definitely will be worse than the Pixels and the iPhones.

Hiro8811 ,
@Hiro8811@lemmy.world avatar

The spech is amazing, that's practically what I want in a phone, although I have one more requirement: Qualcomm CPU. I wanna install custom ROMs

LiquidCrystalDude ,
@LiquidCrystalDude@mastodon.social avatar

@unknowing8343
i kinda wish the screen was a bit wider, 16:9 doesnt really work in this size imo.

unknowing8343 OP ,

Then use it on landscape mode 😉➖

LiquidCrystalDude ,
@LiquidCrystalDude@mastodon.social avatar

@unknowing8343 that seems even worse tbh, no offense.

unknowing8343 OP ,

It was a joke 😅

BeatTakeshi ,
@BeatTakeshi@lemmy.world avatar

A bummer that Asus dropped the compact zenfone this year... Hope they bring it back, maybe every other year

LiquidCrystalDude ,
@LiquidCrystalDude@mastodon.social avatar

@BeatTakeshi @unknowing8343
asus had a gold on their hands with compact zenfones, then they had to mess it up by 2 years of support and an unlocked bootloader (which i would be personally fine with if the support was more than 2 years)

MonkderDritte ,

North america only frequencies, just so you know.

Sunny ,
@Sunny@slrpnk.net avatar

Thanks for the solid writeup! 🙌

Mnem667 , (edited )

I bought one a couple of months ago. I think it's fantastic both for the size and the price. It's a bit too small of a screen for my aging eyes, but otherwise it works great. I'm keeping it to or when I travel or other good use.
Edit: the cameras are... OK. Nothing great, but serviceable. Gcam helps, Google for versions.
Also, yes, you can root it. Also GSI flash works, but you lose functions.
The battery charges super fast, given it's size. It accepts like 10w charging current.

Sanctus ,
@Sanctus@lemmy.world avatar

Headphone jacks, IR blasters, AND an FM radio? This phone never left the rad days of android.

unknowing8343 OP ,

Isn't it crazy? When I found it I couldn't believe my eyes. I mean... Hopefully it does not disappoint when I get it

Syn_Attck ,

Please do update after you've used it as your daily driver for a month! Would love love love to hear about it.

Also if OP posts an update and someone happens to see this comment, will you reply here or tag me? TIA!

unknowing8343 OP ,

Is there a RemindMe bot yet on Lemmy?

Syn_Attck ,

Not that I know of.

pineapplelover ,

That's sick. I'm very interested, keep is updated.

coffee_with_cream ,

I loved this phone! I had a jelly 2. It didn't work with my train ticket app, so I had to switch to something bigger. Great conversation piece too.

BurningnnTree ,

I got a Jelly 2 a couple years ago to reduce my smartphone addiction, and I loved it. It runs well and the build quality is great. (I ended up switching back to my normal phone, but that's not the Jelly 2's fault. I'm just weak)

Evil_Shrubbery , (edited )

There are a lot of 3" Chinese Android phones, but I've never seen one actually having normal specs (well, besides the display perhaps, I suspect its size isn't the only issue).

unknowing8343 OP ,

Hopefully everything goes fine!

Evil_Shrubbery , (edited )

Yeah, I want a proper mini flagship eventually.

Evil_Shrubbery ,

Yeah, I want a proper mini flagship.

aolko ,
DaGeek247 ,
DaGeek247 avatar

When you report back;

It says you can switch a sim slot for an sd card slot. Could you choose to do two sd card slots instead? This looks great as a small mp3 player.

notaviking ,

I know this is opposite of what you want, but I used to melt the plastic on the SIM, take the chip and with a small piece of glue place it on the micro SD card, thus two simcards and extra storage

unknowing8343 OP ,

I don't think that is possible, I believe one of the two slots is nanoSIM only, but will report back.

themeatbridge ,

Wow Headphone jack, programmable button, IR blaster...

Honestly, I love having a large phone because I have fat fingers and bad eyesight. I would absolutely buy this phone if it were larger. I might buy it anyway and learn to live with a small screen.

ElectroLisa ,
@ElectroLisa@lemmy.blahaj.zone avatar

I think Xiaomi Redmi Note 13 Pro has a jack and IR, iirc, not sure about the programmable button

themeatbridge ,

Thanks!

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