I just got a new Pixel 7a a few days ago. I specifically got that one to get the smallest of the bunch. It’s advertised as the smallest (and cheaper) model, phone size comparisons showed it to be indeed smaller than most competing devices and it’s even listed in some “best small phones” lists.
Now it’s here and it’s massive. If I keep the pinkie below the phone, I literally can’t reach the top of the screen at all, which is the entire notification bar - and my fingers are long! It’s annoying me to the point of being just about to return it to get something like the s22 or s23, just to save those 6mm of height - which is ridiculous, as it’d end up costing me a hundred bucks extra and I won’t get the free buds pro. I’ve been using Android since the G1 and outright refused to even consider anything else over years… But now I’m thinking about the iPhones 13 mini and se, just because I’m able to use them with one hand.
I want to like this device. So, could you people please tell me if I’m… Dunno, just doing it wrong? Like, not getting it or something? How do you pull down the notification bar in apps with one hand? How do you post those top-left buttons to close your current view? Enlighten me, please!
/edit Just in case anybody still sees this: I returned it. Went back to my s10e, which is eol and needs a charge in the afternoon, which is still annoying me less than that massive piece of hardware.
Thanks for asking this question. I learned some things I didn’t know I needed. I have a 6a, and I use a phone strap I found on Amazon. It’s like a rubber band that stretches vertically around the back of the phone case from the camera opening to the charging opening. I got this because when I rest it on my pinky, it hurts. But, I noticed since, that I can do more one handed because my anchor is in the middle instead of the bottom. I tried a few phone grip ideas before I landed here, and learned som things. I can’t stand pop sockets, because the phone doesn’t lay flat anymore. Also, you can prop it up in landscape, but not portrait (at least for the one I had). The rings that stick to the back are also a no-go. They hurt my finger when the weight of the phone is all resting just on the ring. The strap I landed with is removable, reusable, no adhesives, the phone lays flat still, and is comfortable to hold the weight of the phone.