Unihertz Jelly Star
Hacker ApprovedShares rank 23 of 60 smartphones by recommenders
Recommended as a very small phone that suits people who want less smartphone use, with apps working well; the most common caveat is the tiny screen and weak battery.
Recommended as a very small phone that suits people who want less smartphone use, with apps working well; the most common caveat is the tiny screen and weak battery.
16 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 12
- criticize it
- 4
- approval share
- 75%
Recommended in 6 of 13 months
- November 2025: recommended
- December 2025: recommended
- January 2026: not recommended
- February 2026: not recommended
- March 2026: recommended
- April 2026: not recommended
- May 2026: not recommended
- June 2026: recommended
- July 2026: recommended
- August 2026: not recommended
- September 2026: recommended
- October 2026: not recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it carries the badge
- 12 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, met.
- 3 recommenders for every criticNeeds 2 to 1 or better, met.
- Recommended in 6 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
What people say about it
The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Small, pocketable size
“By the way this phone is awesome. Highly recommend for anyone who wishes they didn't need to carry a smart phone.”
Comment from 15 Jun 2026 in “Ask HN: What are you working on? (June 2026)” “Because it's small, it doesn't look like a regular smartphone”
Comment from 23 Mar 2026 in “The hottest new phone is Tin Can, a 'landline' for kids” “makes being small their whole selling point”
Comment from 11 Sep 2026 in “iPhone Duo” - Comment from 9 Mar 2026 in “Jolla on track to ship new phone with Sailfish OS, user-replaceable battery”
- Comment from 10 Dec 2025 in “Ask HN: Are there any viable Android phones for a power user to buy nowadays?”
Good for limited phone use
“By the way this phone is awesome. Highly recommend for anyone who wishes they didn't need to carry a smart phone.”
Comment from 15 Jun 2026 in “Ask HN: What are you working on? (June 2026)” “use it just for banking apps”
Comment from 2 Sep 2026 in “I don't have a smartphone or at least I wish I didn't” Runs LineageOS or Graphene
“it has a 3" screen, which is comparable to your old HTC Hero (3.2"), and you can run a LineageOS GSI on it”
Comment from 9 Dec 2025 in “Ask HN: Are there any viable Android phones for a power user to buy nowadays?” “My dream phone is a Star running Graphene.”
Comment from 9 Mar 2026 in “Jolla on track to ship new phone with Sailfish OS, user-replaceable battery”
What people warn about
Each mark is one comment
Screen is very small
“The Unihertz Jelly Star satisfied your requirements. But the screen is smaller than the 1st iPhone's even.”
Comment from 11 Nov 2025 in “iPhone Pocket” “that's way too small for me”
Comment from 3 Mar 2026 in “Apple Introduces iPhone 17e”
Other smartphones people recommend
The four most recommended other smartphones, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
| Product | Recommend | Criticize | Approval | Months | Owned | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apple iPhone | 706 | 882 | 44% | 13 | 7 yrs107 owners | — |
| Fairphone | 168 | 107 | 61% | 13 | 3 yrs19 owners | — |
| Apple iPhone Pro | 144 | 155 | 48% | 12 | 4 yrs26 owners | — |
| iPhone 13 mini | 141 | 51 | 73% | 12 | 1.5 yrs4 owners | Approved |
| Unihertz Jelly StarThis page | 12 | 4 | 75% | 6 | — | Approved |
What people said
All 16 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“makes being small their whole selling point”
“use it just for banking apps”
“The "jelly star" phone looks kind of fun.”
“small size and rounded corners looks like a good prison phone choice”
“By the way this phone is awesome. Highly recommend for anyone who wishes they didn't need to carry a smart phone.”
“That looks very ugly. Any kid above the age of 12 would reject that.”
“Because it's small, it doesn't look like a regular smartphone”
“All apps work without issues. Battery isn't great, but charges fast”
“My dream phone is a Star running Graphene.”
“The form factor is perfect for me.”
“warrantyless china phones like the jelly star”
“that's way too small for me”
“Downsides are the lack of dual-frequency GNSS and eSIM”
“Unihertz Jelly Star is tiny”
“it has a 3" screen, which is comparable to your old HTC Hero (3.2"), and you can run a LineageOS GSI on it”
“The Unihertz Jelly Star satisfied your requirements. But the screen is smaller than the 1st iPhone's even.”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.