The 2020s are not shaping up to be a golden era for small phones and the people who love using them. Phone makers continue to release phones with screens of 6 inches or more, while the number of compacts available seems to be shrinking every year.
That trend looks set to continue, especially given rumors of a less than enthusiastic reception for one of the few new small phones launching this year. The iPhone SE (2022) only arrived last month, but some reports claim Apple is scaling back production of the 4.7-inch phone.
Analyst Ming-Chi Kuo lowered its forecast of expected iPhone SE sales by 10 million units, while Loop Capital analyst John Donovan claims Apple is trimming the number of iPhone SE orders from its supply chain.
Avi Greengart, an analyst at Techsponential, warns against placing too much importance on supply chain reports: “There are a number of reasons why production of a particular model or an individual factory might be scaled back,” he said – but admits the trends aren’t encouraging for those who prefer smaller phones over phablets.
A smartphone is a window into your connected world. You want the window to be as big as possible and still fit in your pocket.
— Avi Greengart, Techsponential
“The sales trends have been clear for years,” Greengart added. “People want bigger displays.”
Certainly, Apple is one of the few major phone makers to offer devices with screen sizes smaller than 6 inches. In addition to the latest iPhone SE, there’s the iPhone 13 mini and last year’s discounted iPhone 12 mini. Both phones feature 5.4-inch panels. Of course, both phones are also rumored to be posting less than stellar sales. (Apple doesn’t break down iPhone sales by model, but it’s pretty clear that the iPhone 13 and iPhone 13 Pro have been the big drivers of the company’s phone business since their fall debut.)
You’ll have a hard time finding other top-tier compact phones. After offering a 5.8-inch screen with the Pixel 5a, Google switched to a 6.3-inch panel for the Pixel 5a last year, and the Pixel 6a is also expected to have a 6-inch Plus display have when it comes out this year. All three phones in Samsung’s Galaxy S22 lineup have displays larger than 6 inches; The cheaper Galaxy S21 FE also offers larger bevels with a 6.4-inch screen.
If the iPhone 14 rumors are true, Apple could join its competitors in turning their backs on small phones. A persistent rumor has it that the Mini model may be gone, with Apple instead offering a 6.1-inch iPhone 14 as well as a 6.7-inch iPhone 14 Max as a counterpoint to its more expensive Pro models. In other words, the focus of this year’s iPhone lineup seems to be giving buyers the option of a lower-cost, big-screen phone as opposed to a more compact model.
If the iPhone 14 rumors are true, Apple could join its competitors in turning their backs on small phones.
In other words, smartphones have truly become the computer in your pocket that Steve Jobs described when he first demonstrated the original iPhone in 2007. The processors are more powerful and the apps available are more immersive and immersive. Messaging apps have replaced the phone itself as our primary means of communicating with friends, coworkers, and family. And we don’t believe in watching an epic on a big screen on a device that fits in our pocket. Of course, a larger screen helps us in all these tasks.
The screens are also much sharper than the 480 x 320 panel that graced the first iPhone. These days, budget devices offer Full HD resolution, so we want larger screens to show more detailed graphics, photos, and videos.
Since the smartphone is such a central part of our daily lives, we also need a device that can last a long time on one charge. While the best phone battery life is more than a large power adapter, a larger phone can accommodate a larger cell. And it’s worth noting that the only recent iPhone models that can’t beat the average smartphone in our battery test are Apple’s two smallest models, the iPhone 13 mini and iPhone SE (2022).
The only recent iPhones that can’t beat the average smartphone in our battery test are Apple’s two smallest models: the iPhone 13 mini and the iPhone SE (2022).
The changing shape of displays has also made larger screens more palatable to people who previously preferred compact models. Edge-to-displays with small bezels allow for slimmer form factors than the bulky phablets of a few years ago. “Samsung’s Galaxy S22 is actually relatively compact,” says Greengart of Samsung’s 5.7 x 2.8 x 0.3-inch flagship. “It’s smaller than the Galaxy S21 and [the Galaxy S22] offers best-in-class cameras and displays.”
The Galaxy S22 comparison seems particularly fitting to me, as the compact size of this phone was one of the things that struck me, both during my Samsung device review and in my S22 follow-up a month later. I’ve long been a fan of small phones, but as the number of sub-6-inch options dwindles – and my aging eyesight craves larger text – I’m increasingly turning to devices that manage to squeeze larger screens into still images . compact design.
It’s a future that many fans of small phones will have to embrace, especially as the world’s Mini and SE models begin to thin out.