High-end small cell phones are no more. These days, even the cheapest budget mobile phones come with a 6-inch display. While I appreciate the immersive experience of a great big screen, I sometimes find myself nostalgic for days gone by.
I didn’t know it at the time, but the extinction event began with the arrival of large smartphones (sometimes called phablets then (and still)) and ended with the end of production of the iPhone 13 mini in 2022. Now it has become a rarity in itself.
We’re now at a point where the word “mini” seems to have lost all meaning. For example, the upcoming Vivo X200 Pro Mini measures 6.31 inches, which is actually slightly larger than the 6.3-inch iPhone 16 Pro. .
This may come as a surprise, given that I previously paid homage to the OnePlus Open with its huge 7.82-inch inner display and immediately fell in love with the Xiaomi 14T’s 6.67-inch screen, but I’m still I have some hope for this product. The revival of small mobile phones.
I used to drive an iPhone 5S every day until I switched to my trusty 6.39-inch Huawei Mate 20 Pro (and have had several similarly large phones since joining TechRadar).
I fondly remember the 5S’ headphone jack, handy Touch ID fingerprint scanner, and certainly its amazing portability. Today’s cell phones are hardly a pain to carry around, but the iPhone 5S easily disappears into any pocket, making it a discreet and convenient companion for the gym, hikes, concerts, and more. You can now display many things at once, making it easier to access the apps and websites you want. I never thought I’d ever use a phone like this again.
That was until I started using an iPhone 15 about a week ago to brush up on my iOS know-how. Certainly there may not be small The phone remained, but it was a device that was small enough to fit in one hand, easy to use, had (almost) all the features of today’s iPhone, and that fit more compactly in your pocket than its previous supersized flagships. there was. I’ve been using it for the past few years.
Once the initial blur of déjà vu passed, I began to realize just how much power Apple had packed into the base iPhone’s 6.1-inch frame. The full power of the A16 Bionic chip means you’ll have more than enough power to play games and enjoy everyday social networking and web browsing. And as you can see in our iPhone 16 review, this year’s iPhone brings even more performance and prepares for the launch of Apple Intelligence.
More than just a feeling
The iPhone 15 is also very comfortable to use. The 19.5:9 aspect ratio display is a fairly standard relative height, but the corners are rounder than on a typical phone and everything feels well compressed. Significant advances in bezel reduction in the decade between the iPhone 5S and iPhone 15 mean the iPhone 5S is only about an inch taller. This reminds me of a time when cell phones were more like dashboards to check than immersive media machines. My only disappointment with the iPhone 15 is the 120Hz refresh rate, but that’s a whole other story.
Another underrated benefit of using a small cell phone is the impact its compact ergonomics have on your photography. Being able to take your iPhone 15 out of your pocket and open the camera app instantly means you can capture moments faster than on super-large flagship models, and holding the phone horizontally is easier on your hands and wrists. becomes easier. mode.
Apple offers one smaller phone. The current iPhone SE is built into the iPhone 8 body. However, its camera system, display technology, and chipset are all a bit outdated compared to the iPhone 15. Moreover, it is expected that the iPhone SE may also be inherited soon. Equipped with iPhone 14 design and 6.1-inch display. This could become the new standard for smaller devices in Apple’s phone lineup.
So unless Apple releases a 5S-sized iPhone (iPhone SE SE?) with the current internals, the iPhone 15 will probably feel as close as possible to previous phones. But with all this portable power, that’s not possible. No problem at all.
