I’ve been using the iPhone 13 Mini for almost a week now and let me tell you – it’s a solid phone. No doubt, considering it’s Apple, but of the 12 and 13 families, the iPhone Mini has been a bit left out, let down and kind of ignored. This has gotten to the point where it’s unlikely we’ll ever see the Mini again, due to its lack of popularity.
It’s not at all surprising, considering its entire pitch is “What if we took the standard iPhone and made it smol” but that’s all it needs to be. Also – you guys don’t want small phones?
We’ve seen personal phones get so much bigger over the past 20 years, especially with the jump to smartphones. Once we realised the lifestyle and all-encompassing nature of smartphones some years into them being around, we saw screens get bigger and look better.
But it’s with the iPhone 11 when I’d say things got a bit… out of hand. Suddenly, a phone that had a 3.5-inch screen in 2009 shot up to a 6.1-inch display in 2019. This was gradual, sure, but it has gone a bit far.
Why DO you want a big screen on your phone?
Yeah, it’s great for when you’re watching stuff on your phone or reading through social media or when you would want a big screen, but there are just too many circumstances when having a big screen just annoys the crap out of me. You don’t need a big screen for so many other things, it’s just convenient when you do have it.
The standard iPhone 11 always felt like an awkward size to me. Compared to my phone before it, the iPhone 6S, my hand didn’t really know where to hold it. In some circumstances I’d have to let the phone slide down my hand so that I could access the topside of the screen when using it one-handed.
You’re not absolved of this either, Android phones, your screens are also WAY too big – so big in fact that I often can’t use my thumb to reach some of the buttons on the screen. Looking at you, Samsung Galaxy S21 and the OPPO Find X3 Pro.
Admittedly there are one-handed modes available on some devices, but these look not so great, effectively blacking out most of the screen and leaving you with what would otherwise be a decent size for a phone.
There are other problems too. Big phones feel awkward in your pocket (especially in pants with smaller pockets), bigger phones feel much easier to drop than smaller phones (because of the lack of grip) and I really don’t like holding bigger phones up to my ear.
Do you know what the funniest part of all this is? I don’t even have small hands. Usually, this conversation is quickly shut down when somebody mentions the size of their hands, but no! I have pretty average hands! I just don’t like big phones. I’m an iPhone Mini stan.
What are my (iPhone Mini and other) options?
I’m sad to report that you don’t have a lot of options if you’re after a small phone. From Apple, you’re stuck with the iPhone 12 Mini, iPhone 13 Mini or the iPhone SE, and with Android, you’re best set with a phone like the ASUS Zenfone 8 or the Google Pixel 5.
It’s a sorry situation for anyone that wants a smaller smartphone right now but hopefully more will come out over time. Soon. I hope.