The industry seems to have found common ground for the minimum size of a smartphone. It is, with a few exceptions, around 6.1 inches. Explanations.
Source: Anthony Wonner – Frandroid
A few years ago, smartphones from 6; 6.1 and 6.2 inches could pass for giants. Today, they are more like Tom Thumb. And yet, as everything is a matter of perception, it is not uncommon that when we test smartphones with these panel sizes, and talk about them as small phones, many Internet users do not understand why. This article aims to explain why we think yes, 6.1 inches is small in 2022.
Why does it still look big
Let’s start by looking at why this might look big. This perception is quite understandable. For many users of a phone that is a few years old, it is enough to look in their pocket to tell themselves that “Still, it’s very big 6.1 inches. »
In fact, there is still little time, it was the end of the world. To convince you of this, read our intro to the iPhone 11 test, with its 6.1-inch diagonal: “Used to have the iPhone X, which is relatively compact compared to 2019 smartphones, the iPhone 11 feels bulky to me, both noticeably wider and slightly taller. » Also in 2019, our test of the Samsung Galaxy S10 with the same panel size: “I must admit that on a daily basis, I found myself naturally sending my thumb to look for elements very high on the screen without much hand gymnastics. Such a feat on a slab of this size would never have been possible a few years ago. »
The Galaxy S10 when it was released was a big phone. // Source: Frandroid
The iPhone 11 when it was released was a big phone. // Source: Frandroid
Today, no one would write that anymore. The perception of what a large or small format smartphone is has evolved.
Screen ratio changed everything
One point that explains this change in perception is to be found on the side of the screen ratio of phones. Over the years, telephones have become borderlessand the more they became, the more the screens moved away from the 16/9 ratio, to go towards larger formats with 18/9, 21/9 or 19.5/9.
The screens were thus able to extend, taking the place left by the borders as they disappeared, without ever really replacing them completely. As a result, a modern device with a 5.4-inch screen in 19.5/9 format like the iPhone 13 mini takes up less space than a Nokia V2, yet with a 5.5-inch screen and a 16/9 format. . Two smartphones that one would have thought to be close in size with this diagonal data alone.
Size comparison between iPhone 13 mini and Nokia V2. // Source: PhoneArena
All this can explain why, over time, a form of psychological barrier has been established around the six inches above which we will not dare to speak of a compact telephone. Our guide to compact smartphones is also called “5 to 6 inch smartphones”.
But we have to face reality: in 2022 very few recent smartphones could join this guide.
A psychological barrier
If we combine all the smartphones released in the last 18 months, we find only a few offenders: the very recent iPhone SE 5G (2022) and its 4.7 inches, the iPhone 13 mini with 5.4 inches, the Asus Zenfone 8 and its 5.9 inches, and finally a Microsoft Surface Duo 2 when folded measures 5.8 inches, but which displays in book format 8.3 inches.
The Asus Zenfone 8 // Source: Frandroid
Clearly, if you want a recent Android phone under 6 inches, you have… only one choice. In fact, we will therefore tend to speak of compact for slightly larger sizes.
In 6 inches, the ranks are not much more populated. Few models venture to this ultimate frontier. There are the Pixel 5 and the Sony Xperia 10 III (with a particular screen ratio for this one), but not much more.
To start finding a little more diversity, you have to go a little higher up the scale and reach 6.1 and 6.2 inches, much more provided for once.
The iPhone is a compact smartphone
Because yes, there is a not very well-known smartphone, from a small brand that nobody talks about, which measures precisely 6.1 inches. I am of course talking about the iPhone, which has chosen this panel size for its basic phones and its Pro models since the iPhone 11.
And as the whole industry tends to follow Apple like a conductor, this can probably explain why no one dares to go on a size smaller than the firm at the apple, for fear that there is a effect “this phone is objectively less good than the iPhone, because it has a bigger screen”.
We can still see that the bulk of the releases are more around the even larger sizes, with many 6.55 to 6.67 inches, as well as a good number of phones that go for the 6.7 and 6, 81 inches.
On the other hand, it is interesting to note that it is not necessarily the largest slabs that tear the most. The iPhone 12 is the best-selling phone in the world in 2021 according to a study by Counterpoint research. In third place, we also find the iPhone 13, and further the iPhone 11 and 12 Pro, equipped with a panel of the same size. Apart from the iPhone SE and its 4.7 inches, all the other phones in the Top 10 have larger panels.
We also note that the iPhone 13 mini or 12 mini and their 5.4 inches do not appear in this top. This perhaps demonstrates that for buyers it has become too small. Apple would even consider no longer releasing a mini model from the iPhone 14. The 6.1 inch for its part is overrepresented in the top. What to think that he became the new sweetpot for many consumers and therefore the ideal size for brands.
We must also put the weight of this top into perspective. In 2021, Xiaomi only released one sub-6.4-inch phone, the Redmi Note 8 (2021). This did not prevent them from repeatedly monopolizing the first place in smartphone sales. Slightly more massive slabs therefore also sell very well, without necessarily being bestsellers. There are also probably other explanations for this TOP 10, which have more to do with the success of the iPhone itself than with its slab size.
And now, 7 inches?
One question remains: will this inflation continue? Not so sure. In 2019, the OnePlus 7 Pro looked gigantic with its 6.67 inches. Since then, brands have not ventured much further. Today, the acceptable maximum seems to be around 6.81 inches, and no manufacturer has tried to exceed that, apart from Honor with a 7.09-inch smartphone, the Honor X30 Max. They are the only ones.
Source: Xiaomi
The recent trend could even be for the shrinkage of the slabs. The screen of the Xiaomi Mi 11 measured 6.81 inches and its lite version 6.55 inches. Its equivalent in 2022, the Xiaomi 12, stands at 6.28 inches.
At Samsung the same refrain. Korean premium smartphones lost an inch each. The S20 and S21 made up with 6.2 inches where the S22 drops to 6.1. The S21 Plus offered 6.7 inches compared to 6.6 inches for the S22 Plus. The tendency is therefore towards planing.
However, don’t dream of a world where phones fall below 6 inches. With the rise of SVoD services, smartphones have now become content viewing beasts and for that, you better have a big screen. A minimum 6 inch screen apparently.
Compact smartphones are on the way out, but there are still a few that hover around the 6-inch mark. Here are our recommendations.
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