Some clothing lines (looking at you, Columbia) tend to have small pockets; the iPhone 16 Pro in a decent case barely fits into some shirt pockets, when what I want to fit is the phone, a pen, and a card or two into that pocket.
Regarding the size of type on iPhone screens, I have it set to not display app names at all, just icons, and I use Search as a launcher/picker for anything not on the first home screen page. Search automagically displays recent apps when you swipe down to open it. Search even takes a guess based on time of day (I think) as to what to display. For example, at leaving-work time it will list the bike share apps even if I have not opened them recently. No need to use my aging type-reading eyes.
Ergonomics and lifestyle-wise, if I could I would still have a simple flip phone for calls and an evolved iPod for everything else. iPod touch 5-or-so was the platonic ideal of a sheet of glass that did the things I want to do – listen to podcasts, get directions, scan messages and email (no long responses) If we had a good segment of users doing that still, flip-phone plus iPod , I think we would have slowed the destruction of our public/communal lives together.
I got big hands, but I find even the iPhone mini a bit too big to handle easily with one hand … . I do not watch any movies or hardly even any Youtube videos (also do not make any videos) and I do not play games except for solitaire, so not sure what I need a bigger screen for – the iPhone 5 was ideal in size (just like Jobs said at the time).
I browse the web on my iPhone 16 Pro. When I used smaller phones, I needed to carry a tablet to read anything longer than a few lines. I can now easily do that with a device that fits in my pocket.
I have never owned a tablet, but I mostly use my computer unless I read something in Mail, Twitter and the like on the iPhone. I try and stay away from reading longer things on the iPhone and do not need it as I am mostly close to my computer when not away on holiday cycling … .
Not trying to be sarcastic just trying to help you understand
I am one of the older users here but having a big screen is not necessary for me, my iPhone 13 mini works just fine, handles phone calls (it is a phone after all) email, messages & the occasional web search. I don’t watch videos, movies or spend a lot of time trying to read the news on it.
I use it as a phone 90% of the time. I don’t have Facebook, Instagram Twitter etc. so I am just communicating to my contacts on my phone
If you need a bigger screen fine then the iPhone Pro’s Max etc. are fine for you but I don’t want to spend more time than necessary on my phone.
BTW I have 2 monitors are my Mac Mini but that’s because of audio programs that I use.
Hope this helps explain why some of us don’t want bigger phones
My wife has a smaller phone and it is to fit in her purse at the time. She has a larger purse now and maybe she would opt for a larger one. Women’s pants pockets are small, and her current small phone does fit, but a larger one might not. We are older as well so can relate to needing a larger screen. But she also zooms in to help with that issue.
I don’t do a lot on my phone, so having a large screen isn’t important. I don’t think I would like reading a book on any of the phones, I would take my iPad. my iPhone SE fits nicely in my pocket.
I generally try to use The Right Tool For The Job, and in the case of the mobile phone, I am happy with the iPhone 13 Mini Apple lets me use
Fits in mobile phone pants pockets even in its Otterbox Defender case so is quickly accessible (I also generally don’t carry a bag/rucksack)
Easy to use one handed
Screen large enough for its duties: checking weather, text messaging, snapshotting, alarms (when I need a larger screen or keyboard, I go to the Mac)
I’ll have to take good care of it, as it seems Apple is not going to make that size again any time soon.
I would consider an iPhone Air Mini, purely from a ‘interesting object/technical achievement’ point of view, but my tech needs are less and less and I think I would use very few of the new hardware features, as I already find almost all new software features unuseful for my case, and turn them off as soon as they’re installed.
But the price, ouch! A thousand quid! and I don’t need 256GB memory in it!
It won’t be long til I’m looking for a “Seniors Phone” I guess, or a phone with a screen that just does those basic duties and has maybe 16GB memory…
Lots of interesting points made about various use cases etc. in this thread! Can I give the whole thread and contributors a “Heart/Good Post/Thank You”?
One of the reasons that I got a 13 mini was that the screen size is really close to that of the 6+ I was upgrading from. The physical phone is smaller, but almost all of that saving was from eliminating bezels (and Touch ID):
So when people claim that those wanting a 17 mini are asking for a particularly small screen, they should think again. Today’s “mini” screens are the same size as the extra-large screens from a few years ago. Those who want an actual small screen (like my iPod Touch, with a 4" screen - 3.5" x 2"), are completely out of luck - nothing comes even close.
BTW, I really appreciate everyone being civil in this thread. I had worried when I asked the question that it might devolve into useless criticism over Apple not making a smaller phone, but I think the question is a fascinating one.
My conclusions are:
We have different use cases for our phones (some want a pocket computer, some want a plain phone), which changes the need for a big screen.
We have different ways of carrying our phones (for many, an extra inch or ounce makes a device unportable).
Not everyone has multiple devices and that can change the use case for the phone.
Hopefully Apple will come up with a way to please everyone (its rumored foldable might solve the problem next year, though I wonder if will be a few years before they make foldables in different sizes and a smaller one might be lower priority initially).
I am a small old guy with disabilities so I need smaller size and light weight to be able to hold and use my iPhone. I used 4S (good), 6+ (a bit big and heavy), 11 Pro Max (too dang big and heavy – ouch), 12 mini (good), and 13 (OK). I never used SE so I can’t comment on that one.
my iphone13m (mini) doesn’t fit in the pockets of my levi’s denim shirt and that was the smallest phone available at the time. the 1st gen se did fit. barely. but it got old and died.
mostly use my phone for its ipod (remember those?) function: tunes on the go. thus i don’t need or want a big screen.
i’m okay with face id but would appreciate a fallback to touch id, which some devices had (i think?). alternatively, if unlocking the phone with the watch worked more than just randomly …
I’ve been traveling a lot recently, and I cannot overstate how much of a boon it is to be able to use my phone with one hand to pull up maps and directions of unfamiliar streets while my other hand is full of luggage.
Sure, having a bigger screen to show more map area would be nice, but being able to work one-handed is more than worth it.
Forget folding phones. Why not have a phone where the screen can quickly inflate to double the size for times when you need a larger screen and then deflate to the smaller size to fit in the pocket (or hand)?
