Small phones are gone, but this one reminds me of the good old days

There are nary much high-end mini phones – nowadays, moreover nan cheapest fund phones travel equipped pinch 6-inch displays, and while I admit nan immersive powerfulness of a bully ample screen, I do sometimes find myself missing days gone by.

Though we didn’t cognize it astatine nan time, nan preamble of ample smartphones – past (and sometimes still) called phablets – kicked disconnected an extinction arena that ended pinch nan discontinuation of nan iPhone 13 mini successful 2022, now a uncommon find itself.

We’re astatine a constituent now wherever nan word “mini” seems to person mislaid each meaning – for example, nan upcoming Vivo X200 Pro Mini measures successful astatine 6.31 inches, which is really nan slightest spot larger than nan 6.3-inch iPhone 16 Pro.

It mightiness travel arsenic a astonishment fixed my erstwhile tribute to nan OnePlus Open, pinch its monolithic 7.82-inch soul display, and really quickly I fell for nan 6.67-inch surface connected nan Xiaomi 14T, but I’ve still sewage immoderate dream for nan return of nan mini phone.

Before switching to my trusty 6.39-inch Huawei Mate 20 Pro (and, since joining TechRadar, a fistful of arsenic ample phones), I was regular driving an iPhone 5S.

I retrieve nan 5S fondly for its headphone jack, convenient Touch ID fingerprint scanner, and so its unthinkable portability. Today’s phones are hardly a fuss to lug around, but nan iPhone 5S simply vanished into immoderate pouch you put it in, an unobtrusive and useful companion successful nan gym, connected a hike, aliases astatine a concert, and while that mini surface couldn’t show overmuch astatine erstwhile it made getting to your desired app aliases website an absolute breeze. I ne'er thought I’d usage a telephone for illustration it again.

That was until I started utilizing nan iPhone 15 astir a week agone to brushwood up connected my iOS know-how. Sure, location whitethorn not beryllium immoderate small phones left, but present was 1 that fresh successful 1 manus and could beryllium easy utilized that way, had (nearly) each nan mod-cons of today’s iPhones, and that feels compact successful my pouch compared to nan super-sized flagships I’ve been utilizing nan past fewer years.

Once nan first haze of deja vu passed, I started getting to grips pinch conscionable really overmuch powerfulness Apple packs into nan guidelines exemplary iPhone’s 6.1-inch frame. Having nan afloat powerfulness of nan A16 Bionic spot intends I alert done time to time societal networking and web browsing, pinch much than capable powerfulness for games. And arsenic our iPhone 16 review finds, this year's iPhone brings moreover much performance, fresh for nan motorboat of Apple Intelligence.

More than a feeling

The iPhone 15 besides conscionable feels awesome to use. At an facet ratio of 19.5:9, nan show is of a reasonably modular comparative height, but nan corners are much rounded than a emblematic telephone which makes everything consciousness satisfyingly compressed. The immense advancement successful bezel simplification successful nan 10 years betwixt nan iPhone 5S and iPhone 15 intends nan second is only astir an inch taller, which takes maine backmost to a clip erstwhile phones were much for illustration dashboards to beryllium checked than immersive media machines. The only point I acutely miss erstwhile utilizing nan iPhone 15 is simply a 120Hz refresh complaint – but that’s different communicative altogether.

Another underrated upside of utilizing a mini telephone is nan effect compact ergonomics person connected photography. Being capable to plaything nan iPhone 15 from my pouch to my manus and instantly unfastened nan camera app intends I tin seizure moments much quickly than I would pinch a super-sized flagship, and my hands and wrists person an easier clip holding nan telephone successful scenery mode.

Apple does connection 1 smaller telephone – nan existent iPhone SE inhabits nan assemblage of nan iPhone 8 – but its camera system, show technology, and chipset are each somewhat dated compared to nan iPhone 15. What’s more, we expect nan iPhone SE could soon inherit nan creation of nan iPhone 14, 6.1-inch show included. This could go nan caller modular for nan mini extremity of Apple’s telephone lineup.

So, unless Apple brings retired a 5S-sized iPhone pinch today's internals (iPhone SE SE?), nan iPhone 15 is astir apt arsenic adjacent arsenic I’ll get to nan emotion of my erstwhile telephone – but pinch this overmuch portable power, that’s nary problem astatine all.

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