After using a Oneplus 13, which has a 6.82 inch screen I’m firmly of the belief that a phone can be too big. Width plays a major part in how easy to hold the phone is, and the height has an upper limit too. With the Oneplus 13, one handed I was unable to reach the opposite edge of the screen from the side I was holding from, and could barely reach past the half way mark on the screen. For reference, I do not have small hands. My hand span from little finger to thumb is 9 inches. This is just not practical. There is nothing I need to do on a phone that requires a tablet sized screen. If I need a bigger screen, for media consumption or whatever I already have a tablet for that.
Even the Pixel 9a I recently received, with a 6.3″ screen is too big for comfortable one handed use. The height is much more manageable but it’s too wide to hold properly.
Enter the iPhone 12 Mini. A device I bought for £115 in mint cosmetic condition for £115. The seller even threw an official Silicone case in with it. The display of the 12 Mini is 5.4 inches. The size of it’s entire frame is smaller than the iPhone 6, 7 and 8.
For a bit of fun I used phonesized.com to compare the iPhone 12 Mini to the base model iPhone 17, and the iPhone 17 Pro Max. I think it gets my point across very well.
The size difference is phenomenal. However I think the biggest improvement to the usability and hand feel of the device comes from the smaller width dimension.
It is honestly a joy to use. Even with a case and screen protector fitted the device feels manageable in one hand, and the difference in weight makes a huge difference too. This thing really does disappear into my pockets, where the Oneplus 13 was making it look like I’d tried to cram a laptop in there.
Usability seems surprisingly unimpeded by it’s smaller size. My eyesight is good, and even with my larger thumbs I’ve had no trouble typing, especially when I can use the swipe to type one handed now. The cameras produce good results and thanks to the high resolution of the display, apps run just the same as they would on larger screens.
There are only two negatives to this device that I can think of. The first is something I can do nothing about, and that is the lightning port. All of my devices for years now have been USB-C, and I have built up a large amount of cables and accessories that rely on this port. My USB drive for example has both USB-A and USB-C, giving me an easy option to access important files and transfer between a PC and my phone, can’t use that now.
The second, is battery life. This device currently has a health readout of 81%. On most phones this wouldn’t be a major issue, however on a phone with a measly ~2200mAh battery I can’t really afford to be down 20%. The solution for this, thankfully isn’t expensive. Apple have a self service shop available to the UK, so I’ve ordered a new genuine battery, which after the core credit will cost me just over £40. I’ve also ordered a small magsafe battery pack, which should keep me going on longer days away from a power source. For the most part though, I’m not a heavy mobile user, and I will make it through most days without a top up aside from being plugged in for my commute.
Overall I’m gutted that the market for smaller phones didn’t prove to be big enough to justify continuing the Mini line up. Every single person that has held this phone has remarked how comfortable it is to use and easy to use. It’s not surprising that people skipped it though, bigger is better in most peoples minds, and given the choice of two devices at the same price, one small and one big I think most would choose the bigger one simply because they’d perceive it to be better value for money. For now though, I’ll just enjoy what I’ve got while it lasts.
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