I downsized my phone after using a big phablet for years – it’s a breath of fresh air, but it just makes me want a new iPhone SE
My thumbs are pretty chunky for the size of my hands. This is admittedly a bizarre thing to lead with but it has a lot to do with how I’ve fared with different smartphones.
Over the last 15 years, phones have swelled to meet shifting habits. With streaming on mobiles devices more viable, thanks to 5G, it makes sense that screen sizes have expanded to make for a much better experience. In light of my oversized thumbs, which I’m using right now to type this sentence, you may assume that, for me, this amounts to progress. But I’ve always struggled to use smartphones – my first was an iPhone 4 – without awkward autocorrects or the occasional typo. On balance, however, I prefer more compact phones than the goliaths we’ve become used to.
Despite forgoing the larger screen size for better video playback and error-free communication, these devices are more likely to have sharper displays (higher pixel-per-inch counts), they’re more sophisticated and far more practical (you can fit them into pockets); that’s my view.
But I’ve tended to go with the flow – usually as a technology journalist your phone tends to be whatever you’re reviewing at the moment. I’ve handled all kinds of devices, from the best iPhones to £120 plastic rectangles and everything in between – and more often than not I’ve ended up with screen sizes in the 6.5-inch-plus range.
That’s why when my previous smartphone, an Oppo Find X3 Lite (and its 6.7-inch panel) hit retirement age, I figured this was the perfect time to downsize for good. So I did my dutiful research, weighed up the options and made a concrete decision. I haven’t looked back since (to a point – but I’ll get back to that later).
Ok, so size does matter
I then got my hands on the Samsung Galaxy S23. This is the perfect antidote to years of fumbling about with an oversized phablet – a relatively modestly-sized high-end smartphone with plenty to love, as we covered in our review. For me, it was between that and the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra (which, admittedly, wasn’t an easy choice); of course, these aren’t the latest Galaxy phones, but they were going spare in the TechRadar Cupboard of Phones, whole the Samsung Galaxy S24 and Galaxy S24 Ultra were being put to use by other TechRadarians.
Now, a few months into using it, what exactly is it that I miss about the larger devices? Zilch. Nada. Nil.
I was quite happy watching England bore its way to the Euros final on-the-go on this much smaller device this summer. No longer must I let go of my phone for a split second before catching it in a risky manoeuvre that gets even dicier after you’ve had a few drinks – simply so I can reach the top-third of my screen. I can also shove my phone into my pocket without fear of it peeking out and granting pickpockets easy access. It’s a huge quality of life upgrade. And my chunky thumbs have adapted well too.
There is, however, something that doesn’t quite sit right with me.
Oh how I’d love to see, a whloe new iPhone SE
Not only do I feel that I can go smaller yet, but I’m finding it hard to gel with this particular brand of Android OS. Really, it has made me realize that what I’ve wanted this whole time is just a new, edge-to-edge iPhone SE that packs the power of the latest iPhone 16 into a more compact unit. Despite exciting rumours, the iPhone SE never materialized at Apple’s glitzy September launch event – and the portfolio is much weaker for its absence.
My iPhone 4 was followed by the original iPhone SE (2016) – a device I consider unrivalled and underappreciated for its time. It was a phenomenal smartphone that packed the latest Apple hardware into a much sleeker, compact, and better-designed package, than the iPhone 6. The only downsides were the slightly smaller screen – which I was okay with.
As the form factor began inching ever larger, this device dug its heels in – a nod from Apple to the fact there remained plenty of customers still keen to reject modernity even as it was dragging its portfolio in a new direction.
The previous two versions of the iPhone SE were disappointments, as far as I’m concerned, in light of the use of the older chassis and the lack of an edge-to-edge display. There’s every chance the iPhone SE 4 – if and whenever it’s released – will continue in this vein.
But I’m still holding out hope that – sitting buried somewhere in a secretive lab, deep in Apple’s Cupertino HQ – are schematics for a next-gen, edge-to-edge, pocket-sized iPhone SE that offers something that nothing else on the market can right now. Fingers crossed for what 2025 could bring for the house that Steve Jobs built.
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My thumbs are pretty chunky for the size of my hands. This is admittedly a bizarre thing to lead with but it has a lot to do with how I’ve fared with different smartphones. Over the last 15 years, phones have swelled to meet shifting habits. With streaming on mobiles…
