Small screen phones are back in fashion

10/29 2024 362

Author: Sun Pengyue

Editor: Dafeng

Small screen phones, a niche product, have once again returned to the spotlight. Just last week, major manufacturers Vivo and OPPO released their latest flagship models, both featuring compact screen sizes. These include the Vivo X200Pro mini (6.31 inches) and the OPPO Find X8 (6.59 inches). Rumors even suggest that the upcoming Xiaomi 15 will have a screen size of 6.36 inches, while Apple is also planning to revive its SE series with the iPhone SE4 expected early next year. Suddenly, the top mobile phone brands are turning their attention to small screen phones.

01

"Small, but not too small"

Since the iPhone 6 series, small screen phones have been largely relegated to history. Even middle-aged and elderly people, who may not be tech-savvy, often request larger screens and fonts when purchasing phones. With the market and mainstream product trends already established, only a nostalgic few remain advocating for small screen flagships. Even Apple struggled with small screen phones, as evidenced by the iPhone 5C, a 4.7-inch device released in 2013. It failed to gain traction, with sales in China only reaching about a third of those of the iPhone 5S. Six months after its launch, Foxconn significantly reduced production of the iPhone 5C, effectively halting it. Apple persisted, rebranding the iPhone 5C as the iPhone SE with the same 4.7-inch screen but a lower price of 3,288 yuan. However, due to poor sales, the SE was eventually discontinued. A new generation of SE 4 is still in the planning stages.

iPhone SE

Apple's experience underscores the first rule of small screen phones: they can be small, but not too small.

Specifically, how small is "small"? While there is no clear definition, market feedback and sales figures provide guidance. The 4.7-inch iPhone SE and the 5.4-inch iPhone 12 mini and 13 mini all suffered from poor sales. Consumers seem to accept screen sizes between 6.0 and 6.5 inches as small. Below 6 inches, even for Apple, sales suffer. Currently, many flagship phones from major brands fall within this "small screen" range, including the 6.1-inch iPhone 16, the 6.36-inch Xiaomi 14, and the 6.2-inch Samsung Galaxy S24. Meanwhile, according to AnTuTu's second-quarter 2024 report on mobile phone screen sizes, domestic phones with screens between 6.6 and 6.8 inches account for 79.3% of the market. Ironically, the distinction between "large" and "small" screens may be as little as 0.5 inches. Today's so-called small screen phones might just be a substitute for truly compact devices.

02

Small screens as a gimmick

Smartphone development has long focused on capturing users' attention. In today's tech-saturated world, almost all visual attention is consumed by screens. The New York Times reports that modern people spend about 11 hours a day looking at various screens. The competition among phone manufacturers is essentially a battle for screen size, with Samsung, Apple's biggest rival, relying heavily on large screens as a selling point. In 2013, the "screen wars" escalated further when Samsung introduced the world's first curved-screen phone, the Galaxy Round, dividing the market into curved and flat-screen segments. For a long time, curved screens were synonymous with premium devices, typically found only in flagship models priced above 4,000 yuan. The curved design visually compresses the frame, creating the illusion of a borderless display, enhanced by the reflective properties of glass, giving the phone a premium feel.

Samsung Galaxy Note Edge

However, with technological advancements, curved screens were surpassed by foldable designs, which offer a more futuristic and visually striking experience. Foldable phones easily command higher prices, aiding brands in their pursuit of the premium market.

With "large" and "small" foldable options flooding the market, curved screens have all but disappeared, with no new curved-screen phones released in 2024. In this context, manufacturers face a new challenge: while foldables are appealing, not all phones can or should be foldable. Overly uniform product forms risk being rejected by the market and consumers. Creating new "products" within the flat-screen category has become a priority for manufacturers. Small screen phones have emerged as a test or gimmick, serving as the "medium-sized" option in a flagship lineup. The visual difference alone encourages consumers to upgrade to Pro/Max/Ultra models.

03

The cost of small screen phones

While small screen phones may be a gimmick, producing them is no easy feat. In 2023, when asked about smaller phones on his Weibo account, Lei Jun, CEO of Xiaomi, noted that the Xiaomi 13 was already optimized, and further size reduction would compromise camera quality and battery life. This highlights the primary challenge of small screen phones: limited internal space. Larger camera sensors, such as Xiaomi's Leica and Vivo's Zeiss systems, with their 1-inch sensors, simply won't fit. Battery capacity is also a significant consideration, especially for Android devices, which typically have batteries exceeding 4,000mAh. The 4.7-inch iPhone SE, for example, has a mere 1,642mAh battery, nearly three times smaller.

iPhone 16 Internal Structure

To equip small screen phones with flagship specifications, manufacturers must custom-order screens from suppliers, establish dedicated production lines, and develop miniaturized motherboards, batteries, sensors, and other internal components.

Under similar specifications, small screen phones tend to be more costly to produce. If sales remain poor, manufacturers may discontinue these models within two years.

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