I miss small phones and the Galaxy S26 doesn’t count

Samsung launched the Galaxy S26 series in February, and the Basic Galaxy S26 It is one of the best smaller Android phones on the market. I say “smaller” because you and I know that this is not actually a small phone.

In fact, it is practically impossible to find a legitimate solution small phone from a major manufacturer in 2026. Here’s why I miss them and really want them to return in the near future.

When I talk about a small phone, I’m usually referring to a device with a screen smaller than 6 inches, although I’m fine with a 6.1-inch screen too. In contrast, the base Galaxy S26 is actually larger than previous entries and now has a 6.3-inch display. That’s still small, right?

Unfortunately, my time with 6.3-inch phones in 2026 convinced me that while they’re smaller than today’s average phones, they’re still not really small. I used extensively the vivo X300 and Xiaomi 17and I briefly used the Galaxy S26. Unfortunately, all of these phones have aspect ratios that make it a little difficult to reach the top of the screen. Plus, these devices don’t completely disappear in your pocket like legitimately small phones do.

When I think of small phones, I immediately think of devices like the ASUS Zenfone 9 (5.99-inch screen), the Sony Xperia XZ2 Compact series (5-inch screen), and the Samsung Galaxy S10e (5.8-inch). When you ignore actual screen sizes, which can be clouded by different aspect ratios, you have phones that range in height from 135mm to ~146mm. Even the Galaxy S25 counts in my book, although it measures just a hair shy of 147mm.

A Samsung representative recently stated that the company no longer makes small phones because all the most popular use cases benefit from a larger screen. Furthermore, the filter Digital chat station He previously asked representatives of major Chinese manufacturers why they didn’t make small phones. These representatives apparently attributed the lack of small phones to larger screens being more popular, while claiming that 6-inch phones can’t meet all the major requirements (i.e. performance, camera, battery life).

Despite these claims, I believe that, from a technology perspective, there has never been a better time for manufacturers to make legitimately small phones. And that is largely due to the arrival of silicon-carbon batteries. This technology allows you to squeeze the same capacity into a physically smaller battery, or more capacity into the same physical battery size.

This technology has already resulted in smaller (but not tiny) phones with tremendously large batteries. For example, the OnePlus 15T It has a 7500 mAh battery despite a 6.32-inch screen and a height of ~150 mm. Meanwhile, the Chinese Xiaomi 17 has a 7,000 mAh battery packed into its 151mm frame.

Smartphone makers don’t even have to offer ridiculously huge silicon-carbon batteries in their smaller phones. Instead, they can offer a physically smaller battery while still offering plenty of power. This way, they can offer a small phone without necessarily compromising battery capacity, performance, and other hardware.

We’ve also seen other hardware innovations over the years that could make small phones a reality again. On the one hand, Samsung ALoP Telephoto Camera Modules They are smaller than conventional periscope cameras. This means a smaller camera bump while freeing up internal space. Look at the image below to get a better idea.

There’s also less pressure to offer a gigantic battery in 2026, as current phones are significantly more efficient compared to older devices. A big reason for this is that current chips are quite frugal. Qualcomm says the current Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 offers 16% lower overall power consumption and a 35% more efficient CPU than the Snapdragon 8 Elite. But even the 8 Elite brought a CPU supposedly 45% more efficient than its predecessor. In fact, we found that phones with the Snapdragon 8 Elite chip were significantly more efficient than previous flagships.

So if Google can offer a smaller phone like the Pixel 10 ProOffering good (but not amazing) performance, a large lithium-ion battery, and a full set of flexible cameras, I’m sure it could launch a legitimately small phone by taking advantage of a silicon-carbon battery and other technological advances. And if OnePlus could offer the 6.3-inch OnePlus 15T with a ridiculous 7,500 mAh battery, what’s stopping it from launching a sub-6-inch phone with a 5,500 mAh or 6,000 mAh battery?

The smartphone industry is trying to rethink what constitutes a small phone, with the Galaxy S26, Pixel 10 Pro, and Xiaomi 17 all offering ~6.3-inch displays. And these companies are no doubt seeking praise for offering this smaller size.

However, I’d love to see these same brands muster up the courage to offer legitimately small phones in 2026. Because the technological ingredients are finally here for a compact phone that doesn’t make any significant compromises. Will it really happen? Well, let’s hope Apple resurrects the iPhone Mini, so Samsung can certainly do the same.