Phones Keep Getting Bigger—and It's Our Fault

howtogeek.com:

You may have seen the stories or even noticed for yourself—small phones are dead. Standard phones are much bigger than they were ten years ago, and you're more likely to see new larger "pro" variants than tiny ones.

We can be annoyed at smartphone makers, but really, it's not their fault. It's ours, and it's time to look in the mirror and admit what we've done to our phones.

​Small Phones Don't Sell

Whenever a company launches a small version of a phone alongside a larger model, it simply does not move as many units. This is even the case for Apple, a company with all the clout and brand recognition you could want.

The iPhone 13 Mini, despite being loved by the press, sold only a fraction of the regular iPhone 13 and the iPhone 13 Pro. Apple expected the phone not to sell as well as its regular model, yet sales figures still under-performed even those lowered expectations. After giving it a shot for two years in a row, Apple canceled the Mini line.

This phenomenon is true even when you compare across different brands. iPhones used to be smaller than Samsung Galaxy phones and other Android devices. Getting a bigger screen was a reason to prefer an Android phone over an iPhone, and back then, Apple didn't have as strong a hold on the market as it does now. Apple responded with larger displays on the iPhone 5 and 6, with the trend continuing until you can now get an iPhone screen as big as most of the competition's—as long as you don't want one that folds.

​The Way We Use Our Phones Has Changed

Why do we want these bigger screens? Let's face it, our phones aren't just phones anymore. They aren't even predominantly phones. Placing calls is one of the rarest things many of us do with our phones.

Smartphones are pocket computers. We browse the web on them, and large screens make it easier to see more text. We use them to watch videos, and as a general rule, we try to watch things on the biggest screen we can set our eyes on. They are our primary