The Galaxy S25 May Be Samsung’s Last. Why Smaller Phones Are Disappearing

Small phones have been a rare find for years, and that’s only expected to continue in 2025 and beyond. If reports and leaks about upcoming Samsung and Apple devices turn out to be true, both companies may shake up their smartphone lineups in the coming years — potentially resulting in an even bigger shift towards larger screens. 

Samsung may cancel the standard version of its flagship Galaxy S phone in 2026, according to a prolific, well-known leaker who goes by the alias Ice Universe on X. That would mean saying goodbye to the smallest phone in Samsung’s Galaxy S trio, which is currently the 6.2-inch Galaxy S24. A Samsung representative did not immediately respond to CNET’s request for comment about plans for the S26. 

At the same time, Apple is rumored to launch a new version of the iPhone SE, its budget-friendly smaller iPhone. But that device is expected to get an increase in screen size from 4.7 inches to 6.1 inches, according to MacRumors and Bloomberg, making it feel more like a standard iPhone than a miniature model.

Taken together, these reports are just the latest indication that smaller smartphones may be disappearing, coming after Apple scrapped the iPhone Mini from its lineup in 2022. Consumer desire for larger screens and advancements in display technology have made tiny phones almost obsolete. 

Read more: Why the iPhone SE 4 Could Be One of Apple’s Most Important Products of 2025

Phones keep getting bigger

Tech giants managed to pack even larger screens on their mobile devices in 2024. Case in point, look at how the screen sizes of major releases from Apple, Samsung and Google changed in 2024 compared to 2023: 

The trend towards larger screens isn’t new; it’s been happening gradually over the last decade. In 2014, an Accenture survey found that nearly half of consumers who planned to buy a new phone were interested in large-screened “phablet” phones rather than traditional smartphones. 

Now, 10 years later, there’s still evidence to suggest that smartphone buyers prefer phones with bigger displays. The mobile phone trade-in website SellCell conducted a survey ahead of the iPhone 16’s launch and found that 54.9% of respondents said they would like a bigger iPhone. 

Data from Consumer Intelligence Research Partners also indicates that the iPhone 16 Pro Max — Apple’s largest iPhone — is its second most popular, suggesting that shoppers are indeed gravitating towards bigger screens. 

The shift makes sense; now that we rely on our phones for everything from video chatting to watching movies, banking, shopping and gaming, it’s reasonable to expect consumers to crave larger screens. As phones have become a larger part of our lives, they’ve adapted to fit their newfound roles. And that’s manifested in the form of larger screens.

However, who knows whether things will stay that way for long. With tech giants building smarter AI-based interfaces for phones and further developing their virtual assistants, we may not find ourselves relying on screens as much as we do today. 

Why small phones are going away

It’s not just the appeal of a larger screen in your pocket that has led to a small phone shortage. Rather, it’s just a sign that display technology has progressed to such a point that it’s possible to expand the size of the display without meaningfully enlarging the phone itself. 

Samsung’s Galaxy Z Fold 6 and Google’s Pixel 9 Pro Fold are two of the strongest examples of how design changes can result in bigger screens. Google dramatically reduced the size of the bezels framing the Pixel 9 Pro Fold’s internal screen compared to Pixel Fold’s, freeing up more space for the display area. The Galaxy Z Fold 6’s cover display is slightly larger, thanks to its slimmer bezels, which goes a long way in making the outer screen more useful without feeling cumbersome. 

There’s also a financial incentive for phone makers to invest in big-screened devices. Such phones are typically more expensive than their smaller counterparts, giving companies like Apple and Samsung the opportunity to boost their average selling price. In short, bigger screens equals higher prices. 

Smartphone design is also progressing beyond simply making phones larger or smaller. Instead, the world’s biggest phonemakers are experimenting with new shapes and sizes in the form of foldable phones. Small phones aren’t extinct; they’ve just turned into flip phones like the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 6 and Motorola Razr Plus which, when folded closed, have a 3.4- and 4-inch external display, respectively.

Apple and Samsung are rumored to be developing slimmer versions of their smartphones, which would also represent a step towards making phones more portable without compromising on screen size.

Phones with small screens may be increasingly rare, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing. Instead, it’s a sign that phones are evolving.