Making Smartphones Thin Again: Is “Slim” the New Small?

For a certain population of smartphone buyers out there, there was a time long ago when phones were “just the right size”—short of quoting Goldilocks, the obsession that today’s brands have with equipping each and every new smartphone with incredibly-large displays has resulted in a yearning for the smaller handsets of yesteryear, at least among some users.

READ: No, the OnePlus 13T will Not Make its Way to the US or Europe Anytime Soon

With that being said however, it seems like the market is shifting again, albeit somewhat slightly. New smartphones like the OnePlus 13T and the Oppo X8s show that companies are still willing to revisit smaller form factors, while brands such as Samsung, Google and Apple have maintained reasonably-small models within their current smartphone lineups.

This isn’t the only change that’s taken place though—this year, we’re expecting a number of slimmed-down devices such as the upcoming Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge and the iPhone 17 Air, with other manufacturers heavily trimming down on thickness in the name of aesthetics. It’s a trend that we saw years ago with the launch of the iPhone 6 series, and we all know how that turned out.

this year, we’re expecting a number of slimmed-down devices… It’s a trend that we saw years ago with the launch of the iPhone 6 series, and we all know how that turned out.

As such, this now begs the question of whether or not smartphone brands will capitalize on this resurgence of thinner smartphones, which might even offset sales of compact-screened devices. It’s no secret that one major factor that forced Apple to kill off its iPhone Mini line was poor market performance, as not everyone wants a small phone, as it seems.

Perhaps one could say that like compact smartphones, thinner handsets might present an advantage in that they’re lighter on one’s hands and pockets. For example, the Tecno Spark Slim measures just 5.75mm thick, making it infinitely slimmer than pretty much every other smartphone on the market right now. Even foldables like the Oppo Find N5 manage to keep things thin, and this no doubt helps when it comes to overall portability.

This also means that manufacturers can take advantage of the new Silicon-carbon battery trend that we’re already seeing on a number of Chinese smartphones, allowing them to fit large battery capacities without adding too much thickness to the device, as seen with the likes of the Honor Power and its 8,000 mAh battery.

On the other hand, you could also say that there’s no guarantee that Samsung or Apple will adopt Silicon-carbon battery tech anytime soon, and that we might instead end up with aesthetically-pleasing phones which might need a charge halfway through the day, something that in 2025 seems unfortunate, especially with how better most smartphones have gotten when it comes to power efficiency.

READ: Infinix Note 50 series debuts with smarter, longer-lasting battery tech

There’s also the issue of how durable these slimmer devices will be. Sure, one could argue that the days of bendable metal phones are far behind us, but at this point in time we’ve yet to see how these new thin phones from Samsung and Apple will fare in the long run, at least when it comes to structural integrity. The slimmer build also means that we’re losing out on components such as additional cameras, and even thermal cooling solutions.

At the end of the day, while we’re technically still getting small premium phones (without much compromises in terms of hardware), they remain a rarity—from how things are looking, smartphone brands are definitely locked in, at least as far as large displays are concerned. Only time will tell if this return to thin designs catches on, and whether or not they can keep up with more “standard-sized” rivals without skimping on performance and hardware quality.

Personally though, I hope they focus more on keeping screens compact.

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