We’ve had corporations strive making small telephones prior to now, however they couldn’t stand the check of time. Apple tried the small iPhones with the iPhone 12 mini and the iPhone 13 mini, however like most small telephones, they have been affected by dangerous battery life and noticed underwhelming gross sales — regardless of the much-beloved pocketable measurement.
However 2024 redefined what “small” means in flagship telephones. This was a yr when compact gadgets lastly stopped enjoying second fiddle to their bigger siblings, however there’s nonetheless one lacking piece that must be addressed.
True small Professional flagships are right here
For years, small Professional flagships have been handled like a second thought when it comes to specs. As an example, Apple restricted the brand new 5x telephoto digicam to the iPhone 15 Pro Max, whereas the iPhone 15 Pro featured older optics. When it comes to numbers, each these telephones had a 48MP most important plus 12MP ultrawide plus 12MP telephoto digicam. The zoom lens featured the identical aperture, and the brand new 5x optical zoom was restricted to solely the Professional Max telephone.
On the Android aspect, the Galaxy S24 doesn’t have the identical digicam setup because the Galaxy S24 Ultra — just like the Google Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro. On Samsung, you get an additional periscope telephoto digicam with the Extremely, whereas the vanilla Pixels have had the zoom lens lacking for years and not using a small Professional Pixel telephone.
Telephone corporations have gatekept the very best optics for his or her costliest huge telephones. So that you had to decide on between having the very best cameras or the small type issue. However issues modified in 2024.
Apple and Google made flagships that retained the optic prowess of their greater siblings whereas retaining a smaller measurement. Each iPhone 16 Professional telephones now sport the identical major, ultrawide, and telephoto cameras with the identical software program function set.
The brand new Google Pixel telephones additionally had the identical ways. The corporate launched a brand new XL mannequin whereas the Pixel 9 Professional shrank in measurement this yr. It allowed Google to ship three Pixel 9 telephones, out of which the Pixel 9 Pro and Pixel 9 Pro XL featured the identical digicam system however differed in measurement and value.
In 2024, you might lastly have the very best digicam system on smaller telephones. This meant spending at the least $100 much less and never going for an inconvenient telephone measurement when prioritizing the optics in your subsequent telephone. However these “small telephones” aren’t the identical measurement because the compact telephones from yesteryears.
Dimension is relative. It took small telephones getting greater for manufacturers to offer us true Professional flagships in a compact measurement. I’m not complaining, although. In my view, a 6.3-inch show is the right type issue for a pocketable telephone. It’s not too small to compromise on the battery life and show, and never so huge it might probably’t slot in your pocket. I favored the Xiaomi 14 for a similar purpose.
I bear in mind shifting from the iPhone 14 Professional Max to the iPhone 14 Pro after which to the iPhone 15 Professional and lacking an all-day battery life. For years, I’ve needed a relatively small telephone to final me a complete day. The present-gen compact flagships aren’t there but, and the battery lifetime of the iPhone 16 Professional has solely worsened with every replace. However each the iPhone 16 Professional and Pixel 9 Professional are getting there. The larger telephones nonetheless last more, however now you don’t need to compromise on specs to get the telephone measurement that matches your liking.
The long run is much more thrilling
The iPhone 16 Professional and Pixel 9 Professional have reached a degree the place you get the very best digicam system, however the battery prowess continues to be missing. The principle offender is utilizing older battery tech. To take an instance from outdoors the U.S., Vivo additionally delivered a small Professional flagship in 2024.
The Vivo X200 Pro Mini featured the very best cameras in a 6.3-inch display screen type issue whereas additionally packing an enormous 5,700mAh battery that’s more likely to final you longer than the Apple and Google telephones with a lot smaller cells. Comparatively, the Galaxy S24 packs a 4,000mAh battery, whereas the Pixel 9 Professional has a 4,700mAh battery.
For context, the Vivo X200 Professional Mini provides a bigger battery than the largest Pixel telephone. The Pixel 9 Professional XL has a 5,060mAh battery, whereas the Samsung Galaxy S24 Extremely has a 5,000mAh cell. That is solely doable due to the newest innovation in battery tech, which gave us silicon carbon batteries.
I haven’t examined this specific mini Vivo telephone, however I’ve some expertise with silicon carbon battery-equipped telephones, together with the Honor Magic V3, Oppo Find X8 Pro, and Vivo X200 Pro. These have lasted me at the least a day, even on heavy utilization, and as much as 1.5 days on medium use. I’ve been pleasantly stunned by not having to cost my telephone twice a day. And even when wanted, I can get a full cost inside an hour, due to super-fast charging from these Chinese language manufacturers.
I hope this development continues
Each Apple and Google made us consider it’s doable to have true Professional flagships with the very best digicam techniques, however the one manner for a small telephone to have an on-par battery life with greater telephones is with silicon carbon batteries. That’s as a result of these are extra energy-dense and might maintain extra battery capability in a smaller measurement. Thus, slicing the load and delivering a greater battery life for every cost. I hope U.S. telephone producers embrace this battery innovation subsequent yr.
Trying forward, Samsung is unlikely to introduce the identical digicam setup on its Galaxy S25 because the Galaxy S25 Extremely, however this can be a development that I hope will proceed. 2024 proved it’s doable to ship true Professional options in a compact measurement.
Whereas Samsung’s Galaxy S25 may not observe this development, Apple, Google, and particularly Vivo have proven what’s achievable. With silicon carbon batteries paving the best way, 2025 might be the yr small flagships really come into their very own. Think about having a globally accessible telephone with flagship cameras and nice battery life in a 6.3-inch display screen type issue. I hope this dream turns into a actuality subsequent yr.
