New compact Android phone project plans to fill iPhone 14 mini hole

The best small phones are just as capable as their bigger siblings, but they're more portable, more pocket friendly and more comfortable. They're also getting harder to find, and that's not because they're too small to spot.

Right now, everybody seems to be thinking big. Apple has no plans for an iPhone 14 mini, and our current list of the best Android phones is full of giants, too.

However, Eric Migicovsky would like to change that. The founder of Pebble has created a site, smallandroidphone.com, that he hopes will persuade phone firms to make the perfect petite smartphone – and he wants you and 49,999 other people to help him.

What is the best small phone?

According to Migicovsky, the best small phone would be the size of the iPhone 12 mini and iPhone 13 mini. That means a sub-6" display, which is fine; Migicovsky says if it also runs stock Android and has great cameras, "you've built the perfect phone. Currently there are ZERO premium Android phones with sub-6" displays. No amount of money can buy one right now." He reckons that since Sony abandoned the Xperia Compact line there's been a very small phone-shaped hole in the market.

The price of this desired phone would be $700 to $800, because it's a seller's market, and its cameras would be as good as or better than the Pixel 5. It'd have a Snapdragon 8 or equivalent, 5G, 8GB of RAM and 128GB or 256GB of storage.  

It all sounds very nice and I'm absolutely in favour, but I do wonder about the process here: what Migicovsky is doing is really just an online petition, and there's a big difference between the targeted 50,000 people saying "yes please" and 50,000 people actually placing orders. And as there are a few references to Migicovsky doing it himself if the big firms don't step up, I'm getting a distinct whiff of viral marketing here. But he does make an excellent point: small phones are great, and plenty of people want flagships that aren't the size of dinner plates. Hopefully Samsung or Google are listening.