# @tech.lekh on Instagram

- **Type:** Image
- **Original URL:** https://www.instagram.com/p/DUIG58mE6x1
- **Gondola URL:** https://gondola.cc/posts/63444515-techlekh-instagram
- **Thumbnail:** https://img.gondola.cc/tr:w-,h-,fo-auto/postThumbnails/8429e0e79e.jpg
- **Posted:** 2026-01-30T07:36:53.000+00:00
- **Account Owner:** TechLekh (@tech.lekh) — https://gondola.cc/tech.lekh

## Caption

🏆 The TechLekh Awards 2025 for Smol Phone of the Year goes to “No One”. Congratulations to “Nobody!” 🥲

We have been saying that phones are getting more and more capable every year. And maybe as a byproduct, they are also getting bigger. As a result, compact phones have essentially died out.

For instance, the smallest iPhone right now, i.e. the iPhone 17, is almost as big as the first “big” iPhone, i.e. iPhone 6 Plus. Furthermore, the former actually has a larger screen than the latter.

Companies have tried selling phones with screens under 6 inches. Apple tried. They gave up after two years of trying. Asus Zenfone, one of the last compact phones, also pivoted. It’s just facts: compact phones, despite how much attention they get and how cute they are, don’t sell well.

So companies don’t want to sell it. People don’t buy it. So, we either have to update the definition for what a “smol” phone is, or put it to rest. The likes of MKBHD chose the former, awarding the category Samsung Galaxy Z Flip7.

I mean, there is a logic, and it makes sense. But we just can’t ignore the fact that it is indeed a big phone, that just happens to have a fully functional small screen on the back. Now the iPhone Xiaomi 17 Pro series also has a back screen, should we consider that as well?

So, we think it’s better if we just put the compact phone category to rest. It was fun while it lasted.
 
#TLAwards2025 #SmolPhone #RIP

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- **Likes:** 58
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- **Comments:** 2

## Tags

tlawards2025, rip, smolphone

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