Why Apple has stopped making small phones—and why it should start again

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  The new iPhone SE resembles the iPhone 8 in design, but it sports an A13 chip and aluminum edges. [credit: Apple ]

The new iPhone SE is here, and it's an attractive product: it combines a tried-and-true design, arguably the fastest mobile chip in the industry, and a $400 starting price point. It might be the most appealing phone in Apple's lineup for a wide range of users.

That said, it's quite a bit bigger than its predecessor. Consumers who were hoping for the return of the 4-inch display, or maybe even a slightly larger display but in the same grip size as the original SE, were likely disappointed by this week's announcement. Apple is not alone in skipping smaller handset offerings; there aren't many small Android phones left, either.

There are reasons for this trend that make sense both for the tech company and the consumer, but there are also reasons Apple shouldn't turn its back on a minority of consumers who still want-or even need-smaller phones.

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