The compact smartphone market isn’t convincing: it’s shifting toward 7″

By now the concept of compact smartphone has changed completely compared to the past: there are other characteristics that impact the design, and now displays under 6″ have become extremely niche. The major manufacturers have shifted the compact standard to between 6.1″ and 6.3″, but things are expected to continue to “get worse” over the course of the year. More and more companies will target extra-large displays, and a well-known Chinese insider reveals the reason.

The situation of compact smartphones in this first part of 2026

As we have seen above, the current landscape is now aligned with the new compact standard: Apple, Samsung and Chinese manufacturers like Xiaomi, OPPO, OnePlus, vivo and so on, are no longer inclined to drop below a 6.1″ diagonal.

Recently we have witnessed the trend of compact flagship smartphones: in some cases it involves the main series (as in the case of Xiaomi 17) while in others, we are dealing with standalone versions (as for OnePlus 15T).

However this strategy is not expected to hold up, according to Digital Chat Station. The Chinese insider would have gathered testimonies from five Product Managers from as many Chinese brands, in order to offer an overview of the current situation and what the coming months hold for us.

First, the era of mini smartphones is about to end: some compact smartphones will increase their sizes by the end of the year and the new standard will be 6.5″.

The reason is simple: we live in a daily context saturated with information and, simply, a 6″ screen is no longer able to handle the amount of content we are subjected to. User polls would reveal that the 6.5″ represents the ideal compromise between maneuverability and visual experience.

The second reason is less social and more technical: even if users want compact smartphones they still want autonomy, photography capabilities and performance. Now a 6″ device is no longer able to manage these three aspects best and some concessions are necessary. Also the rounded bezels — typical of current designs — further limit internal space.

The new trend for the second half of the year

Clearly this doesn’t mean we won’t have more compact smartphones: the standard will shift from the current 6.1/6.3″ to 6.5″, so there will be more space both in terms of content viewing and under the shell. Certainly the technologies used today allow for devices of high quality without impacting size too much.

Think of silicon-carbon batteries, which offer extra-large capacity (we’ve now reached 10,000 mAh) in a slim profile. Or the periscopic telephoto lens, which uses a sophisticated system to reduce the size of the hardware compartment without sacrificing advanced zoom.

The Digital Chat Station report ends with a forecast for the second half of 2026: more massive smartphones will arrive, equipped with 7″ displays diagonally. Brands are not named, but we can’t help thinking of the usual names like Xiaomi, Redmi, POCO, OnePlus, Realme, OPPO and vivo.