I get the appeal of super slim phones like the iPhone Air and Galaxy S25 Edge. The moment you pick them up, the device feels immediately distinct from a typical smartphone. The iPhone Air is ridiculously thin at 5.64mm, which weighs just 165 grams, and still gives you a reasonably large 6.5-inch OLED display with ProMotion.
For its size, Apple gets the comfort part right. Many smartphones in general are becoming tiring in a very specific way. They are either too tall, camera-heavy, or get too heavy to use for longer stretches with one hand. The iPhone Air manages to cut down on this fatigue by not only slimming down, but also shedding some of that weight.
While it’s not as tall as the Galaxy S25 edge, it manages to feel less dense in the hand. But the novelty quickly runs out once I realize that the solution to the problem is already in front of us. After daily driving a compact phone for over a year now, the iPhone Air reminded me that thinness isn’t the same thing as true usability. I use a smaller phone every day because it ‘fits right’ in my hand in a way most modern flagships are not. It is easier to hold securely, more comfortable to type on with one hand, and generally easier to live with.
Modern “compact” phones aren’t as tiny anymore, but they still feel sane next to devices that are creeping closer to the 7-inch screen mark.
Thinness only fixes the hand feel, not the reach problem
The iPhone Air is easier to hold than most large flagships because it is lighter and slimmer. So when you are reading, scrolling, or just carrying it around. A heavy phone can start feeling annoying after a while, especially if you use it without constantly shifting between hands. But for anyone with smaller hands, the Air can still feel like a tall phone. The top of the screen is still far away. Pulling down notifications, reaching Control Center, tapping top-bar controls, or interacting with apps that place important buttons near the upper half of the display still requires a stretch, a grip adjustment, or a second hand.
This is the part of other ultra-thin phones like the Motorola Edge 70 and Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge. A thinner body definitely makes the phone feel sleeker, while a lighter body only reduces wrist fatigue. But neither changes the basic geometry of a large screen. Your thumb still has to travel across the same height. Your grip still has to compensate. And if you are using the phone one-handed, the experience isn’t that great. This is where compact phones start being the real answer.
Not only do they reduce the weight of the problem, but they even shrink the problem itself.
Compact phones don’t have to sacrifice as much
The other issue with ultra-thin phones is that the design usually comes with trade-offs. The iPhone Air has a solid 48MP Fusion camera system, though it relies on this single main camera. Samsung’s Galaxy S25 Edge follows a similar philosophy. It looks stunning and goes hard on slimness, but you only get a 200MP main camera and a lackluster 12MP ultra-wide-angle lens. The compromise isn’t always so disastrous. The iPhone Air still has a Pro-grade chip, a smooth ProMotion display, and a body that feels genuinely special. Samsung’s S25 Edge is another premium phone, and not some fragile design experiment.
But all of these are issues compact phones deal with better. My own daily driver, the Xiaomi 15, still gives me a proper triple camera setup with main, ultrawide, and telephoto cameras in a phone that does not feel oversized. The OnePlus 15T also shows how modern phone makers are finding ways to fit larger batteries and serious cooling systems into a smaller form factor, with OnePlus advertising a massive 7,500mAh battery, 100W wired fast charging, and 50W wireless charging. So you can get a rounded flagship experience, without the added height.
The better answer to big-phone fatigue
The iPhone Air is not a bad idea. I actually think it is one of Apple’s more interesting hardware experiments in years. It proves that a big phone does not have to feel like a slab of glass and metal in your pocket. It makes the iPhones more approachable for people who hate bulky flagships. But for me, the original problem was never just thickness. It was the daily fatigue of tall flagships. Compact phones may not look as futuristic or have the same instant showroom reaction. Yet, I’ll still go back to the one that actually makes my life easier.