I have come to the conclusion that small phones are dead.

Apple has dropped the iPhone Mini range and there is nothing “mini” to be found within Samsung’s line as 6.1” is the smallest you’ll find. Outside of niche devices from brands like Unihertz, very low end carrier brand mobiles, or something obscure from AliExpress, you would be hard pressed to find anything smaller than 6” today.

So rather than looking to the present for a small phone, I looked to the past. Problem is many of the small phones are far too old to be considered usable. Ask anyone for what they consider an essential feature of a mobile today and you will get different answers. But at the very least for a phone to be usable it needs to be well…. a phone.

The 3G network was recently phased out in Australia ruling out any 3G only phone. Plus, in Australia, mobile network operators now require phones to be VoLTE (Voice over LTE) compatible. Further reducing the options on the table.

Ok but the original iPhone SE (which is tiny by today’s standards) is VoLTE compatible and small right? yes, but it is also no longer supported and stuck on iOS 15. While many apps happily run on this iOS version, I found some important ones for me didn’t (Banking). Which leads me to my next set of criteria. Aside from being a functional phone, what else do I need?

Here was my criteria:

  • A core list of functional apps such as email, Google Authenticator, banking, web browser, Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp, etc. (Requires a somewhat recent Android or iOS device)
  • USB-C Charging: All my devices use USB-C, so it makes sense to standardize.
  • A serviceable camera: Very subjective, but any flagship from the last few years should suffice.
  • NFC for payments.

After looking at my options, I decided to give the Samsung S9 (2018) a try.

S9

The S9 is an interesting device. Samsung was right in the middle of the gimmicky curved screen design (which I to this day still despise) as well as trying to shove their unwanted voice assistant Bixby down everyone’s throats by placing a dedicated button almost directly opposite the power button. Making it all to easy to press by mistake. That being said, I will give it credit; its 5.8” curved screen its aesthetically pleasing. Appearing very sleek and at least compared to modern larger phones, light to hold. However this sleekness does make it slippery to hold without a case on.

It was also the last Samsung flagship to have a dedicated finger print sensor on the back as opposed to an in screen sensor. Going back to this style I will say is actually quite nice. When picking up the phone to check notifications its very ergonomic to hold since you can just take your index finger on the sensor to unlock it as opposed to stretching your thumb to the bottom of the display. On top of that swiping down or up on the sensor will show/hide the notification tray.

Moving to the internals the S9 was no slouch for its time. The AMOLED display is still vibrant and does technically support up to 1440x2960 resolution (more on that later). The Exynos 9810 8-Core processor and 4GB memory handles most day-to-day tasks well enough. Although I have found switching between apps it can struggle. The 64GB of storage is small by today’s standards but does sport a MicroSD slot which is a novel feature in recent times. I’ve got a modest music collection currently totalling 39GB and about 1.6k songs. Which means I’ll be making use of that MicroSD slot very soon.

Its 12MP primary camera has no problem snapping the odd shot of my kid. Not that it would win any awards. The biggest issue with the camera is that there is only the one on the rear. The S10 was the first for Samsung to include dedicated telescopic and wide angle lenses. The Telescopic I don’t mind losing but the wide angle was surprisingly convenient. Especially for work.

The phone of course has USB C for charging (That was one of my requirements) but also came with wireless charging. This wasnt new at the time, being featured way back on the S6 in 2015 a full 2 years before Apple on the iPhone 8… oof.

And lastly for the specs, Android 10 paired with Samsung’s One UI version 2.5 provides a outdated but more than usable experience. I will note that the last security update was back in March 2022… Thankfully Samsung now promises up to 7 major Android updates for their flagship devices.

While the S9 holds up surprisingly well in terms of design and core functionality, there’s one major drawback that becomes apparent in daily use – Battery life.

The S9 that I am using has a reported battery health of 84%. Which to be fair is quite good given its age. I’ve had a lot of phones cross my desk at work and the biggest reason most people look for an upgrade is by far because of dying batteries (Performance, Camera, Storage and Screen size are almost always second to battery problems). So when I first decided to go back to the S9 I new battery drain would be a concern. To alleviate my battery woes I opted to enable the “Medium power saving” mode. With the CPU limited to 70% and screen resolution dropped to HD+ (1480x720) I can get a decent days worth out of the S9. I actually don’t mind the resolution drop. The AMOLED display is still nice and bright and text looks sharp enough. The 70% CPU however is more noticeable. It never prevents me from completing a task. Just makes me realize that mobile CPU’s have improved a lot over the years.

In fact looking at the Passmark scores for the S9 vs S23 (My “Current” phone), the S9 scores a measly 3464 points vs 9170 points. A insane 164.7% increase in just 5 years.

I have been trying to use my phone less so it does provide me a good reason to put down the phone.

So after spending time with the Galaxy S9 in 2025, will I keep using it? Would I recommend it to others?

Yes and Yes – But with some caveats.

I can confidently say that it’s still a usable phone. Its smaller then what you will find with most brands which for me is a plus. I can live with the performance hiccups and objectively worse camera’s but I can completely understand others may not. Battery life is the biggest concern — if it continues to degrade, the phone could become unusable.

Additionally, Android 10 is long past support. While most apps I use support older Android versions, I have seen one or two require 9. Meaning it may not be long before even the S9 falls victim to OS compatibility issues.

If your an iPhone fan and looking for a smaller phone, the Mini range is probably your best (only) bet at this time. For those looking for something more experimental, maybe Unihertz or the Minimal phone might be worth a look.

For those who want a compact phone and don’t mind some trade-offs, the S9 remains a surprisingly capable device in 2025 - but for how much longer I do not know.