It’s settled: 6.1 inches is the ideal smartphone screen size

Photo by Vjeran Pavic / The Verge

Good and bad news for you today. The good news is that phones are not working. The smallest phone I have used all year is the 5.9-inch ZenFone 9, which is larger than the 5.4-inch Mini. Now, that is what passes for small.

The bad news is here. The debate over the size of a phone has been going on for a long time. I have invented a new standard for phones that comes with a 6.1-inch screen. You can take the 6.1-inch screen from the GooglePixel 6A. It is next to the 6.4 and 6.7-inch devices. I thought I was holding a small phone when I took it out of the box, but it was actually a huge phone.

Photo by Vjeran Pavic / The Verge

If we can't have small phones, then we should have larger phones like the Pixel 6A, which is small enough to fit in your pocket but large enough to be accepted by the big phone-loving population. The default is 6.1 inches because of the power vested in me. I have a reason for it.

It is small enough to be considered a small phone.

Sony just teased a new phone that is very likely to have a 6.1-inch screen like the previous one. The 6.5-inch mark is where most of the best-selling budget and mid-range phones are.

It is not very small. When I unboxed the phone, I gushed to the rest of the team about how cute it was. The baby is called Pixel 6. I was reminded that 6.1 inches is not small. You can lose your sense of what is normal when you use a lot of big phones.

It is large enough to be accepted by the large-phone-favoring public.

The base models of the two phones are not larger than 6 inches. It all starts at 6.1 inches in the US, and you can go up from there, either in price or screen size. If most people already see screen size as the default, then it is settled. We don't need to change the screen size because we're all comfortable here.

Someone needs to stop screen size inflation.

We used to walk around with small phones in our pockets. It was alright. We're here. The largest phone is a whopping 6.7 inches. There is a 7.6-inch screen. It would have to be folded in half to carry it. Have you thought about it? The madness needs to stop.

Photo by Allison Johnson / The Verge

I am not saying that all phones have to be 6.1 inches. People want Maxes, Pluses, and Ultras. Before it is too late, I respectfully request that we settle on a sensible middle ground that will satisfy both the small phone aficionados and everyone else. I will be weeping as I put my sim card into a phone with a big screen.