I booted up my Galaxy S21 FE recently and was greeted with an Android 16 update notification. It’s a good feeling to see years-old phones get the latest updates, and to see brands actually living up to their update promises.
After installing the update, I ended up using the phone far more than I expected. And that’s not just because Android 16 transforms the experience, but because it reminded me how good the phone’s form factor still is.
The Galaxy S21 FE was never a flagship. It was a solid mid-range phone with a decent display and camera, weighed down by a battery that lasts barely four to five hours on a single charge.
Back when it launched, that was a trade-off you had to accept. A smaller phone meant a smaller battery, but even with those compromises, using it today feels surprisingly comfortable.
Dominik Tomaszewski / Foundry
By today’s standards, the S21 FE is already on the smaller side, with its 6.4-inch display. Five years ago, that wouldn’t have counted as compact at all. Back then, most brands had at least one phone hovering around five to five-and-a-half inches.
Apple, Google, Samsung – everyone played in that space, but today, phones under six inches have all but disappeared, especially in the flagship category.
The industry thinks small phones aren’t worth making
At some point, the industry collectively decided that small phones weren’t worth making. Executives I’ve spoken to often say there simply isn’t enough demand to justify them and, on paper, that argument holds up. But lack of demand isn’t the same as no demand. Surveys consistently show that a meaningful chunk of buyers still want genuinely small phones.
The industry assumes everyone wants the same set of maxed-out features
Many of them are even willing to compromise on camera quality, raw performance, and sometimes even battery life if it means getting a phone that’s easier to use with one hand, fits properly in a pocket, and doesn’t feel like a slab.
The issue isn’t that small phones are unwanted. It’s that the industry assumes everyone wants the same set of maxed-out features. Small phones are also bad business because they break economies of scale. Display makers optimize production around a handful of panel sizes, and right now that sweet spot sits firmly above 6.5 inches.
If an OEM (original equipment manufacturer) wants to build a small phone, it has to step outside that comfort zone, which means costs rise quickly.
A smaller phone also needs custom components, tighter internal layouts, and more R&D effort, all for a product that’s almost guaranteed to sell in lower volumes.
Foundry
Even Apple ran into this wall. The iPhone 13 Mini didn’t sell well enough to justify keeping the line alive, despite being cheaper and widely praised by the people who bought it. If Apple couldn’t make a small phone work at scale, it’s easy to see why Android brands don’t bother trying.
Battery life has long been the easiest excuse. A smaller phone meant a smaller battery, end of discussion. That logic made sense a few years ago, but it makes less sense today.
Battery technology has quietly moved forward, even if phone sizes haven’t. Silicon-carbon batteries on phones like the OnePlus 15 have already shown that you can pack more capacity into smaller spaces.
If people were willing to live with weaker battery life before, there’s even less reason not to experiment now.
Foundry | Alex Walker-Todd
That’s what makes using the S21 FE on Android 16 so frustrating and so enjoyable at the same time. The hardware is nothing special by 2026 standards, and the battery is still bad (even worse now). And yet, the experience feels great because the phone is easy to handle. One-handed use feels natural, and I don’t have to keep adjusting my grip.
If a budget phone like this can still be fun years later, purely because of its size and updated software, it’s hard not to imagine how good a true compact flagship would be today.
A phone around six inches, with a top-tier chip, a proper camera system, and modern battery tech, would instantly stand out, and not just as a niche curiosity, but as a genuinely excellent option for a lot of people.
