I’ve been reviewing and writing about technology for over a decade, and a persistent theme over the last several years has been around the size of mobile phones. Sometimes it’s a direct call for wanting a smaller phone or a staunch refusal to buy another bigger phone. Other times it comes as lamenting the size a mobile phone used to be.

The feeling of wanting to carry a smaller device, but use the largest screen possible, is a common one. The reality, however, is that people keep buying phones with large screens. Whether it’s for a larger typing surface, the ability to make text more readable, or just to look at photos and videos bigger, the size of phones continues to grow.

If you want a small iPhone, the solution is to find a refurbished iPhone 12 mini or 13 mini. The screen size on those measures 5.4 inches. Comparatively, the current iPhone 17 has a 6.3-inch screen size. This option will work for a few years, but eventually the software won’t support these phones.

The real solution, I think, is the “clamshell” or “flip” style folding phones. Motorola and Samsung both make phones like this that fold in half. They have small screens on the outside and unfold to be a large, full-sized phone. These aren’t new, but I think they have gotten overlooked for solving the small phone problem.

In the context of carrying and using a small phone, I decided to start using a Motorola Razr again. I’ve already tested the 2024 Razr+ model for its performance, but this time around, I wanted to focus solely on its size and using the front screen. Here’s how it works as a small phone.

A foldable flip phone offers a smaller size without giving up a big screen

The Razr+ external screen is 4 inches diagonally and under 4 inches tall

(Tyler Hayes)

Before getting into the weeds about what a foldable phone like the Razr+ can do, it’s worth emphasizing why its folded size is so important.

The Razr+ 2024 model measures 3.46 inches tall, but still has a 4-inch diagonal screen size. For comparison, the smallest modern (2021) iPhone is the 13 mini, and that one is 5.18 inches tall. The Razr foldable is a legitimately small phone that can easily be held in one hand. It slips into a front pocket. It’s 0.60 inches thick. That might sound bulky, but in practice, it isn’t any bigger than using an iPhone with a case on it.

For anyone unfamiliar with this style of folding phone, the front screen isn’t just a novelty. It’s completely usable in the same way the larger internal screen is. By the way, the full-sized screen opens up to 6.9 inches.

How it feels to use a small-screen phone in 2025

In my return to using the phone more frequently, I was surprised by how easy it is to view emails and even type out a quick response on the front screen. Swiping through apps, selecting Apple Music, and starting a playlist was a piece of cake. Taking selfies is an ideal experience. You can see yourself and use the best camera, all at the same time.

Viewing a website on the front, 4-inch screen

(Tyler Hayes)

It felt great to grab the tiny folded phone and do some of the basic items in one hand. The 4-inch size was more than adequate to triage common tasks. But it also worked with the Kindle app, Google Drive, TikTok, and Sonos. You can do nearly anything on the front screen.

Just because the front screen can run all those apps doesn’t mean you’ll want to frequently. You probably don’t want to use TikTok or Chrome and browse websites. That might be a benefit for some people to limit their phone usage.

Flip to open

The internal screen size is 6.9 inches

(Tyler Hayes)

After revisiting this style of flip phone, I’m coming around to it being a good choice for a lot of people.

Whether the phone is open or closed, you can continue using the same app on either screen. For example, you can tap on an email notification, scroll, and read the full email on the front screen. If you want a larger keyboard to respond, you can flip the phone open, and the email app will already be opened where you left off.

The same can happen in reverse. You can browse a streaming music app on the full-sized screen and then flip it shut and continue to see the album page to select different tracks.

If you want to get crazy, you can even add two apps at the same time when the screen is folded open—top and bottom.

Can you easily switch from an iPhone to an Android phone?

Razr+ next to iPhone 17 Pro

(Tyler Hayes)

I’ve been using the 2024 Razr+ most recently, but several phones fold in this manner. Right now, you can get Motorola’s 2024 Razr+ for $599, or the newest Razr Ultra for around $1,195. The Samsung Galaxy Z Flip7 goes for around $1,050. I’m interested in testing more of them to see if one emerges as the clear favorite. But more important than whether a specific phone is worth buying at the moment is asking whether you could realistically switch from an iPhone to an Android one.

Switching won’t be easy, but I think a lot of people would be surprised by how possible it is. The first aspect is that most major apps are available across Android and iOS. Even a lot of Apple’s apps, like Apple Music and Apple TV, are available for Android phones. Chrome makes it easy to move bookmarks and other browsing info.

Did you know that Apple and Google both offer apps to switch platforms? You can download an app that will transfer your contacts, calendar events, photos, and other data from an iPhone to Android, and vice versa.

The blue and green text bubble wars will always persist, but with the adoption of RCS across Google and Apple, there’s much less of a concern that you’ll be the one to ruin group text message threads.

There are rumors that Apple is making a book-style foldable iPhone in 2026. That means the product will be about the size of a normal iPhone and then folds open like a book to become a bigger, tablet-like device. This is fascinating, but won’t solve the small-phone problem. Hopefully, Apple bends the other way too and makes a normal-sized iPhone fold down to become even smaller.