I probably sound like a broken record, but I like small phones. Give me one that fits comfortably in my pocket, and I’ll reach for it daily over a larger phone with more impressive cameras and a bigger battery. Unfortunately, many things we currently do on our phones are easier on larger displays — typing, reading articles, and playing games. But what if the way we use our phones is, in theory, about to change? If there’s one thing I want out of the coming AI revolution, it’s the return of small phones.
The first thing we need for small phones to make a comeback is a set of highly capable smart assistants, whether they’re running stock Android or a highly customized skin. To get by with less screen real estate, you have to trust that your phone can correctly do more things for you. It’s not my favorite aspect of the AI overhaul — I still like controlling most of my phone — but it’s an important one to free up pocket space. Sure, both Google and Apple have touted the features coming to their Gemini and Apple Intelligence models, respectively, but we’re still a long way off from realizing their full potential.
Right now, you have to choose when setting up a new Android phone — would you rather have the tried-and-true Google Assistant running the show? Or are you willing to give Gemini a try? Unfortunately, you can’t run both assistants on one device at the same time, so you have to decide which features you need and which you can give up. Right now, Gemini is better at answering factual questions and can handle making phone calls and setting reminders, but Google Assistant is more capable when it comes to routines and controlling a wider range of streaming services. The sooner Google fully merges Gemini and Assistant, the better. One day, Google will combine the two and bring Gemini to all Android devices as the default, but we’re still far away from that point.
As it stands, Gemini doesn’t do much on-device work anyway, primarily handling summaries in the Pixel Recorder app and generating responses through Smart Reply in Gboard. Strangely, I think it should stay that way. Provided that we can trust the safety of the data we send to Google, relying on its data centers would mean less work for the chipsets we’re carrying in our pockets, which would mean less strain on batteries that we could make smaller. With less on-device processing to worry about, phones can adopt smaller batteries, making a small phone a reality.
Alright, so hear me out — the Rabbit R1 got one thing right. Yes, it’s a terrible product. Its design, with a rotating camera and scrolling crown that renders the touchscreen useless, is nonsense. Its Rabbit OS and Vision Mode are inaccurate and inconsistent, and its integrations with Spotify, Uber, and DoorDash are shaky at best. But the one thing that I have to give the much-hyped little companion credit for is that it’s not designed like a traditional smartphone. Kill the product, but not the idea. But the point is this — the Rabbit R1 is a good idea executed poorly. It’s a device that acknowledges it can ditch the traditional smartphone form factor because it doesn’t need a big battery or large display when it’s reliant on voice commands.
Now, if only I could convince people that we don’t need the biggest displays for doomscrolling and streaming shows on the best Android phones, we might usher in a new age of small ones. It just might be the one thing that can free some of us from our sky-high screen time each and every day.