According to experts, Apple's new iPhone 12 mini is likely to appeal to users looking for alternatives to the ever-larger mobile phones that dominate the market.

The mini, announced last week, features a 5.4-inch display and 5G connectivity, starting at $699. The diminutive phone arrives as phones have matured from the candy-bar-esque Nokia of old to the latest iPhone 12 with its 6.1-inch screen or the Galaxy Note 20 Ultra, with its massive 6.9-inch display. But smaller may be better, some observers say.

“Phones have gotten bigger over time and now support video-intensive applications like gaming, social media and Zoom,” said Lydia Chilton, a professor who studies human-computer interaction at Columbia University, in an interview via email.

“But there are also a lot of benefits to going back to a smaller device. Being able to hold and operate a phone with one hand is a huge advantage, especially for people who multitask, like a parent holding a child in one arm and browsing their phone with the other, or someone cooking with one hand and looking at a recipe on their phone with the other.”