Ever since the launch of iPhone 6 back in 2014, I’ve enjoyed having a larger display. Web pages became easier to read and navigate, photos looked even more spectacular and on-screen keyboards began to feel less cramped. Still with the increase in size, I missed the feeling of the iPhones 3G, 4 and 5 that I had before the 6.

Then came the iPhones 7 Plus and 11 Pro: the next two models that I had. They were even larger than the 6—particularly the 7 Plus—and although I resented the size, there were very few options if you wanted a new iPhone with decent features. (First-world problem, I know!) Sure, the SE has been an option, but from each phone that I had, it was never really an upgrade… more of a sidestep.

Finally, late last year, the iPhone 12 mini came along. I’ve never upgraded within a year before, as I find it to be wasteful, however I was able to trade in the previous phone for it to be recycled (or refurbished). That process has its own energy implications, for which I do feel a pang of guilt, but I’m thrilled at last to have an iPhone that feels like a phone and fits comfortably in my hands and pockets. I intend to keep it for quite a while and whenever I use it I am delightfully reminded of this old iPhone ad, which sold the benefit of one-handed use when Apple was more resistant to selling larger handsets.

In addition, perhaps one of the greatest benefits is that my old Belkin dock, which I used first with my iPhone 5 (for which it was designed) all the way through the following 6, 7 Plus and 11 Pro, now cradles a phone that fits properly. You may be shocked that I was able and indeed willing to fit something as large as a 7 Plus on this but like I said, I avoid waste as much as possible. It worked with the larger phones, so I kept it.

The iPhone 12 mini is without a doubt the best iPhone that I have ever owned. In fact, many of my favourite Apple devices have had the ‘mini’ moniker. My first Apple product (other than earlier family desktops) was an iPod mini, I continue to use the Mac mini as my main computer and my favourite reading device for news and eBooks is the iPad mini.

I hope that other companies realise the value of offering smaller phones, now that we are able to include larger displays within narrower bezels. Let’s just hope that enough people are buying it, so that Apple continues to create this wonderful device. It would be a shame to go back to a time when the only phones that are available are the size of food platters.