Every year, the smartphone industry gets louder, flashier, and bigger — literally. Displays get larger. Batteries get heavier. Cameras protrude more. Phones that used to fit comfortably in one hand now feel closer to tablets than pocket devices.
And yet in 2025, one of the best buys in the entire smartphone space is a phone Apple stopped making two years ago:
The iPhone 13 Mini.
A tiny, lightweight flagship released in 2021.
It sounds outdated on paper, but in real-world use, the 13 Mini remains one of the most capable and enjoyable devices you can carry. For people who want a truly compact phone without sacrificing performance, it still sits in a category of its own — because no true modern replacement exists.
Here’s why the iPhone 13 Mini still dominates the compact phone market in 2025, and why newer models haven’t dethroned it.