For me, it would be the Samsung Galaxy S5 but with modern hardware.

In addition to being small, with SD card and 3.5mm jack, it is water resistant and has a removable battery. It is also one of the most robust non-hardened phones. It has an IR blaster too if it matters to you.

It was a time when Samsung was known for its gimmicks, the one for the Galaxy S5 is "Air View", where it recognizes your finger hovers over the screen. It is actually a good one, because it supports the "hover" targets in web pages!

Most people find it ugly though, and I tend to agree, but if you use a case, like most people do, who cares what the phone inside looks like?

I've held on to my S8 as long as possible, because even if the battery wasn't removable any more, it lasted the lifetime of the device, despite heating up considerably during the summer.

My current Xperia 5 maintains battery temperature around 10°C above ambient during fast charging and since it easily lasts the whole day in the 30-80% charge regime, I believe it will outlast other components.

S8 was the first flagship released after imploding Note 7s, so it's possible they may've overshot in cell quality.

Asus ZF10 is a more recent specimen. And it's more "peak" IMO. No bloatware, DC dimming, rugged design which doesn't require a case for everyday use.

As someone who often checks that sub, all I can say is that there's no decent small phones and it's just people constantly checking whether one has been released yet

There's nothing close to the iPhone Mini anymore though

The 13 Mini should still get iOS updates for another couple of years, I think?

Certainly iOS 26 appears to be supported.

Through 2028 most likely, possibly longer, based on their OS support history (about 7 years).

The 6s, released 2015, still gets security updates once in a blue moon

I've just bought a used s10e in pristine condition for $200. It's glorious.

Re: TFA, I'm all for filling the small phone niche, but there's no way I'm paying a cent over $500 for a phone with no resale value.

Fully agree. Mine has broken recently and I needed to buy a new phone. The S25 I have now is not much bigger, but even that small difference matters much. Though 120Hz screen is nice.