The original "phablet" was the Samsung Galaxy Note, considered comically large. At 147mm x 83mm, it's about the same size as the iPhone 18 Pro (150mm x 72mm)

Yes, the note 3 was considered "phablet", and it's much smaller than even ip17 now.

The note 3 was 151.2 x 79.2 x 8.3 mm

The iPhone 17 is 149.6 x 71.5 x 8 mm

So no, the note 3 is bigger than the iPhone 17

But, and this is probably what you meant, the iPhone 17 has a bigger screen. That's because recent phones got rid of the bezels, so they can fit more screen in the same body. That's why they have taller aspect ratios.

Thanks for correction, i mistook with the screen size

100% there’s no “normal size” iPhones anymore

The SE is the closest you can get

SE isn't sold anymore, and just like the Mini most of the NOS found today is actually refurbished.

the iPhone 16e is normal although I concede it's an exception

I mean kinda, yeah. Since that's literally the only kind of smartphone you can get nowadays.

Uh, yes? The first widespread usage of the word "phablet" I can recall was regarding the HTC HD2, which had a whopping 4.3" display and some people were losing their minds saying nobody would want to carry that in their pockets.

I remember the memes when the iPhone 5 came out.