Watch this durability test on an ‘iPhone Ultra Mini’

By Trevor Mogg Published July 7, 2025

Tech YouTuber Zack Nelson — he of the popular JerryRigEverything channel — recently mused about whether folks would spend less time on their smartphones if the display were much smaller. He revealed how he once tried to reduce his own smartphone use with Samsung’s Z Flip 5, but soon realized that because he did so much of his work on a smartphone, trying to use a smaller screen the whole time just turned out to be a hassle.  

In his latest video, Nelson pondered whether a tiny iPhone would be popular with people wanting to cut down on screen time. He then produces a 3.8-inch “iPhone Ultra Mini,” which is in fact a $59 Android phone made to look like the latest iPhone — only it’s much, much smaller. 

“Would you buy the iPhone Ultra Mini?” Nelson asks, before proceeding to carry out his infamous durability test on the diminutive device. 

Beginning with the scratch test, Nelson notes that for $59 you’d expect the display to be made of glass, but it holds out well, with  the YouTuber noting that the handset is “off to a good start with real glass on the surface.”

However, dragging his box cutter over other parts of the device, it quickly becomes apparent that the iPhone Ultra Mini has plastic sides. 

Opening the SIM card tray, Nelson discovers that it also takes an SD memory card, prompting him to comment: “Now we know that a phone the size of a credit card does have room for SIM and SD card tray, there’s no excuse for modern flagships to not have one anymore.” No, Apple has never offered a built-in storage slot with the iPhone.

After using his box cutter to carve out the Apple logo on the back of the phone, and explaining that the device has only one camera and not three, Nelson holds a naked flame to the TFT LCD screen. A mark appears but then quickly disappears after he removes the flame. 

Then for the bend test, a test that some phones have indeed failed. Despite applying some real force, the phone stays intact. At this point, Nelson points out that the phone only has Wi-Fi and 3G connectivity, prompting him to describe it as “a glorified iPod touch.”

Apple has experimented with a smaller phone before. The 5.4-inch iPhone mini launched in 2020 as a flagship‑level, pocket‑friendly smartphone. However, due to consistently poor sales, Apple discontinued it in September 2023 and apparently has no plan to bring it back.